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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Santa Monica Public Library Reads THE HATE U GIVE

A reader attended the Santa Monica Public Library's book club discussion about THE HATE U GIVE and shares the library's list of further reading. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2019-09-16 10:33:34 UTC ]
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A Reading List Inspired by DOWNTON ABBEY: THE MOVIE

The DOWNTON ABBEY movie premieres in the U.S. on September 20, so we've rounded up a list of books with similar themes for fans of the show. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2019-09-16 10:32:23 UTC ]
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5 Historical Fiction Books to Read If You Don’t Like Historical Fiction

Think you don't like historical fiction? Try these books out and prove yourself wrong. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2019-09-14 10:33:10 UTC ]
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'What Should I Read Next?'

How publishers’ increasingly restrictive e-book policies could undermine a key public library reference service. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-09-13 04:00:00 UTC ]
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WIRED's 13 Must-Read Books for Fall

From the *Handmaid's Tale* sequel to Edward Snowden's memoir, the upcoming book season is looking deadly serious. Up to and including lesbian necromancers. Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2019-09-12 13:00:00 UTC ]
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Three Must-Read Novels About Artists

A psychological thriller about the money-driven contemporary art world, David Hockney in focus, and a searing graphic novel about Jean-Michel Basquiat. The post Three Must-Read Novels About Artists appeared first on The Millions. Continue reading at The Millions

[ The Millions | 2019-09-11 16:00:57 UTC ]
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Reading ‘Ducks, Newburyport’ is mentally taxing — and physically exhausting

Lucy Ellmann’s novel is a 1,000-page single sentence, and it was just shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2019-09-11 12:30:00 UTC ]
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August Religion Bestsellers: Daily Readings Dominate; ‘Overcomer’ Takes #1

Four devotionals, including Sarah Young’s classic 2004 ‘Jesus Calling,’ made the top 10 on PW’s Religion Nonfiction bestsellers list; 'Overcomer' tops as the new film of the same name debuts in theaters. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-09-11 04:00:00 UTC ]
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DK signs seven-minute workouts from YouTube fitness guru Wyndham-Read

DK has acquired The Seven-Minute Body Plan by personal trainer and YouTube star Lucy Wyndham-Read. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-09-10 10:46:04 UTC ]
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Jamie Oliver scores hat-trick as Veg sales grow

Jamie Oliver’s Veg (Michael Joseph) has continued to prove fruitful in its third week in the UK Official Top 50 number one spot, with its volume through Nielsen BookScan’s TCM rising 22.5% week on week to 37,951 copies sold. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-09-10 10:23:31 UTC ]
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Booker Prize authors to meet Front Row listeners in new BBC coverage

BBC Radio 4 series "Front Row" has announced Booker Prize-shortlisted authors will meet its listeners as part of new plans to cover the award. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-09-09 07:33:32 UTC ]
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Quick Reads returns with Adam Kay and Candice Carty-Williams

Adam Kay has created a special Quick Reads version of his bestselling This is Going to Hurt (Picador) for the first intake of the bitesize book range since Jojo Moyes saved the scheme from closure. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-09-08 03:31:15 UTC ]
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How Susan Sontag Influenced Patti Smith’s Reading Life

“She advised me to read more German authors,” says the writer and singer, whose latest memoir is “Year of the Monkey.” Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2019-09-05 09:00:00 UTC ]
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Reading Women Discuss Indigenous Women Writers from Around the World

To introduce Reading Women‘s theme this month, Kendra Winchester and Jaclyn Masters discuss books by and/or about Indigenous women, including Joy Harjo’s An American Sunrise, the anthology Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia, edited by Dr. Anita Heiss, Rebecca Roanhorse’s Trail of Lightning, and... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2019-09-04 08:46:57 UTC ]
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Review: Two pros aim to make reading fun for kids in 'How to Raise a Reader'

Want your child to love reading? Two New York Times children's book editors give tips on making reading a pleasurable experience Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-08-30 18:10:32 UTC ]
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Immigrant tales to read and embrace

These immigration stories explore our shared history — a reading list for all ages Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-08-30 17:32:27 UTC ]
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What we're reading August 2019

Lowborn by Kerry HudsonKerry Hudson is best known for her award-winning fiction. Her first book, Tony Hogan Bought Me An Ice-cream Float Before He Stole My Ma, won the Scottish First Book Award and earned her a place on the Granta Best of Young British Novelists list. Her latest book, Lowborn,... Continue reading at British Council global

[ British Council global | 2019-08-30 08:51:45 UTC ]
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A Book Biz Insider's Letter to a (Future) Assistant

A seasoned editorial and agency assistant says a love of reading won’t get newcomers in the publishing door. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-08-30 04:00:00 UTC ]
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What to Read for #ScienceSeptember

If you love books about science, check out #scienceseptember and find a reading list of recommended books for the event here! Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2019-08-29 10:38:23 UTC ]
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A robot read 3.5 million books to find we describe women by appearance, and men by virtue.

Researchers have used machine-learning (a reading robot!) to read 3.5 million books published between 1900 and 2008, and tally all the adjectives used to describe men and women. Not surprisingly, women in books are beautiful and men are true-hearted! Yup, when positively described, women (or... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2019-08-28 13:30:07 UTC ]
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