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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Rainbow Rowell has released a long-awaited sequel, and Kiersten White puts a spin on Arthurian legend. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2019-12-24 14:00:00 UTC ]
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The Publishers Association (PA) has upped its Axe the Reading Tax Campaign, as a new survey has found that 71% of adults think that VAT should not be charged on any reading materials—digital or print. The survey also reveals that 50% of respondents said that a cut to the tax would inspire them... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-12-24 09:11:28 UTC ]
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As you make your reading list for the next decade, consider titles that span everything from healthy school lunches to Trump’s immigration record. As another year comes to an end—and this time, the decade too—perhaps you’ve realized you haven’t quite made it through your reading list. If you’re... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2019-12-24 08:00:27 UTC ]
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Sally Rooney and Elizabeth Gilbert may not have new books coming out just yet, but we have some worthy alternatives. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2019-12-23 13:00:00 UTC ]
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Ready to dig into this fascinating nonfiction read? Here's your reading guide and BAD BLOOD book club questions to get the conversation going. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2019-12-23 11:35:34 UTC ]
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A reading list to inspire personal growth and success in 2020. For many of us, the dawn of a new decade raises the stakes for normal year-end goal-setting. Whether you’re hoping to climb the career ladder in 2020, actually use that gym membership, or get better at leaving your work at the... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2019-12-23 08:00:01 UTC ]
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Of the thousands of book reviews we published this year, these are the 10 most-read reviews of books that published in 2019. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-12-23 05:00:00 UTC ]
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The deaths of Brian Hampton and Rachel Held Evans, books undergoing big-screen adaptations, and LifeWay’s closure are some of PW’s top religion stories of 2019. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-12-23 05:00:00 UTC ]
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THIS NOVEMBER, the PDX Book Festival took place in Portland, Oregon. The annual one-day event always includes some of the best contemporary writers, and many of the best contemporary writers are queer. (We are good artists.) This year, the festival included over 100 authors participating in... Continue reading at Los Angeles Review of Books
[ Los Angeles Review of Books | 2019-12-22 20:00:19 UTC ]
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The best audiobooks of December 2019 include the latest John le Carré spy novel and a stirring memoir by a Philippine immigrant. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2019-12-20 20:54:02 UTC ]
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The best audiobooks of December 2019 include the latest John le Carré spy novel and a stirring memoir by a Philippine immigrant. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2019-12-20 20:54:02 UTC ]
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The best audiobooks of December 2019 include the latest John le Carré spy novel and a stirring memoir by a Philippine immigrant. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2019-12-20 20:54:02 UTC ]
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L.A. Times Book Club's 2020 lineup also includes 'American Dirt' and 'From Our Land to Our Land.' Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-12-20 15:00:03 UTC ]
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From stories about commitment to faith to those about leaving the faith, learn more about the traditions in these religious memoirs for Read Harder 2020. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2019-12-19 11:33:46 UTC ]
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“The Selected Letters of Ralph Ellison” capture the fiercely intelligent and irreverent author of “Invisible Man” in conversation with other novelists and critics of his day. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2019-12-19 10:00:10 UTC ]
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A girl who went blind is able to read again after being given a camera that reads for her. Continue reading at BBC World
[ BBC World | 2019-12-19 09:27:57 UTC ]
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Find a new author to follow or the first book your fave wrote with this list of debut novels by queer authors for the 2020 Read Harder Challenge. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2019-12-18 11:31:50 UTC ]
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Text Me When You Get Home: the Evolution and Triumph of Modern Female Friendship by Kayleen SchaeferIt’s a non-fiction book about the change in perspective around female friendship over the last few years, featuring interviews with a huge range of people including Judy Blume. The book looks at... Continue reading at British Council global
[ British Council global | 2019-12-17 09:49:28 UTC ]
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Doin' It In The Nook with Kelly Corrigan and Matt Nathanson. If you're not part of this book club yet, you will want to be ASAP. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2019-12-16 11:37:44 UTC ]
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From The New Yorker’s archive, pieces about science fiction and fantasy, by John Seabrook, Julie Phillips, Colson Whitehead, Margaret Atwood, and Joyce Carol Oates. Continue reading at New Yorker
[ New Yorker | 2019-12-15 11:00:00 UTC ]
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