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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PW's Most-Read Cooking Stories of 2016

From cocktails on the Lower East Side to dinner with Dalí to Anthony Bourdain at home, here are our top cookbook stories of the year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-12-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Reading Up on the Holidays: Book Recommendations From the Field

Our international publishing colleagues tell us which books are on their holiday gift lists this year. We wish you happy holidays and a wonderful New Year. The post Reading Up on the Holidays: Book Recommendations From the Field appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-12-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Eva Longoria Will Read You Your Favorite Book: It's Last Night's New Ads

Every weekday, we bring you the Ad Age/iSpot Hot Spots, new and trending TV commercials tracked by iSpot.tv, a company that catalogs, tags and measures activity around TV ads in real time. The new releases here ran on TV for the first time yesterday. The Most Engaging ads are showing sustained... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2016-12-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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PW’s 10 Most-Read Religion Stories of 2016

From the ever-changing terrain of Christian fiction to a preview of religion books getting big-screen adaptations, here are PW’s most-read religion and spirituality stories of 2016. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-12-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hot Books for the Holidays in Paris: Love Letters to a Mistress

Selling well in France, controversial François Mitterand books, love letters for the former president's mistress, are on offer to international publishers. The post Hot Books for the Holidays in Paris: Love Letters to a Mistress appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-12-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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More than 1.8 million teens are reading books by text messages thanks to this startup

OK, it's not exactly Dickens. But how about a great story delivered to you by text message? Continue reading at Stuff

[ Stuff | 2016-12-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A cosy consultation which will pander to the press | Letters

We read with interest Jane Martinson’s article (Paul Dacre to step down as chair of journalists’ code of practice committee, 1 December). The article notes that culture secretary Karen Bradley has launched a 10-week consultation into press regulation. As teachers and researchers in media and... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2016-12-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Putting reading centre stage

Sheikha Bodour Bint Sultan Bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, founder and c.e.o. of Sharjah publishing house Kalimat Group and founder of the Emirates Publishers Association, tells Benedicte Page about some of the latest initiatives taking place in the United Arab Emirates, including the new national... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-11-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Participation in Summer Reading Challenge falls 4%

The number of children taking part in the Summer Reading Challenge fell 4% this year, although percentage of under-4s participating rose 12%. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-11-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Macmillan Expands Scope of Swoon Reads

Launched in 2013 as a crowd-sourced, paperback teen romance line, Feiwel and Friends' Swoon Reads will now publish novels across all YA genres and formats. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-11-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A new way to read the Bible: as graphic novel

Christian publisher Kingstone recently released a 2,000-page graphic novel adaptation of the Old and New Testaments, which it claims is the world's longest graphic novel. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2016-11-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Post-Election Reading: Bookseller Picks

Booksellers from across the country on what they are recommending to their customers, from escapist fiction to insightful nonfiction to help understand, well, what just happened. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-11-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Between the sheets: Banned books censors didn't want you to read

The books struck out by the censors for being 'damaging to young minds', too political or simply too sexy. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2016-11-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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UAE brings in National Law of Reading

The United Arab Emirates has brought in a National Law of Reading, putting legislative frameworks in place to support the development of reading across the UAE. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-11-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Zombies Ate My Library: a love letter to libraries

On Saturday teenagers take over libraries in the West Midlands for A Place Free of Judgement with artists Blast Theory. Author Tony White talks about working on this love song to libraries. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-10-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Watch Today, Read Today: Book Tie-Ins Are Hitting the Market Faster

Publishers are accelerating the development cycle for licensed tie-ins to satisfy consumer demand. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-10-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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What 8 Creative Chiefs Are Reading Right Now

Between client meetings, brainstorm sessions and pitch preparations, time is sparse for chief creative officers, but that doesn't mean they're too busy to energize their creative juices by squeezing in reading time. Check out what books (or audiobooks), in genres from mystery and thriller to... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2016-10-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Frankfurt Book Fair 2016: PW Talks to Pew Research Center’s Lee Rainie about Reading in the Digital Age

It's been a disruptive decade for the book business, but Pew's latest research suggests that Americans' reading habits have remained relatively stable. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-10-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Russian Book Chamber Parses Reading Patterns, Sales

'By all accounts, popular literature is in the lead' among Russian readers, according to new results from a survey reported by Russia Behind the Headlines. The post Russian Book Chamber Parses Reading Patterns, Sales appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-10-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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