Jamie Byng: ‘Listening to letters being read out is quite something’

The Canongate Books boss on the success of Letters Live, performances of notable correspondence by leading lights of stage and screenJamie Byng, 46, son of the 8th Earl of Strafford, grew up in Hampshire and studied at the University of Edinburgh. After graduating he joined Canongate Books as an intern and bought out the struggling Edinburgh publishing house two years later, aged just 25. His successes include the UK publication of Yann Martel’s Life of Pi, which won the Man Booker prize in 2002 and sold more than 3m copies. In 2013 he set up Letters Live, “a celebration of the enduring power of literary correspondence” based in part on Shaun Usher’s Letters of Note books. Letters Live returns to London’s Freemasons’ Hall on Thursday 10 March.How did Letters Live come about?In 2013 we published two books about letters on the same day. One was Simon Garfield’s To the Letter, which is a history of letter-writing. The other, Letters of Note, grew out of Shaun Usher’s website, which compiles great correspondence throughout history. We decided to promote both books by getting people to read out letters in a live setting. Nick Cave had a letter in Shaun’s book and he’s a good friend, so it was very straightforward to call him up and say “How’s about it?” Gillian Anderson went totally nuts for a Katharine Hepburn letter to Spencer Tracy. Everyone I asked who was around – Benedict Cumberbatch, Matt Berry, Neil Gaiman, Bruce Robinson – said yes. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2016-03-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon launches India Kindle Store, swap rupees for good reads

Indian consumers haven't been cut off from Amazon's world of ebook goodies, but their experience is about to get a lot more native with the launch of a local Kindle Store. The prices of over a million books are now available in rupees, and if you're in need of hardware, the latest bare-bones... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2012-08-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon's political reading map shows which way your neighbors are leaning

Religion, bathroom routines and politics are three things you should never, ever discuss at the dinner table. However, if you're curious about your neighbors' political reading habits, then you should check out Amazon's Election Heat Map. The bookseller rated the top 250 books with a "clear... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2012-08-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Man Booker to broadcast readings

The Man Booker Prize for Fiction is to broadcast an evening of readings by this year's... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-08-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Not Just for Kids: Knicks' Amar'e Stoudemire launches full-court press for reading

The basketball captain and father introduces a book series meant to encourage kids to pick up books and take control of their surroundings.NBA superstar Amar'e Stoudemire is so passionate about promoting literacy that he has a tattoo on his forearm that says "Read." This week, the 29-year-old... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-07-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Rosen calls for backing for reading for pleasure

Former children's laureate Michael Rosen is leading calls by children's book authors and... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-07-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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James eclipses Jamie and Dan in record-breaking week

E L James has set yet another record by chalking up the longest unbroken streak atop Nielsen... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-07-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Nine books NOT to read at the beach

Every summer, everyone and their uncle wants to tell you what to read at the beach. So as the summer hits mid-stride, at Jacket Copy, we've got another idea: the anti-beach reading list. Every summer, everyone and their uncle wants to tell you what to read at the beach. If they all had their... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-07-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Department for Education backing Reading for Pleasure

Representatives from across the industry met yesterday (19th July) to discuss reading for... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-07-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Barnes & Noble brings out Nook for Web, comes full circle with e-reading (update: not on iOS)

We'd say it's about time. Although it's almost two years late to the party, Barnes & Noble is responding to Amazon's Kindle for the Web with Nook for Web. Much like its counterpart across the virtual aisle, the Nook web edition lets readers browse free samples and whole books entirely from a... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2012-07-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Nook for Web Lets You Sample and Read Books From Your Browser

Barnes & Noble catches up to Amazon and Google with a Web-based ebook service. Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2012-07-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Perfect Hobby? Reading Books

A single good-sized book will provide you with many hours of entertainment, it will make you think about some aspect of the world around you and make you reconsider that aspect a little. And even better, that single book can be acquired for practically nothing. Continue reading at ABC News

[ ABC News | 2012-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Tablet Adoption Lowers Reading of Physical Books, Newspapers, Survey Shows

More than half of tablet adopters are reading books and other media on their tablet screens instead of relying on paper. Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2012-07-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Waterstones picks next 12 Book Club reads

Waterstones has today announced the next 12 titles in its quarterly Book Club, featuring four... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-07-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Boys' reading 'a worry in 75% of schools'

A report into boys’ reading has found that three out of four UK schools are worried about... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-07-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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2012 Summer Reading Guide

For book lovers, the summer is always a busy, exciting season, and this year is no exception. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-06-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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What He's Reading: Bill Wackermann

CONDÉ NAST Publishing Director Bill Wackermann made a tempora-ry move to the other side of the desk by writing his first book, Flip the Script. The self-help guide is filled with examples from his years overseeing Glamour, but Mr. Continue reading at Crains New York

[ Crains New York | 2012-05-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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One third of Brits now e-reading, says Bowker study

Nearly a third of British adults (31%) say they are likely to buy an ebook in the next six... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-05-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Reading Agency and PA launch digital skills scheme

The Reading Agency and the Publishers Association have launched a digital skills sharing... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-05-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Yes, people still read: ebook sales by UK publishers grew 54 percent in 2011

All hail the ebook! Seriously, if it weren't for this marvelous literary development, try saying with a straight face that you wouldn't at least take pause before adding a new title to your collection. Numbers are in from The Publisher's Association -- a group of 120 companies across the trade... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2012-05-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Steve Jobs' and 'The Help' dominate reading lists in many American cities

Data gathered by Nielsen BookScan for The Daily Beast show many of the same titles are popular in American cities – but exceptions include 'Heaven Is For Real' and 'The Great Gatsby.' Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-04-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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