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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Remembering Eileen Battersby

In an extract from his eulogy given at Eileen Battersby's funeral, publisher Neil Belton considers her contribution as the Irish Times' literary correspondent . Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-01-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon takes on textbook counterfeiting in 'sting operation'

Amazon is tackling sales of counterfeit textbooks on its US site after suspending the accounts of booksellers allegedly selling counterfeit books in a major online sting. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-12-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Defy Media ceases all operations following earlier struggles

After stiffing publishers on money owed from its programmatic business, Defy Media, which operates popular YouTube brands such as Smosh and Clevver, shut down Tuesday.It's unclear exactly what prompted its closure, but the digital media company had been dealing with money problems. Back in June,... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2018-11-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Minnesota Business Magazine To Cease Operations | Industry Notes

Minnesota Business Magazine Shutters Minnesota Business magazine announced that its November/December edition will be its final issue before ceasing operations. According to a reported statement by executive editor Megan Effertz in Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, the publication’s nine... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2018-10-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Frankfurt Book Fair 2018: Friends Gather to Remember Peter Mayer

Some 200 friends of former Penguin CEO and Overlook Press co-founder Peter Mayer gathered in a ballroom at the Grandhotel Hessischer Hof in Frankfurt on Tuesday to remember the late publisher. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-10-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Penguin Random House Opening Southeast Asian Operation Based in Singapore

What CEO Markus Dohle calls 'a natural extension and complement' to PRH's work in Southeast Asia, the new company will have a 50-title output at the start. The post Penguin Random House Opening Southeast Asian Operation Based in Singapore appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2018-10-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Canadian Publishing 2018: Remembering Sheila Barry at Groundwood Books

Groundwood’s new publisher, Semareh Al-Hillal, discusses sustaining the legacy of her late predecessor. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-09-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Books: Remembering Harlan Ellison, following Robert Frost and more

Hello readers. I’m Carolyn Kellogg, L.A. Times Books Editor, with what’s new in books this week. THE BIG FAREWELL It came as a surprise, I was told: Harlan Ellison died in his sleep Wednesday night at age 84. The science fiction writer — who hated it when people called him that — was sharply... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2018-06-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Scholarly Publishing Community Remembers Elsevier's Karen Hunter

The Week in Libraries, June 15, 2018: The scholarly publishing community mourns Elsevier's Karen Hunter; The EU will vote next week on a controversial change to copyright law; Net neutrality sunsets, but the fight goes on. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-06-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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iBooks Bestsellers: Clinton, Patterson Share #1 As Readers Remember Bourdain

President Bill Clinton and James Patterson share a #1 bestseller in Apple's iBooks store with 'The President Is Missing,' while the late Anthony Bourdain's memoir 'Kitchen Confidential' hits #2. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-06-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Former colleagues remember legendary Penguin chief Peter Mayer

Tributes have continued to pour in to Peter Mayer, former c.e.o. of Penguin, who has died at the age of 82. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-05-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Remembering Book Publisher Peter Mayer

Peter Mayer, former Penguin CEO and publisher of Overlook Press, died on May 11, 2018. He will be remembered around the world for his zeal for book publishing and literature. The post Remembering Book Publisher Peter Mayer appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2018-05-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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How Net-a-Porter’s 70-person content team operates online and in print

Content is a robust piece of both Net-a-Porter’s marketing and merchandising strategies: The company employs 70 people on its editorial team, and it publishes six issues of Porter’s print edition per year, which have featured celebrity cover stars like Viola Davis, Penelope Cruz and Bella... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2018-04-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Agent Toby Eady remembered at pre-LBF memorial

Friends, family and clients gathered at the Royal Over-Seas League in St James’s yesterday to pay tribute to agent Toby Eady, who died on 24th December aged 76. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-04-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Joan Silber, Frances FitzGerald, Layli Long Soldier Among NBCC Winners

Joan Silber won the fiction prize, Frances Fitzgerald won the nonfiction award, Layli Long Soldier won the poetry award and John McPhee was awarded the Ivan Sandrof Lifetime Achievement Award at the NBCC's award ceremony. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-03-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Remembering Billy Graham

Publishers and authors recall Billy Graham's significant impact on Christian publishing and his powerful, constant message of spiritual transformation through faith. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-03-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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‘Operation You,’ an AR and VR-Enhanced Children’s Book Series, Exhibits at CES

At the start of the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show week, California-based Quantum Storey Company exhibits the first title in its 'Operation You' series of children's books that come with augmented and virtual reality enhancements.  The post ‘Operation You,’ an AR and VR-Enhanced Children’s Book... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2018-01-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Joyce Marlow’s was a life to remember | Letters

The historian did important work on the Peterloo massacre and the suffragette movement, says Lindsey German, and deserves greater prominence than the failed memoir forger Clifford IrvingIt shows a somewhat strange priority that your main obituary on 27 December described the life of Clifford... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2018-01-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Unparalleled' biography of Meghan Markle's life promised by Morton

Andrew Morton is to pen an in-depth biography on Meghan Markle, who he calls a "dramatic contrast to the blushing, coy royal brides of recent history". Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-12-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Absolute genius' Michael Bond remembered at memorial service

A host of authors and illustrators, publishing chiefs, and high-profile actors were among those who remembered children's author Michael Bond CBE at a service held at St Paul's Cathedral. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-11-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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