The American author was not only brilliant but also generous and kind to younger writers, writes Emma BrockesThere is that famous photo of Joan Didion, taken in Malibu in 1976, in which she leans on a deck overlooking the beach, cigarette in hand, scotch glass at her elbow, and regards her family – John Dunne, her husband, and their then 10-year-old daughter, Quintana – through lowered, side-long eyes. Like other iconic photos of Didion from the period, she is at one remove from the group, off to the side and in this case, looking not at the camera but at her family as they look at the camera. It’s the pose Didion perfected, in life as in art, and when news of her death at the age of 87 broke on Thursday, it was a shock to see another frame from that sequence surface online. In it, Didion, eyes fixed forward, smiles broadly at the camera in the conventional style – a rare glimpse behind the persona.The paradox of Didion was not unusual among writers, whose confidence is often born of a million anxieties. But her ability to operate outside herself – to measure the gap between inside and out and slyly mock any effort to conceal it – was unparalleled. She was, famously and by her own account, diffident, brittle, runtish, prone to migraines, afraid of the telephone, and as she wrote in the preface to her 1968 collection Slouching Towards Bethlehem, “bad at interviewing people”, apparent deficits that, in Didion’s hands, were of course precisely what permitted her entry to... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2021-12-24 18:44:54 UTC ]
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An important chapter in the history of American publishing was recalled, last night, at the memorial for Andre Schiffrin, in New York City. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-10-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Martha Stewart is getting out of the business of magazines -- mostly.Her company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, has struck a 10-year licensing agreement with Meredith Corp., owner of Better Homes and Gardens and Every Day With Rachael Ray, to handle the advertising sales, marketing,... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2014-10-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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John Mack Carter, one of the industry's most influential magazine editors and the longtime voice of McCall's, Ladies' Home Journal and Good Housekeeping, has died at 86 following a long battle with Parkinson's. Mr. Carter was the only person in publishing history to helm all three titles.Mr.... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2014-09-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Medium now has Substance. The popular publishing platform recently started hosting Substance, a new student publication at Mt. San Antonio College that doubles as a totally reinvented version of The Mountaineer campus newspaper. It is the first ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2014-09-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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On-demand cleaning and housework platform and iOS app Handybook has dropped the “book” from its name. It might not seem like a big deal, but CEO Oisin Hanrahan says the change will clear up some confusion. “People associated us with an actual, physical book,” he said. “We meant booking. They... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2014-09-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Joan Rivers was not only a bestselling author, but also an avid reader of some pretty serious volumes. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-09-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Can't remember the plot of that mystery you just read? A new study determines: maybe it's your Kindle's fault. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-08-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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After a three year effort, World Book Night officials said this morning they are suspending its operations. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ladies' Home Journal recently announced it will cease monthly publication of its 131-year-old print edition and become a newsstand-only quarterly with an online presence. Another storied magazine,... To view the full story, click the title link. Continue reading at Crains New York
[ Crains New York | 2014-07-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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My friend and colleague Joan Bunting, who has died aged 88, was in charge of overseas sales at Cambridge University Press (CUP) for many years. A woman of pioneering spirit and great business acumen, she was instrumental in opening up the Japanese market and in setting up CUP's Australian... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-06-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In an email sent to clients and users of Togather.com founder Andrew Kessler said the site was suspending all operations due to a dispute with its investors. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-06-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Even though Jacqueline Woodson’s latest release, Brown Girl Dreaming (Penguin/Paulsen, Aug.), is set during the 1960s and ’70s, its themes are still relevant today, especially after a controversy erupted last month over the lack of diversity in BookCon’s initial lineup of authors. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Virago Modern Classics has acquired three titles by Joan Aiken for its children’s list.... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-05-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Jo Thomas has won The Romantic Novelists' Association’s (RNA) Joan Hessayon Award for... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-05-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The book world has been stunned by the sudden death of Deborah Rogers, co-founder of Roger, Coleridge & White, and a woman who was midwife to some of contemporary fiction’s most significant authors. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Seven of the 17 titles shortlisted [see below] for the Romantic Novelists’ Association (RNA... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-04-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Writer Doris Lessing was remembered as a visionary whose writing continued to surprise and... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-04-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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One of President Barack Obama's biggest legacies will be his healthcare plan. Another, thanks to the Edward Snowden leaks, is domestic spying. But Obama has another legacy, one not so obvious, and which won't be felt until years after he's left office. The history ebooks will remember the 44th... Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2014-03-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The San Antonio Express-News will consolidate its packaging operations with the Houston Chronicle, Express-News publisher John C. McKeon announced Wednesday. Both newspapers are owned by New York-based Hearst Corp. Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2014-01-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Kaplan transformed the New York Observer and was part of the city's publishing elite during the magazine era's last golden agePeter Kaplan, who died on Friday at 59, of cancer, was an editor whose career spanned and encapsulated what one of his many employees and protégées – John Homans now at... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2013-12-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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