Poison pens: leading writers call for overhaul of UK’s Society of Authors

Literary world riven by conflict as trade union is accused of inappropriately taking sides in culture warIt is a literary row that threatens to consume the very organisation set up to protect authors’ rights. And, in spite of the involvement of three prominent names in children’s books, it has already prompted outbursts of unmistakably adult fury.Harry Potter creator, JK Rowling, Philip Pullman, author of His Dark Materials, and the poet Kate Clanchy, are among the cast members of the drama that continues to rock the Society of Authors, not to mention Joanne Harris, author of the bestselling novel Chocolat, who chairs the society’s management committee. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2022-08-21 09:00:05 UTC ]

Other news stories related to: "Poison pens: leading writers call for overhaul of UK’s Society of Authors"


Fry narrates two Max Carrados stories for Audible

Stephen Fry will voice two classic detective stories exclusively for Audible. Fry, who voiced all seven of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books, will voice The Coin of Dionysius and The Game Played in the Dark by Ernest Bramah, which features the blind detective Max Carrados who was first... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-12-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Television takes on film in the next chapter of book adaptations

Fungus the Bogeyman and Stick Man are latest book characters to go on the boxAdaptations of children’s and young adult literature are big news right now, both in film and, increasingly, on television. Mockingjay – Part 2, the climax of Lionsgate’s big screen adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ The... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-11-15 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


How Jane Austen Helped Inspire Elena Ferrante’s Disappearing Act

Elena Ferrante—the mysterious Italian writer whose Neapolitan novels have captivated the literary world with their portrait of a lifelong female friendship—has been asked many times why she keeps her identity private. She has responded with many variations on the answer that she gave Vanity Fair... Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2015-10-20 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


Publisher finds that writers' influences are mostly male

When Tramp Press asked authors submitting manuscripts to name the writers who inspire them, only 22% were female - pointing again to ‘the larger issue in the industry: our habitual dismissal of women’An Irish publisher has stoked the flames of the gender debate currently running in the literary... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-07-28 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


Ebooks are unfamiliar waters for digital pirates, according to UK survey

Publishing sector has the lowest level of illegal downloads in the entertainment industry, with book piracy at half the rate of copyright theft in film and musicFor publishers, fresh from winning a landmark ruling forcing internet service providers to block illegal ebook download sites in Russia... Continue reading at The Guardian

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


Go Set a Watchman launch excitement builds ahead of publication

Harper Lee’s unexpected companion novel to To Kill a Mockingbird has bookshops readying for huge salesRead the first chapterListen to an extract read by Reese WitherspoonFirst chapter review: A beguiling journey into the pastSix months ago, it was a book the literary world would have laughed off... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-07-11 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


Pullman: 'Amazon investigation should include author earnings'

Philip Pullman has warned that the European Commission should consider falling author income as part of its investigation into Amazon's ebook business. The author warned The Bookseller that the investigation, announced yesterday (11th June), was failing to take the role of the author into... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-06-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


No men allowed: publisher accepts novelist's 'year of women' challenge

Small press And Other Stories will produce no books by men in 2018 in answer to Kamila Shamsie’s call for direct action to beat gender bias in publishingSmall press And Other Stories has answered author Kamila Shamsie’s provocative call for a year of publishing women to redress “gender bias” in... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-06-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Kensal Rise Library re-opens after five-year battle

Kensal Rise Library is set to open for the first time in five years this weekend, with a community open day. The library was closed by Brent Council in 2011 and denied permission for a community library in the space, becoming a flashpoint for library campaigners, with authors such as Alan... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-06-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


BEA 2015: Celebrating Hijuelos—His Work Lives On

The sudden death of Oscar Hijuelos at age 62 in October 2013 was a shock to the literary world. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Death of Ion Trewin

Ion Trewin, literary director of the Booker Prize Foundation, has died. Trewin was diagnosed with cancer in October last year. His death today (8th April) was announced by the trustees of the Booker Prize Foundation. Jonathan Taylor, chair of the trustees of the Booker Prize Foundation, said:... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-04-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Pullman’s His Dark Materials released in digital format

Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series is released today (5th March) in ebook format for the first time. Penguin Random House, which owns the digital rights to the trilogy, is publishing Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass as ebooks, priced at £5.49 each. It is also... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-03-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Publishers bypass literary agents to discover bestseller talent

Cutting out the middlemen of the literary world can lead to the discovery of acclaimed authors such as Andrea BennettPublishers are playing literary agents at their own game, seeking out new talent for themselves and cutting out the industry’s powerful middlemen.Executives within HarperCollins,... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-02-22 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