Literature on Lockdown: #CultureConnectsUs

For many, staying indoors is an unsettling experience. It’s been heartening to see the imaginative leaps being taken by many organisations and artists to help us through – sitting-room gigs, free theatre streams, virtual tours of museums and archives and galleries – but given the limitless choice of the internet, sometimes it’s hard to find your way around.Tonight, for example, you’re meant to be watching the ballet with one friend, seeing a play with another, while a third FaceTimes you so you can cook a new recipe together. You’ll almost wish it was a regular weekend again; one where you lie face-down on the floor, accuse your partner of something you know they didn’t do, and complain about how you’ve spent all day staring at a screen.So now, in these overwhelming, overloaded times, it’s the perfect opportunity for the British Council Literature team to launch our new blog series, Literature on Lockdown. For while books have never been the flashiest art form, book people are experts in the art of being alone. We know better than almost anyone how one person can find an intense connection, an exciting new idea, or a more vibrant world than the one outside their window, by quietly spending time with the work of another.The British Council Literature blog will offer you a path through the wealth of corona-content, presenting an overview of the different ways the literature community – in the UK and internationally – is continuing: how they are fostering relationships... Continue reading at 'British Council global'

[ British Council global | 2020-04-06 11:36:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #taking part #pen transmissions #english pen #south africa #historical fiction #daniel hahn #latest issue #julia donaldson #online activities #book group #book tour #book people

Other Publishing stories related to: 'Literature on Lockdown: #CultureConnectsUs'


Blackwell's drops click and collect in almost all stores as lockdown hits

Blackwell's is the latest bookseller to announce it has closed its stores during the new lockdown and will not be offering click and collect, with the exception of its Oxford branch. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-06 09:24:14 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bookseller


BA welcomes support grants for shops closed by lockdown

The Booksellers Association has welcomed an announcement that shops forced to close because of England's lockdown are eligible for one-off grants of up to £9,000. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-06 06:42:08 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #booksellers association


Lockdown made our library better

My name is Marion Tessier and I work at Kingston Libraries.  This year has been really stressful but also very exciting. I had the opportunity to use skills I developed before but never got to use for concrete projects, as well as learning new skills and discovering new tools and resources.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-05 17:21:01 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #lockdown made


BA urges government support over 'severe' impact of new lockdown

The Booksellers Association has warned the effect of a new lockdown could be “severe” and has called for government to support retailers. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-05 04:45:51 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #booksellers association


Waterstones abandons click and collect and closes its stores over lockdown

Waterstones is temporarily closing its stores due to the latest lockdown, furloughing staff and no longer offering a click and collect service. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-04 21:49:21 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #latest lockdown #collect service #temporarily closing


African Literature and Digital Culture

IN THE 21ST CENTURY, digital literary culture originating from the African continent has exploded. I still remember the early years, when Kindles first came into our lives and everyone was weighing in on whether ebooks were going to mean the death of literature. Back then, everything was fresh... Continue reading at Los Angeles Review of Books

[ Los Angeles Review of Books | 2021-01-04 18:00:58 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #african literature #digital culture #21st century #african continent #early years #ebooks


Print market soars following second lockdown

For the first full week following the lifting of lockdown restrictions in early December, the print market sold 9.17 million books for £84.7m through Nielsen BookScan's Total Consumer Market—15% up in volume and 17% in value against the same week in 2019. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-12-20 21:38:05 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #full week #lockdown restrictions #early december #nielsen bookscan #nielsen


Welsh bookshops to close from Christmas Eve in new lockdown

Non-essential shops will be closed in Wales from the end of Christmas Eve trading as part of fresh lockdown restrictions, it has been announced. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-12-17 04:46:06 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #welsh bookshops #christmas eve #non-essential shops


World Literature Today’s 75 Notable Translations of 2020, by Michelle Johnson

Lit Lists Literary translation’s 2020 story is one of abundance and adaptation. Like most books published this year, dozens of new translations were published during a global pandemic. Events quickly moved from bookstores to Zoom. Writers and... Continue reading at World Literature Today

[ World Literature Today | 2020-12-14 20:55:17 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #fig tree #dubravka ugrešić #memoir


John le Carré, who lifted the spy novel to literature, dies at 89

A onetime British spy, he used the Cold War as his canvas in such novels as “The Spy Who Came in From the Cold” and “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.” Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-12-13 10:56:56 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #cold war


Booksellers bolstered by record sales after lockdown

Bookshops have reported a pre-Christmas bonanza in the days since England's lockdown ended, with some seeing record sales. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-12-08 00:21:48 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #lockdown ended #record sales


Nobel literature prize winner Louise Glück to publish new poetry in 2021

The poet, whose acceptance speech will also be released on Monday, will publish Winter Recipes from the Collective in 2021Nobel laureate Louise Glück is set to publish her first poetry collection in seven years in 2021 – her first since becoming the 16th female winner of the literature... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-12-07 11:00:36 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #poetry collection #acceptance speech #previously won #pulitzer prize #gold medal #american academy #literature prize


Foreign rights agency Books Everywhere expands under lockdown

A foreign rights consultancy agency launched during the first UK lockdown has managed to expand during the second. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-26 02:20:22 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Lockdown drives 'explosive' online sales across formats, says BookStat's Abbassi

The past six months have seen “explosive” online sales with print books up by 45%, e-books by 30% and audio increasing 28%, according to figures from Bookstat c.e.o. Paul Abbassi. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-19 01:00:03 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #paul abbassi #online sales #print books


Nielsen details lockdown impact on audio consumption at FutureBook

Lockdown was a key factor driving new consumers to try audiobooks in 2020 and helped increase listening among longer term listeners, according to hot-off-the-press data from Nielsen. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-18 01:26:41 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Lockdown's online shift fuelling 'crazy' market for big name authors, Redmayne says

A “seismic shift” to online shopping during the pandemic has fuelled a “crazy” market for acquisitions of big names, HarperCollins UK c.e.o. Charlie Redmayne has said. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-17 23:24:16 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #big names #charlie redmayne #seismic shift #online shopping #harpercollins uk #harpercollins


Code Name Bananas keeps top spot as lockdown hits data

David Walliams and Tony Ross' Code Name Bananas (HarperCollins) has swung into a second week in the UK Official Top 50 number one spot.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-17 15:53:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bananas harpercollins #david walliams #tony ross


SelfMadeHero launches Draw Your Bookshop lockdown campaign

Graphic novel publisher SelfMadeHero is launching a social media campaign calling for artists to support bookshops with a drawing of their favourite store. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-17 06:10:11 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #publisher selfmadehero #support bookshops #graphic novel #bookshop


The Bookseller survey: working during a second lockdown

With most of the British Isles going back into lockdown over the past few weeks, The Bookseller is inviting people from across the trade to share their thoughts and experiences. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-09 01:38:36 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bookseller survey #british isles #bookseller