Mary Cowan obituary

My friend Mary Cowan, who has died aged 99, rebelled against her privileged background and in the 1930s became a communist.She was born in Edinburgh, where her father, John Jameson, was the Conservative MP for Edinburgh West. Her mother, Margaret (nee Smith), was the daughter of a master of Balliol College, Oxford. Descended from the Forster family which had owned Bamburgh Castle, Northumberland, Mary and her cousins lived in the castle during holidays.In the 1930s Mary married Anthony Cowan. After the second world war they moved to Newton, near Edinburgh, where Mary raised their four children. With little formal schooling, mainly having been tutored at home, Mary read widely and grew critical of the role of British imperialism in the Middle East and Africa, no doubt influenced by her cousins Thomas and Edward Hodgkin, authors respectively of books on Africa and Palestine.She became active in the Medical Aid Committee for Vietnam, and in her 60s went to work in Vietnam, a country she felt great sympathy for as it emerged from the war. Mary admired the resilience and fortitude of the Vietnamese people. She was much valued for her work translating Vietnamese poetry from French into English; these and some of her own poems have been published, the latter in Singing in Tune with Time: Stories and Poems about Ageing (1993) and in the Scottish magazine Cencrastus.A keen reader of the Morning Star, Mary supported progressive, anti-imperialist change everywhere – in Cuba,... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2013-12-16 00:00:00 UTC ]

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Robyn Karney obituary

Robyn Karney, who has died of cancer aged 77, was a writer on film and a literary editor. She had comprehensive knowledge of the cinema, and in the early 1980s edited the popular Octopus Books series of Hollywood studio histories. She co-wrote the Bloomsbury Foreign Film Guide (1988, with Ronald... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2018-02-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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ALA Names Mary Ghikas Executive Director Through January 2020

Mary Ghikas, interim director since August 2017, will continue to head the association through January 2020. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-01-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Chris Brookmyre and Maris Haetzman on writing crime together

Author Chris Brookmyre and his wife Dr Marisa Haetzman, discuss writing a historical crime series together under the pseudonym Ambrose Parry. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-01-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Obituary: Julius Lester

Award-winning author, educator, activist, and musician Julius Lester, known for a body of work focused on African-American culture, as well as for his fierce advocacy for books for black children by black creators, died on January 18 at the age of 78. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-01-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Mary Shelley biography to mark Frankenstein's 200th anniversary

Wren & Rock, an imprint of Hachette Children’s Group, is marking next month’s 200th anniversary of Frankenstein with a book about Mary Shelley. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-01-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Francis Wyndham obituary

Author, journalist and leading literary figure who discovered and encouraged writers including Bruce Chatwin and Alan HollinghurstFrancis Wyndham was renowned in the literary world for discovering, encouraging and befriending a string of writers who included VS Naipaul, Jean Rhys, Bruce Chatwin,... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2018-01-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Obituary: Fred Bass, 89

Fred Bass, the owner of New York City’s iconic Strand Book Store, died this morning surrounded by his loved ones. He was 89 years old. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-01-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Obituary: Brooke Goffstein

Author-illustrator and fine artist Marilyn Brooke Goffstein, whose work was published under the name M.B. Goffstein and Brooke Goffstein, died on December 20, 2017 at the age of 77. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-12-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Marie Lu on writing Batman as a teenager

American YA author Marie Lu talks to us about taking on the task of writing a Batman novel for a YA audience as part of the DC Icons series. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-12-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Corsair to publish Pulitzer-winning poet Mary Oliver

Corsair has signed three "significant" collections from the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Mary Oliver. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-12-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amelia Edwards obituary

Founding art director of Walker Books who oversaw some of the company’s great children’s classics including We’re Going on a Bear HuntAmelia Edwards, who has died aged 77, was the art director of Walker Books and one of the most important influences on children’s book publishing in the 20th... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2017-12-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Obituary: Kathleen Karr

Author Kathleen Karr, best known for her numerous historical children’s novels such as 'The Great Turkey Walk,' died on December 6 at the age of 71. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-12-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Crain’s New York Business Names Mary Kramer Group Publisher | People On the Move

The Atlantic.com taps a new deputy editor, Esquire names new literary editor, and more... The post Crain’s New York Business Names Mary Kramer Group Publisher | People On the Move appeared first on Folio:. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2017-11-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Campaign to watch: Women & Power by Mary Beard

Miriam Robinson takes a look at Profile's campaign for Mary's Beard's Women & Power. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-11-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Obituary: Sheila Barry

Sheila Barry, highly regarded publisher of Groundwood Books, died in Toronto of complications from cancer on November 15. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-11-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Obituary: Parker B. Ladd, Retired Publishing Executive, Dies

The former executive at Charles Scribner's Sons, a director of the Association of American Publishers, and cofounder of Literacy Partners died on November 14. He was 89. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-11-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Obituary: Sally Dedecker

Dedecker, who ran Sally Dedecker Enterprises after working at NAL, Simon & Schuster, and Ingram, died on November 6. She was 62. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-11-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Obituary: Roslyn Targ, Longtime Agent, Dies at 92

Roslyn Targ, a longtime Manhattan literary agent who worked with some of the biggest writers of her day and brought translated American works to Europe, died in her Greenwich Village apartment on October 29. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-11-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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