John Hitchin obituary

My father, John Hitchin, who has died aged 88, was a marketing and publicity specialist in the publishing industry who spent three decades with Penguin Books, where he was responsible for a number of innovations, including the first paperback gift set and the first display “dump” bin. As Penguin’s development director in the early 1970s he also launched the Puffin school book club and persuaded Sainsbury’s to start selling books.John initially trained in retail at Harrods, becoming the haberdashery department manager there before joining Penguin in 1959. He started in Penguin’s publicity department, becoming the company’s first European representative (under Allen Lane), and then publicity manager in 1962, after which he was its first educational marketing manager, in which role he launched the Penguin Education division. It was after he became development director in 1973 that John launched the Puffin school book club. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2021-10-28 19:33:32 UTC ]

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Puffin snaps up Tom Fletcher's fourth middle-grade novel

Puffin will publish Tom Fletcher's fourth middle-grade novel, The Danger Gang, illustrated by Shane Devries, this autumn. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-21 03:19:00 UTC ]
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Marketing to kids in difficult times

Many months ago, when we all sat in our meeting rooms, sipping coffee and bouncing campaign ideas around, I don’t think any one of us marketing folk could have predicted just how much our plans would be forced to change. The effects of the national lockdown on marketing campaigns and the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-20 21:41:29 UTC ]
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Weird, Funny, Delicious Books Wanted: A Conversation with Emma Ramadan, by Veronica Esposito

Interviews Veronica Esposito Emma Ramadan is a literary translator based in Providence, Rhode Island, where she is the co-owner of Riffraff, a bookstore and bar. She is the recipient of an NEA Translation Fellowship, a PEN/Heim grant, and a Fulbright... Continue reading at World Literature Today

[ World Literature Today | 2020-05-18 18:20:27 UTC ]
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Puffin dreams big with week-long online festival

Puffin is launching a seven-day online festival in partnership with Waterstones on 8th June, The Festival of Big Dreams, featuring a range of its authors and illustrators including Jacqueline Wilson and Nick Sharratt. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-18 04:40:29 UTC ]
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National Book Tokens and Puffin launch children's writing contest

National Book Tokens and Puffin have joined forces to launch a new writing competition for children across the UK and Ireland. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-17 13:20:46 UTC ]
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THE NICKEL BOYS Book Club Questions and Reading Guide

Check out our THE NICKEL BOYS book club questions and discussion summary to help you prepare for your next book club discussion. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-05-11 10:35:51 UTC ]
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Coronavirus: Italy’s Literary Agents Form ADALI, Their First Association

Offering what they call their ‘360-degree view of the potential as well as the shortcomings of the publishing industry,’ Italy’s literary agents are organizing during the ‘critical situation’ imposed by COVID-19. By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson ‘For a New Start After the... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-05-11 03:29:40 UTC ]
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This Week's Bestsellers: May 11, 2020

Amid a global pandemic, thousands of people are reading... ‘The End of October,’ about a fictional pandemic. Plus ‘Good Morning America’ book club pick ‘Oona Out of Order’ cracks the fiction list, and the Hulu adaptation of ‘Normal People’ boosts paperback sales. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-05-08 04:00:00 UTC ]
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How Local Literary Communities Can Find Strength During Social Distancing

A local virtual book club strengthens the local literary scene, cultivates a diverse community, and celebrates the power of stories and books. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-05-06 10:32:17 UTC ]
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April 2020 found the publishing industry entering a period of unexpected change as bookshops closed and the focus turned to digital sales. The COVID-19 lockdown has forced writers to re-evaluate the future in this difficult time. As a narrative psychologist and fiction writer, I am interested... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-05 04:49:45 UTC ]
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AAP Monthly StatShot: February

Publishing industry sales rose 3.5% in the first two months of 2020 over the same period in 2019, according to data supplied to the AAP by 1,361 publishers for the organization’s StatShot report. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-05-01 04:00:00 UTC ]
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A world without bookshops

Could the coronavirus crisis and the UK lockdown be offering the publishing industry a glimpse into a world without bookshops? Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-30 02:18:22 UTC ]
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How to Join a Book Club Online

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[ Book Riot | 2020-04-28 10:35:48 UTC ]
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Industry Sales Up 3.5% in First Two Months of '20

Publishing industry sales had a nice start to 2020, rising 3.5% through February, according to AAP's StatShot program. Sales of adult books were up 2.9%, and sales in the children/young adult rose 6.3%. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-04-27 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishing Organizations Urge Public to Support Bookstores

In a joint statement released to mark World Book Day, leaders of three organizations serving the publishing industry issued a cry to support the country’s booksellers as they struggle to survive the Covid-19 pandemic. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-04-24 04:00:00 UTC ]
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This Week's Bestsellers: April 20, 2020

The #1 book in the country is ‘Magnolia Table, Vol. 2’ by Joanna Gaines, who held a shelter-in-place “book signing” on launch day. Plus Oprah Book Club pick ‘Hidden Valley Road’ by Robert Kolker lands at #5 in hardcover fiction, and Marie Kondo helps readers find the ‘Joy of Work’—at home. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-04-18 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Literature on Lockdown 2: #CultureConnectsUs

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[ British Council global | 2020-04-17 15:42:05 UTC ]
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Bluemoose's Duffy calls for industry fund to support indie presses

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[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-14 17:49:26 UTC ]
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The Silent Book Club, a global meet-up for introverts, now connects them remotely

A book club for people who don't like book clubs, founded in 2012 in San Francisco and now boasting six chapters in L.A. County, has moved online. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-04-10 14:00:07 UTC ]
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Author Fanny Singer and chef Alice Waters talk food and family with L.A. Times Book Club

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[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-04-07 20:33:16 UTC ]
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