Nobel prize winners and stocking fillers – 65 years in the murky waters of London publishing

Ernest Hecht set up Souvenir Press from his bedroom in 1951. Now, following the death of Lord Weidenfeld, he is the last of the group of remarkable Jewish émigrés who transformed postwar British publishingA 65th birthday is a milestone but – now the official retirement age has been abolished – not that big a deal. A medium to large company celebrating 65 years in business is just looking for cheap publicity. But a one-man band of a company that has lasted 65 years? It’s a business in which it’s now thought only sprawling megacorps can possibly survive.And yet, still swimming merrily in the murky waters of London publishing, there amid the whales, sharks and giant squid, is this totally improbable tiddler: Souvenir Press, founded in 1951 by 21-year-old Ernest Hecht in his bedroom in Bayswater, London; still run in 2016 by 86-year-old Ernest Hecht OBE from his charmingly dotty HQ opposite the British Museum, where it has been for the past 42 years. It is an extraordinary story, to put it mildly. Related: Jewish community mark 75th anniversary of Kindertransport Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2016-04-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #lord weidenfeld #ernest hecht #british museum #extraordinary story

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Leather to be published by Amazon Encore

Written By: Philip Jones Publication Date: Tue, 26/07/2011 - 08:50 Stephen Leather's bestselling ebooks The Basement and Once Bitten are to be republished under Amazon.co.uk's Encore programme. He will join other indie writers such as Joe Konrath who have been picked by the initiative, which... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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CWA crowns winners, announces longlists

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Mon, 25/07/2011 - 09:16 The longlists have been revealed for the Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards as the Crime Writers Association (CWA) awarded a number of Daggers at the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival. Authors including Mo Hayder, S J... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Orion to publish Where's Asterix?

Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Fri, 22/07/2011 - 14:05 Asterix the Gaul is the latest character to get Where's Wally?-style treatment, with the publication of Where's Asterix? (hb, £8.99) coming from Orion, the series' UK licensor, in September. The book has already been... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Indigo fires Canadian publishers' anger over changing terms

Written By: M J Deschamps in Ottawa Publication Date: Fri, 22/07/2011 - 15:02 Canadian publishers have attacked the decision by Indigo Books & Music, the country's biggest bookshop chain, to stock fewer books and evaluate returns on a shorter time frame. They claim it is putting extra... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Conde Nast, Other Publishers Look to Standardize Audience Metrics In Digital Editions

Digital editions, the oft-dubbed “Wild West” of the publishing world, may be charted in the near future. Many publishers are investing large amounts of time and resources to navigating user behavior in tablet editions of magazines, and this data is being used in a variety of ways. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-07-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Lee Child wins Crime Novel of the Year

Publication Date: Thu, 21/07/2011 - 21:09 Lee Child has been awarded the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year for his Jack Reacher thriller 61 Hours (Transworld), beating authors including Mark Billingham who has won the prize twice before. It is the first time Child has won the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Fnac announces five-year plan

Written By: Barbara Casassus Publication Date: Wed, 20/07/2011 - 14:20 French cultural product chain Fnac has announced a new five-year strategic plan to help lift flagging sales as consumer habits change and competition from the internet erodes traditional markets. Called Fnac 2015, the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Natmag poaches Grazia publisher Ella Dolphin for Cosmo

Ella Dolphin, the publisher of Bauer Media title Grazia, is to join Cosmopolitan as publishing director. Continue reading at Media Week

[ Media Week | 2011-07-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishers Association plans second digital survey

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Tue, 19/07/2011 - 17:41 The Publishers Association is launching its second digital survey this year and could introduce a quarterly digital survey by 2012. The trade body said the survey came in response to the "significant growth" in digital sales,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishers and E-Commerce: Perfect Together

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[ Folio Magazine | 2011-07-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Children's publishing "haemorrhaging talent"

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[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ebury to publish Armistice poetry collection

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[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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E-textbooks are destroying the old publishing business model

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[ Betanews | 2011-07-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Oxford poetry professor up for Forward prize

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[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishers seek second half upturn to 2011

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[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Cinchcast Launches Audio Platform Cloud Solution for Digital Publishers

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[ Folio Magazine | 2011-07-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Dikötter scoops Samuel Johnson Prize

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[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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French publisher La Martinière joins the iBookstore.

Written By: Barbara Casassus Publication Date: Wed, 06/07/2011 - 07:32 La Martinière is the latest French publisher to sign up to sell ebooks through Apple’s iBookstore. About 150 La Martinière and Seuil titles are available so far, with another 300 expected to follow by the end of the summer,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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London Magazine asks for bookshop votes

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[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ AllThingsD | 2011-07-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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