"Let’s clarify what free speech is and is not": An open letter to the industry from Pride in Publishing

Being a book publisher comes with a set of tough moral responsibilities. You provide livelihoods for authors and booksellers, your hiring decisions can greatly influence how UK culture is shaped, and you’re also a company with a duty of care towards your staff. Sometimes these duties come into conflict, and when that happens - as we’ve seen recently with Hachette’s response to some of their staff objecting to working on JK Rowling’s new children’s book - the reflexive instinct is to retreat behind the defence of free speech. Continue reading at 'The Bookseller'

[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-23 03:23:48 UTC ]

Other news stories related to: ""Let’s clarify what free speech is and is not": An open letter to the industry from Pride in Publishing"


Waterstones reveals 'richly diverse' Book of the Year shortlist

The shortlist for the Waterstones Book of the Year 2015 has been revealed, featuring a list that would  "not have been produced by an algorithm,” the chain's m.d. James Daunt has said. The eight-strong selection nominated by Waterstones booksellers across the UK encompasses four novels, three... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-11-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Galbraith among Brits up for book prize

JK Rowling's pseudonym Robert Galbraith, Ian McEwan and BBC journalist Kirsty Wark make the longlist for the world's richest literary prize, the International Impac Dublin Literary Award. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2015-11-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Harry Potter magic continues at Bloomsbury as sales grow

Magician series among children’s books boosting revenue at publishing house, with pre-tax profits at £1.9m Harry Potter publisher Bloomsbury has reported a jump in half-year sales after a strong performance from educational and children’s books. Sales were up 11.6% to £52.7m in the six months to... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-10-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Sequel play to pick up where final JK Rowling book left off

A new play will pick up the story of Harry Potter where the seventh and final volume of JK Rowling's saga left off, with a plot involving a grown-up Harry and his youngest son, Albus. Continue reading at Stuff

[ Stuff | 2015-10-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Funny best-selling kids' author Andy Griffiths in New Zealand

More popular here than JK Rowling, No 1 children's author Andy Griffiths is in New Zealand meeting fans and signing books to promote his much-loved Treehouse book series. Continue reading at Stuff

[ Stuff | 2015-10-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Pharrell, publisher donate books to kids in need

Pharrell Williams and his book publisher have launched a "Happy" campaign for young readers. Continue reading at Stuff

[ Stuff | 2015-09-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


CILIP open letter urges Birmingham to reconsider library cuts

Nick Poole, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Library & Information Professionals (CILIP), has written an open letter to Birmingham City Council, urging it to keep its libraries open and professionally staffed.   Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Gibbons reissues call for head-to-head debate with Vaizey

Author and library campaigner Alan Gibbons has issued an open letter to culture minister Ed Vaizey, renewing his call for the politician to engage in a full public debate on the future of the public library service as the “situation is critical”. Gibbons first issued a challenge to Vaizey... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Student blog: success and serialisation

Big successes in the publishing industry come in threes…or fours, fives, and sixes. Serialisation is a key factor in developing brands and launching star authors such as JK Rowling and George RR Martin. Publishing a series means each successive book accumulates a larger readership (propagated... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


The Girl on the Train breaks all-time book sales record

Paula Hawkins’s novel has now been top of the UK hardback book chart for 20 weeks, outlasting even Dan Brown’s Lost Symbol• How Paula Hawkins wrote ‘the new Gone Girl’A record set six years ago by Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol was broken this week by Paula Hawkins’s dark thriller The Girl on the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Harper Lee elder abuse investigation closed

An investigation into potential elder-abuse of author Harper Lee - sparked by the surprising announcement that she would publish a new book - has been closed, with no findings of any abuse, officials say. Continue reading at Stuff

[ Stuff | 2015-04-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


At AAP Annual Meeting Speakers Tackle Technology, Free Speech

Three topics that publishers have been dealing with in recent years--technology, data, and free speech--were addressed in a series of lively presentations at the Association of American Publishers’ annual meeting. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-03-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Belle Gibson's book publisher never verified cancer survivor's health claims

Penguin says it published The Whole Pantry ‘in good faith’ and never checked Gibson’s claims she cured her brain cancer through diet and lifestyle aloneThe publisher of a recipe book has admitted to never fact-checking claims made by the author that she survived terminal brain cancer through... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-03-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Legality of Spotify’s lyrics feature called into question

The real-time lyrics feature that Spotify added to its desktop app this past week hasn’t impressed the U.S. karaoke industry. Joseph C Vangieri, the CEO of DigiTrax, has called it “unfair competition for us American ‘Karaoke’ companies.”Lest you think that he has a beef with Spotify, know that... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2015-03-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


New Harry Potter covers – in animated gifs

To celebrate Harry Potter Book Night we have a mesmerising insight into how Jonny Duddle created new Harry Potter covers for JK Rowling’s beloved series. So feast your eyes and enjoy these process animationsPlus win a complete set of the newly illustrated Harry Potter books in hardback – find... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-02-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Journalists back in the firing line as digital media struggles to protect its own

As it has become harder to censor individual journalists and independent teams, the intimidation, violence and imprisonment has increasedIn a rather dark hotel meeting room, halfway up a Swiss mountain, editors and publishers are having a heated debate about the freedom of the press. This is the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


TV books programmes: if nobody watches them, make better ones

The novelist Robert Harris was right to call the BBC’s lack of a books show a ‘disgrace’. There’s plenty the corporation could do to make a popular literary programme on TVWith injury, there is always a little insult. When a BBC spokesperson, responding to Robert Harris’s complaints at the Costa... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-01-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Living With My Fear of Amazon, Destroyer of Worlds

I buy a lot of stuff from Amazon. Chances are you do, too.I used to feel pretty good about the e-tailer. Now, increasingly, I feel a little dirty every time I patronize it.For one thing, its nearly yearlong price-setting war with Hachette -- which quietly wrapped up in December with Amazon more... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2015-01-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Bestselling books 2014: the kids are all right

Books for children and young adults are top of the league, bagging seven of this year’s top 10, but non-fiction has endured another annus horribilisSee the chart in fullAt long last, kids ruled in 2014. Books aimed at them have often figured in the top 10 of the all-year sales chart for printed... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-12-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


PEN Pushes Sony to Release 'The Interview'

With questions still lingering about Sony Pictures's release plans for the Seth Rogen comedy 'The Interview,' after the studio suffered a cyber attack and a terrorist threat issued by the North Korean government, the PEN American Center has published an open letter to Sony CEO Michael Lynton,... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-12-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this