A new collection of rejigged tales gets much closer to the spirit of these stories than the ‘traditional’ versions we’re force-fed There’s a book called Politically Correct Bedtime Stories, written by James Finn Garner, which used to be on my parents’ shelves, and is now on mine. Published in 1994, it was a massive bestseller in its time, satirising changing social attitudes and acting as an amusing corrective for the holier-than-thou: Little Red Riding Hood, for example, finds the wolf’s suggestion that it isn’t safe for a little girl to walk through the woods alone “sexist” and “offensive in the extreme… ” but, she says, “I will ignore it because of your traditional status as an outcast from society, the stress of which has caused you to develop your own, entirely valid, worldview”. It also stands as a reminder that the so-called culture wars, all that rightwing fury at the “tyranny of woke”, are simply the political-correctness-gone-mad wars of yesteryear rebranded for a new, digital age.Right-on children’s books have had a resurgence, as demonstrated by the success of series such as Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls. This autumn, children have been gifted four rejigged fairytales in the form of Vintage Children’s Classics’ new Fairy Tale Revolution series, which sees Bluebeard, Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel and The Ugly Duckling revisited by Malorie Blackman, Rebecca Solnit, Jeanette Winterson and Kamila Shamsie respectively. They are all just lovely: sweet and funny... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2020-11-04 09:00:13 UTC ]
For most of us the digital revolution started some time ago. Working in journalism for nearly 15 years means that I have seen things change enormously, but even back in the late 1990s it was clear that the web was where it was at -- or where it was going to be. Newspapers and magazines have had... Continue reading at Betanews
[ Betanews | 2013-07-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Rebecca Solnit offers a series of stories about life, health and connection, with a central thread relating to her preventative breast cancer surgery as well as her mother's Alzheimer's.Rebecca Solnit's latest book, "The Faraway Nearby" (Viking: 260 pp., $25.95), began with a delivery of 100... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-06-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The incoming boss of News Corporation's publishing business believes there are reasons to be optimistic about the print industry as its newspapers are reshaped for the digital age. Robert Thomson, who will head the 'new News Corp' once ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-06-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Malorie Blackman has been appointed the Waterstones Children's Laureate for 2013-2015, and... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-06-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Publishers and industry figures have welcomed news of Malorie Blackman’s appointment as... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-06-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The new James B. Hunt Library at North Carolina State University shows what can happen when you marry a library with cutting-edge technology and interesting design--plus an automated librarian. In a digital age where many commentators tolled the death knell for the book-bound library, we’ve... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2013-04-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
There are 866 publications in Poets & Writers’ database of literary magazines, 14 of which were added in early 2013. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-03-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Lewis Lapham, editor of Lapham's Quarterly, believes we are still in the experimental phase of digital media, waiting for the next online Shakespeare to emerge. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-02-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The Pew report assures us that, even in the digital age, libraries continue to serve a variety of functions.Perhaps the most groundbreaking aspect of “Library Services in the Digital Age,” the report released today by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project is how... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-01-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Unlike the owners of a physical tome, buyers of ebooks are licensees with lots of limitations. It's time to change the rules.There's a crass old joke about how you can never buy beer, just rent it. Who would think that the same joke applies to book buying in the digital age? Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-12-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of Google, and Jared Cohen, director of Google Ideas, will address the promises and pitfalls of a digitally connected world in a book titled “The New Digital Age: Reshaping the Future of People, Nations and Business,” due out on April 23 from Knopf. Continue reading at AllThingsD
[ AllThingsD | 2012-12-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The Audit Bureau of Circulations in the US has become the first member of IFABC to change its name in an attempt to better reflect the changes sweeping across the publishing business in the digital age, opting for the Alliance for Audited Media. Continue reading at Media Week
[ Media Week | 2012-11-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Members of the public have voted Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? by Jeanette Winterson (... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-10-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Writers Aminatta Forna, Kamila Shamsie, Paul Theroux and Henning Mankell have given support to a... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-10-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The front page of the New York Times Book Review has always been—and continues to be—a much coveted spot for authors and publishers alike. But just how much does a Book Review cover affect a book’s sales in today’s publishing climate—does the revered paper publication still move units in the... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-07-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Even in the digital age, Barnes & Noble can’t avoid the headache of returns. Although the company posted lots of positive results for the year-end and fourth quarter of fiscal 2012, the number most analysts seem to focus on was Nook segment sales for the fourth quarter, which fell 10.5%, to... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-06-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Nothing has challenged bricks-and-mortar bookstores to reconsider their physical space and what they carry more than the recession and the rise of ebooks. Recently, two independents announced that they will reduce their space. Third Street Books in McMinnville, Ore., which expanded in 2006, is... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-04-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Historically slow to innovate their products and their editorial for the digital age, a trio of UK regional news publishers is this week taking its titles to iOS tablets and mobiles in their original form. Archant of the east of England is debutin ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2012-03-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
If there was any question that copyright law in the digital age is reaching a critical point, a coalition of Web sites on January 18 offered a stark reminder. In the largest online protest in Internet history, some 7,000 popular sites went dark or otherwise altered their sites, successfully... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-02-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
In early summer 2011, Nature Publishing Group's Educational branch debuted its "born digital" textbook Principles of Biology, which would cost the student only $49 and contribute to the movement to democratize higher education with technology. Nature's approach was so different that it basically... Continue reading at Betanews
[ Betanews | 2012-02-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this