'It's like they were selling heroin to schoolkids': censorship hits booksellers at Kuwait book fair

Many Arab book fairs have been a free space for publishers to sell titles banned in shops, but Kuwait has seen raised levels of censorship – turning the book trade into a risky businessArab book fairs are like a giant travelling circus; no sooner does one end than publishers are boxing up books, pulling down posters, and moving their wares to the next. There are more than 15 major fairs across the region, with dozens of minor ones. This week, a reported 568 publishers are at the Kuwait international book fair, where readers, publishers, and writers are fighting back – and winning small gains – against a growing censoriousness. Related: UAE launches new law to 'make reading a daily habit' Kuwait has a robust appreciation for literature and tough-minded writers – yet restrictive censorship and bureaucracyA book being banned doesn't mean demand disappears. 'It's sold under the table, exposing the sellers to danger' Related: Tunisian novel wins ‘Arabic Booker’ in Abu Dhabi despite UAE ban We don't want to submit to this situation, which we hope will change in a country where freedom has had a wide berth Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2016-11-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #make reading #daily habit #abu dhabi

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Publishers battle for Townshend and Walliams books

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Fri, 13/05/2011 - 08:30 The Who guitarist Pete Townshend and "Little Britain" star David Walliams are the latest figures to have memoirs put in front of publishers, as the trade shows no sign of losing its appetite for celebrity autobiographies. Ed... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Richard and Judy spring titles sell £4.6m

Written By: Philip Stone and Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Thu, 12/05/2011 - 09:45 Analysis has revealed that £4.6m of books were sold under the W H Smith Spring Richard and Judy Book Club promotion, as the retailer released the celebrity couple's new summer titles. The eight Spring Book... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Charlaine Harris sells 1m Kindle ebooks

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Thu, 12/05/2011 - 09:19 Charlaine Harris, author of the Sookie Stackhouse series of novels, has become the latest writer to sell more than one million Kindle ebooks through Amazon. The author, who is published by Gollancz in the UK, joins Stieg... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sainsbury's grows book sales 20%

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Wed, 11/05/2011 - 08:22 Sainsbury's has singled out book sales as an area of strong growth in its most recent financial year, and has said that it will now devote more new space to "non-food ranges". For the 52 weeks to 19th March 2011, the retailer... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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America 'exploring' World Book Night launch

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Wed, 11/05/2011 - 15:41 America wants to hold its own World Book Night following in the footsteps of the UK. The American Booksellers Association said it is "exploring" the possibility of replicating "a version" of the event, which saw 20,000 people... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book sales "well down" as general retail rises

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Tue, 10/05/2011 - 08:59 Book sales for April were "well down" in a month where general UK retail sales rose by 5.2% on last year. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) today (10th May) reported like-for-like sales were up 5.2% in value from April... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Yellow Jersey hat trick at British Sports Book Awards

Publication Date: Tue, 10/05/2011 - 08:24 Random House imprint Yellow Jersey Press has scored a hat trick of wins at the British Sports Book Awards, with W H Smith also taking home the best sports book retailer prize. Catrine Clay's Trautmann's Journey won best biography, while Promised Lane by... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book sales spring back after Royal Wedding week

Written By: Philip Stone Publication Date: Tue, 10/05/2011 - 15:50 Book sales bounced back after a dire seven days in the week of the Royal Wedding in which physical book sales plummeted to an eight-year low. According to Nielsen BookScan data, spending in the seven days to 7th May was up... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Shift to digital will hit revenue, says Barnsley

Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Tue, 10/05/2011 - 09:03 Publishers are unlikely to be able to replace the revenues lost in the shift from print to ebooks unless they can significantly grow volume sales, according to HarperCollins c.e.o. Victoria Barnsley. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Richard and Judy extend Book Club with W H Smith

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Tue, 10/05/2011 - 16:38 W H Smith has signed an exclusive deal to extend the Richard and Judy Book Club until 2015. The high street retailer has signed a contract with the celebrity couple to personally read and recommend eight fiction titles to WHS... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Drama Book Shop—Award Winner

And the winner of this year’s Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre is... the Drama Book Shop, an independent New York City bookstore dating to 1917, 30 years older than the Tony Awards. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-05-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Baddiel kicks off "Blokey Book Club"

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Mon, 09/05/2011 - 15:19 BBC Radio 5 Live has launched a “Blokey Book Club” to encourage men to read more fiction. The Men’s Hour show formed the club, which will ask listeners to recommend and comment on their favourite fiction through the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Media Equation: Now to Sell Advertisers on Tablets

Magazine publishers are making plans to be part of, rather than run over by, the digital revolution. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2011-05-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Nurturer of Authors Is Closing the Book

The editor Robert Loomis, who is retiring from Random House after 54 years, is known for nurturing writers including Maya Angelou, William Styron, Shelby Foote and Calvin Trillin. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2011-05-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishers Make a Plan: A ‘One Stop’ Book Site

In starting Bookish.com, Simon & Schuster, Penguin Group USA and Hachette Book Group hope to provide one-stop shopping for books and information about authors. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2011-05-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Random hits 2m ebook sales

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 06/05/2011 - 08:55 Random House has hit the landmark of two million ebooks sold in the UK, with other leading publishers reporting a first quarter “explosion” in digital sales. E-books currently account for 8% of RH's overall sales, with... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Media Decoder: Plaintiffs Drop Suit Over Jimmy Carter Book

A $5 million lawsuit against Simon & Schuster over a book by former President Jimmy Carter was dropped by the plaintiffs on Thursday, three months after it was filed. The plaintiffs in the class-action suit had argued that Mr. Carter's "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid," about the Arab-Israeli... Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2011-05-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Barnes & Noble Plans New E-Book Reader [Voices]

Barnes & Noble Inc. will unveil a new electronic book reader later this month, the bookseller told analysts and investors on Wednesday, according to a federal filing released after the close of trading. Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2011-05-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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E-Book Boom Boosts Simon & Schuster [MediaMemo]

All of those Amazon Kindle sales -- and, presumably, sales of competitive ebook readers from Barnes & Noble and Apple -- have made an impact at publisher Simon & Schuster. The CBS unit says Q1 digital sales doubled over the previous year, and now represent 18 percent of the company's the... Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2011-05-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sandra Boynton Demonstrates App, Signs Books--and a Few Nooks

Monday night’s Sandra Boynton book event at the Barnes & Noble on Manhattan’s Upper East Side looked like a pretty normal book signing--normal for Boynton, the bestselling children’s book author, anyway. Toddlers and slightly older kids, some dressed in pajamas, crammed into the event space,... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-05-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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