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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Five Ways Reading Fiction Makes You Better At Your Job

It’s no secret that successful people are readers. Reading helps you stay on top of new trends and learn techniques you can use in your career. Bill Gates and Warren Buffett each share their favorite books at the end of the year, and they’re filled with nonfiction titles. But what about... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2017-04-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Are these 'daring' books on your reading list?

This year's Baileys Prize hopefuls include one debut novelist and a previous winner. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2017-04-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The press must be protected from the internet parasites | Letters

Reward the creators, not the distributorsWill Hutton (“Are we finally reacting to the disruptive supremacy of Facebook and Google?”, Comment, last week) could have also mentioned the Gutenberg printing press, which democratised the making available of man’s creative spirit. Publishers find... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2017-04-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Authors offered $5k to join Amazon's Prime Reading

Amazon US is offering authors $5,000 upfront in lieu of royalties to incorporate their books into its unlimited reading programme for Prime members. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-03-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Read Like Your Enemies Will: Lessons in Magazine Editing From AARP’s Bob Love

A transcript of the ASME-award winning editor's keynote at this week's Folio: Association Media Summit. The post Read Like Your Enemies Will: Lessons in Magazine Editing From AARP’s Bob Love appeared first on Folio:. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2017-03-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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How to buy and read ebooks in Edge as part of the Windows 10 Creators Update

As part of the blitz of new features in the Windows 10 Creators Update (see our full review here), Microsoft has added e-reading capabilities to its Edge browser. It’s a bit quirky, given its infancy, but with a bit of practice you can be lounging by the pool with an electronic novel in no... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2017-03-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Jamie Oliver 'can't wait' to publish 5-ingredient book in autumn

Michael Joseph is publishing a new cookbook from Jamie Oliver, Jamie’s Quick & Easy 5-Ingredient Food, this autumn to tie in with an eight-part primetime TV series on Channel 4 of the same name. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-03-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Children's Books in China 2017: Juvenile & Children Reading Experience Wonderland: A New Business Model

Located in Beijing’s central business district, the two-story Juvenile & Children Reading Experience Wonderland is a full-fledged subsidiary of China Children’s Press & Publication Group. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-03-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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‘Americanah’ Wins Inaugural One Book, One New York Reading Program

After a month of voting, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s acclaimed novel was picked as the winner in the One Book, One New York program. The program promotes the reading of a single work by residents in all five boroughs of the city. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-03-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Letter: Ruth Levitt obituary

I worked with Ruth Levitt as publisher of the Macmillan Dictionary of Art, a 32-volume scholarly reference work. Over a decade, Ruth and her colleague Gillian Northcott indexed 31 volumes, some 16m words of text and many thousands of images. Their index formed the 32nd volume of the dictionary.... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2017-03-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ally Condie, Emma Donaghue, and Others Participate in 'Read-In' for Refugees

Following the latest executive order on immigration issued by President Donald J. Trump, a growing list of authors have committed to participating in #Read4Refugees, a read-in dedicated to raising awareness of, and funding to combat, refugee issues. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-03-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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International Women’s Day: Free Readings From Cambridge University Press

Citing 'education and research for everyone and by everyone,' Cambridge University Press' leadership offers pertinent readings for International Women's Day. The post International Women’s Day: Free Readings From Cambridge University Press appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2017-03-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Faith-Based Music Memoirs to Read this Spring

Waylon Jennings’s wife Jessi Colter, Steven Curtis Chapman, and Rory Feek are some of the singers sharing their life stories in titles publishing this season. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-03-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Trump's reading list

Everything President Trump has tweeted (and what it was about) March 3, 2017, 12:16 p.m. His tweets have the power to shape international relations, send stock prices up - or down - and galvanize the American public. We're watching how Donald Trump is using this platform of unfettered... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2017-03-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Reading to children needs to be 'prioritised', says Egmont

The importance of parents reading to children was discussed at the unveiling of Egmont’s new research, as findings revealed sales of pre-school and picture books had dipped. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-02-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Roth, Coetzee, Amis join in authors' letter to Trump

Philip Roth, Zadie Smith, J M Coetzee and Anne Tyler are among 65 leading writers joining with PEN America in an open letter to President Donald Trump, urging him to reconsider his travel ban against visitors from seven Muslim-majority countries. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-02-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Secondary school children's reading 'not stretched enough'

New research commissioned by school programme provider Renaissance UK claims that secondary school children fail to develop their reading levels as they should. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-02-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Beyond Reading: Saunders's 'Lincoln in the Bardo' Goes VR

Reading is an engrossing and transportive experience. But what if a book could be made even more immersive? George Saunders and actor and screenwriter Graham Sack may have found one answer: virtual reality. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-02-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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If newspapers won't check viral stories, who will listen to them about fake news? | Jasper Jackson

Media outlets published video of cyclist responding to catcallers without checking its authenticity. The race for clicks is undermining claims people should trust the newsEven as the media continues to take Facebook to task over its fake news problem, many parts of the news business are doing... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2017-02-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sourcebooks Signs Author of Wattpad's Most-Read Story of 2016

Sourcebooks has acquired worldwide English rights to 'Chasing Red,' a novel by Canadian author Isabelle Ronin, which was the most-read story on Wattpad last year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-02-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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