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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A cast of 350 readers will stage an 11-hour promenade performance to celebrate three-and-a-half centuries of Paradise Lost at John Milton’s cottage. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-08-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA) and digital textbook provider Kortext have bought a reading lists management system, rebus:list, from library management supplier PTFS Europe. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-08-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Former prime minister tells BBC Radio 4 that learning about the Russian revolutionary was ‘like a light going on’Tony Blair has said that he “toyed with Marxism” as a young man after being inspired by a biography of Leon Trotsky that detailed “extraordinary causes and injustices”.The former... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2017-08-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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On April Fools' Day this year, Amazon spoofed itself with an introduction to PetLexa, an animal-friendly version of its Alexa voice assistant. Now, it's actually releasing something real--audiobooks for animals. Today, Audible announced a new brand of books with Cesar Millan, a longtime dog... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2017-08-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Bodleian Library's publishing arm is set to release a collection of Jane Austen's letters which will provide "intimate glimpses" into her life after moving to Bath, aged 25. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-07-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Simon & Schuster UK is bringing a children's imprint focused on Muslim characters and stories to the UK. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-07-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Author Beverley Naidoo condemns the UK’s decision to deny an Iranian artist a visa to attend the Edinburgh festivalThe UK government’s denial of a visa to Ehsan Abdollahi (Iranian artist barred from Edinburgh festival after ‘Kafkaesque’ visa refusal, 21 July) suggests a game of snakes without... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2017-07-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Reading app Amazon Rapids has extended its offering with Signature Stories, a feature which introduces stories from its TV shows. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-07-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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‘So my $15m book deal got cancelled because a few snowflakes were upset over something I said about children. Well, diddums’This is the book people said couldn’t be published because I was so dangerous. Well, you don’t get to silence The World’s Most Dangerous Faggot that easily. Have I said... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2017-07-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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David Tennant will read the audio version of Cressida Cowell’s The Wizard of Once (Hodder Children’s Books). Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-07-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Libraries are “bracing for a book loan boom” as the Summer Reading Challenge launches this week, headed by presenter Dermot O'Leary. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-07-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The secret history between Agatha Christie and her long-standing publisher, HarperCollins, are being revealed as part of a new exhibition celebrating the company’s 200th anniversary. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-07-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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From a city-wide book exchange in Latvia to a ‘New Writers Festival’ in Greece, European book fairs have a wide array of approaches to promoting reading, revealed in an Aldus report. By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson ‘Not the Normal Book Presentation Routine’ ollowing the... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2017-07-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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From an examination of an iconic record to a behind-the-scenes look at the making of a classic movie, these releases offer a variety to baseball book lovers. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2017-07-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Readers discuss the pros and cons of open access to scientific journalsStephen Buranyi’s article on the lucrative business of academic publishing does not go far enough (How Robert Maxwell turned science publishing into a money machine, 27 June). At least academic researchers have access to... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2017-07-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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It’s summertime – that glorious season of green grass, bare feet, and lots of playtime with best friends. When it comes to summer reading, how better to celebrate than with picture books that feature exactly such joys? Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2017-07-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hello! I’m Carolyn Kellogg, books editor of the L.A. Times, and I’ve got some good reading — and listening! — for you over this long weekend. THE BIG STORY Writer Christopher Isherwood and his partner Don Bachardy wrote each other love letters that have been turned into the podcast “The Animals,”... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2017-07-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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W W Norton imprint Liveright Publishing is set to publish the "authorised and authentic" collection of Nelson Mandela's prison letters spanning the 27 years he was held as a political prisoner. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-07-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Norton imprint will publish the prison letters of former South African president and anti-apartheid revolutionary Nelson Mandela in July 2018. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-06-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Leading figures have urged the publishing industry to pool its data and money to create a cross-industry campaign about the value of books and reading. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-06-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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