Bookseller who transformed the perception of sports writing and set up the William Hill Sports Book awardJohn Gaustad, who has died aged 68, was a quietly spoken New Zealander who revolutionised the British sports books industry. In 1985 he opened Sportspages, a small shop in Caxton Walk, off Charing Cross Road in London; and for two decades it played an extraordinary role – part-conventional bookshop, part-social club, part-shrine – that transformed the perception of sports writing within publishing. Though Sportspages itself has gone, Gaustad’s other brainchild, the William Hill Sports Book award, lives on as testament to his vision.Born in Wellington, John was the son of Robert, an accountant, and his wife, Nancy (nee Bennett), a legal secretary. He travelled to Britain in 1974, with a philosophy degree from the Victoria University of Wellington, where he had worked in the bookshop. That experience helped him get jobs at Dillons in London and Heffers in Cambridge, where he began to think about the possibilities of niche bookselling. He settled on sport.A good sports book was a good book that happened to be about sport Related: Guardian writers nominated for William Hill Sports Book of the Year award Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2016-06-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Patricia Day Stein, who was v-p and co-founder of the book publisher Stein and Day with her then husband Sol Stein, died on July 16 in Sleepy Hollow, N.Y., of natural causes. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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When it comes to print books, sometimes innovation means returning to ancient methodologies. To wit: the creation of the new, Illuminated St. John's Bible. The post Illumination as Innovation: The New Saint John’s Bible appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-07-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Bodley Head has acquired a biography of spy Donald Maclean, written by John Murray publisher Roland Philipps. Publishing director Stuart Williams bought UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada, to A Spy Named Orphan: The Lives of Donald Maclean, from Natasha Fairweather at United... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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One of the most celebrated American novelists best known for his historical fiction whose books Ragtime and Billy Bathgate were turned into filmsAnointed “our pre-eminent lefty” among contemporary American novelists, EL Doctorow, who has died aged 84, was praised as the “epic poet” of the... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-07-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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E.L. Doctorow, the American author best known for such novels as 'Ragtime' and 'The March,' died on Tuesday at his home in Manhattan. He was 84. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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After a long struggle with cancer, the founder of Merritt Bookstore in Millbrook, N.Y., passed away on Sunday July 19. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Braman, who served as v-p and publishing director at HarperCollins, then v-p. and editor-in-chief at Henry Holt, died on July 2 of complications with breast cancer. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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James Brannigan, a well-known executive in the audiobook industry and former president of the Audio Publishers Association, passed away on June 29 after a brief illness. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The founder of Seattle Mystery Bookshop in Seattle, Wash., died on Sunday, June 28, just days before the bookstore will celebrate its 25th anniversary on July 1. He was 83. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-06-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Former American Booksellers Association CEO Avin Domnitz died of cancer on June 27. During his tenure he advanced the cause of independent booksellers, creating Book Sense (now IndieBound) and Winter Institute. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-06-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Award-winning children's author Judith St. George, widely known for her many titles drawing on events and figures of American history, died in her home in Bloomfield, Conn., on June 10. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-06-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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My friend and former colleague Belinda Hollyer, who has died aged 70, was an author of children’s books and also worked extensively in publishing.Belinda was born in Takapuna, New Zealand, to James and Dieudonnee Bracewell, who were both schoolteachers. After studying at university in Auckland... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-06-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The former Elsevier CEO is the author of a new book, Scholarly Communications: A History from Content as King to Content as Kingmaker Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-06-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Although BookCon 2015 featured appearances galore by Hollywood celebrities, the Paper Towns panel on Saturday evening surely was the highlight of this year's literary fanfest for the raucous crowd of 2,250 that filled the enormous Special Events hall. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-06-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apparently movies would suck without John Green, who is downright effusive about how the movie adaptation of his 2008 novel, "Paper Towns," turned out. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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We are going to put the con back into BookCon,” Mac Barnett, says of the pranking workshop that he is leading with his fellow expert, or, partner-in-crime, Jory John, today, noon–12:45 p.m., on the Downtown Stage. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publisher Tor says ‘we’d be nuts to decline’ 13-book contract, which will include three young adult novels alongside next instalments of Old Man’s War seriesAmerican science fiction author John Scalzi has signed a 10-year, 13-book deal with publishers Tor, which will net him $3.4m (£2.2m).Scalzi... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-05-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Exceptional service in the Second World War was a prologue to a publishing career at two influential global groups for Gordon Graham, who is remembered by former publishing analyst Eric de Bellaigue Gordon Graham, who died on 24th April 2015 aged 94, was a past president of the Publishers... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-05-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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John Murray is to publish Thing Explainer, the follow-up to Randall Munroe’s What If? In Thing Explainer: Complicated Stuff in Simple Words, Munroe uses a series of diagrams to show how a variety of things, from a nuclear bomb to a biro, work. He will use just the drawings and a vocabulary of... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-05-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Red Wheel/Weiser sales manager Margaret (Meg) Richardson died on Friday, May 8, 2015, after a brief battle with cancer. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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