Remembering Joan Didion: ‘Her ability to operate outside of herself was unparalleled’

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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How Publishers Are Using Data to Transform Their Marketing Operations

Editor's note: This article was originally published as part of a Folio: Special Report on the state of data in publishing, but we have decided to open it up to a wider audience by publishing it below. To view the full report, click the link at the bottom. The rise of big data—and the ability... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2019-07-31 19:33:50 UTC ]
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Scholastic reports operating income drop of 55%

Scholastic Inc's operating income for the fiscal year ending 31st May fell 55% to $25m (£20.3m), despite a 2% increase in revenues to $1.65bn (£1.34bn), according to its latest financial results. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-07-29 11:40:07 UTC ]
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Mobile Matters—and Publishers Must Remember That, Even When Resources Are Limited

A smartphone alert to local news publishers: Mobile matters! It matters to your readers, to your revenue streams and to Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2019-06-21 15:22:29 UTC ]
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Advantage Business Marketing Ceases Operations After 13 Years

Advantage Business Marketing—the Rockaway, N.J.-based B2B media company formerly known as Advantage Business Media until rebranding in a last-ditch pivot to marketing services a year ago—abruptly shut its doors this week, notifying its more than 50 employees that they were out of a job,... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2019-06-19 21:06:21 UTC ]
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A Field Trip to Remember (shelftalker)

48 kindergartners make an exodus from a book desert in a pair of yellow school buses. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-06-06 12:00:45 UTC ]
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Changes at Macmillan Field Sales, Operations

Tim Greco has been hired and Holly Ruck and Malati Chavali have been named to new positions at Macmillan, where the sales team has been undergoing an overhaul of late. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-06-05 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Media Can Help Fight Misinformation, Says Harvard’s Joan Donovan

Thanks to globe-spanning social platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter, misinformation (any wrong information) and disinformation (intentional misinformation like propaganda) Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2019-05-21 16:33:04 UTC ]
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D-Day Remembered and Reimagined

Publishers are offering up a range of titles to mark the 75th anniversary of one of history’s most important military operations. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-05-17 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Go West: Publisher services operation looks to UK market to fuel growth

After tasking former History Press m.d. Tim Davies to lead its expansion in the UK, Westchester Publishing Services has signed up a number of clients from this side of the Atlantic.   Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-05-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Google's CallJoy is an AI phone operator for small businesses

Around a year ago, Google unveiled Duplex, an AI-powered feature that can call businesses and book appointments for you. Ahead of this year's I/O, Google revealed the other half of the equation, a virtual customer service agent that can automatically... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2019-05-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Operating Income Soars at Amazon

The e-tailer's operating income jumped in the first quarter of 2019, rising to $4.4 billion, from $1.9 billion, in the first period of 2018. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-04-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Unbound launches crowdfunder to expand US operation

Crowdfunding publisher Unbound is launching a new funding campaign to continue its US expansion and support its UK operations.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-04-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Cranachan Publishing signs debut author Joan Haig

Scottish publisher Cranachan has signed debut author Joan Haig to its middle-grade imprint, Pokey Hat, for her first title Tiger Skin Rug. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-04-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Usborne buys Joan Aiken competition winner after three-way auction

Usborne has acquired Tim Ellis’ debut novel, winner of the 2017 Joan Aiken Future Classics Prize, in a three-way auction. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-03-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bodley Head triumphs in seven-way auction for Operation Information

The Bodley Head has snapped up Operation Information, revealing the full history of Britain’s covert propaganda operations overseas and within the UK from the 1940s to the present, in a seven-way auction.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-03-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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London Book Fair’s Jacks Thomas: ‘The Context in Which We’re Operating’

In the context of Brexit, the London Book Fair's Jacks Thomas is dedicated to the 'cross-cultural dialogue' of the industry: 'It's what books do.' The post London Book Fair’s Jacks Thomas: ‘The Context in Which We’re Operating’ appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2019-03-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Callaway Makes Sure You'll Remember Its Books

Remember Madonna’s 'Sex,' the 1992 succès de scandale that shook the publishing world? Or the Miss Spider books, TV series, and app? Both, and more, are the brainchildren of Nicholas Callaway, founder and CEO of Callaway Arts & Entertainment, which turns 40 this year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-02-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Donne Forrest Remembered

Donne Forrest, longtime rights director at Dutton Children's Books and Dial Books for Young Readers, died on January 7 at age 80. Here, some of her friends and colleagues offer tributes. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-01-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook rolls out fact-checking operation in UK

Social network brings in independent charity in attempt to tackle misinformationFacebook’s fact-checking operation is launching in the UK, with the independent charity Full Fact selected to be the first British publisher to review and rate the accuracy of content on the social network.Posts,... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2019-01-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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West plans new Wood Green co-operative bookshop

Tim West, co-founder of The Big Green Bookshop in Wood Green, plans to open a new, co-operative bookshop locally in the wake of the closure of the bricks and mortar Big Green store. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-01-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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