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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JKP to publish letters from trans women

Jessica Kingsley Publishers is to publish Letters From Your Trans Sisters – a collection of letters written by successful trans women for other trans women at the start of their transition - edited by trans activist Charlie Craggs. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-02-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Scholastic’s Kids & Family Reading Report: Insights From the US, UK, India and Australia

With new attention to diversity issues, Scholastic's sixth biennial survey adds an Australian edition, and looks extensively on reading aloud at home. The post Scholastic’s Kids & Family Reading Report: Insights From the US, UK, India and Australia appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2017-02-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Top 10 Trends in Reading and Book Apps for Children

Spain's Elisa Yuste talks us through leading concepts and directions in apps for kids and young adults in the coming year, including more apps for 'Android kids.' The post Top 10 Trends in Reading and Book Apps for Children appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2017-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Nielsen on Consumers: More Boys May Be Reading

In a look at how consumer research can focus on a given demographic, Nielsen Book's Jo Henry reveals signs that boys aged 9 to 12 may be reading more. The post Nielsen on Consumers: More Boys May Be Reading appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2017-01-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Childwise report says print reading declines in teen years

Children aged 9-16 spend as much time reading online as reading print materials, although the number of young people reading books, comics and magazines drops in the teenage years, according to a new report. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-01-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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10 Great Westerns You've Never Read

Andrew Hilleman, author of the thrilling new western "World, Chase Me Down," picks 10 diamonds in the rough. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-01-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Letters on Growing Up Muslim: PW Talks to Omar Saif Ghobash

The ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to Russia addresses extremist propaganda and other challenges modern Muslims face in ‘Letters to a Young Muslim.’ Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-01-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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France stages inaugural 'Reading Night'

France’s inaugural Reading Night on Saturday (14th January) was a “great success,” according to the culture ministry, which initiated and partially subsidised the event. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-01-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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‘It helps build that daily habit’: Publishers use Instant Articles bundle for daily must-reads

Facebook Instant Articles update, allowing publishers to post multiple articles in each post, is a way of replicating daily email newsletters right in Facebook’s platform. Ten publishers, among them BuzzFeed, The Washington Post, The Sun and El País, are testing out the new feature before a... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2017-01-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Podcasts We Listen to Right Now

In this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, the Culture Gabfesters talked about their favorite podcasts, how their listening habits changed in 2016, and what kinds of books work well as audiobooks. They also get Steve to explain why he’s never developed a podcast-listening habit. This discussion... Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2017-01-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Are Obama's happiest reading days just ahead?

Like other ex-presidents, Obama is now freer to enjoy the great pleasure of a good book.  Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2017-01-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Duggal's debut novel to be championed by City Reads

A debut novel from British Asian writer Sharon Duggal will be championed by City Reads 2017 in the Brighton and Hove area. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-01-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Poetic injustice and literary look aheads | Letters

Thank you for telling us once again which books we need to read over the next 12 months (Book ahead, Review, 7 January). But how do you know? Presumably no one at the Guardian has read all these books, since they have not yet been published. Nor, it is fair to assume, have you read all the other... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2017-01-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Kobo acquires Tolino e-reading platform

Rakuten Kobo will take over the German Tolino ebook platform from Deutsche Telekom at the end of this month, pending approval from the German competition authorities. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-01-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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PW’s 5 Most-Read Publishing News Stories of 2016

Among the most-read news stories on our website were our coverage of the increase in bookstore sales in the first six months of 2016 and stories related to book discoverability. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-12-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book and Reading Data Points from Amazon.com

The bestselling books over the holidays at the e-tailer were 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Double Down,' 'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,' and a children's backlist book. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-12-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Most-Read Adult Book Reviews of 2016

We review more than 8,000 books per year, and these were the 10 most-read reviews of books published in 2016. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-12-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The 50 Most Read Technology Stories on Adweek.com in 2016

As we wind down for the holidays, we're looking back at the stories that were most popular among Adweek.com readers over the course of the year. Today, we look at stories from our Technology channel. 50. Facebook Vertical Video Ads Just Went Live and Are Evidently Producing Great Results 49.... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2016-12-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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You Can Now Listen to Live Audio Content on Facebook

Facebook Live isn't just for video. Today the social network launched a new feature dubbed Live Audio that lets users listen to broadcast voice recordings, pushing more audio-only content into newsfeeds. Similar to Facebook Live videos, users can go live from the Facebook app by pressing a... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2016-12-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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