Roald Dahl is the last thing we should worry about on World Book Day | Frank Cottrell-Boyce

More important than culture-war noise are the multiple threats to British children learning to love books of any kindBack in the days when everything took place on Zooms and Teams, I was part of a World Book Day event that was livestreamed from the set of the hit musical Matlida. The set is magical: a child’s swing with an explosion of books fire-working up behind it. Now, of course, Matilda has become a battlefield in the Roald Dahl chapter of our culture wars.It is worth noting that World Book Day has always been a battlefield. Every year teachers, carers and librarians defend the joy of reading from the forces of darkness. Almost as soon as someone suggested dressing up might be fun, predator supermarkets caught the scent of anxiety on the hurrying bodies of young parents and pounced, selling them bundles of single-use Where’s Wally costumes. But schools pushed back and now instead of parades of children dressed in expensive landfill, you’ll find schools where the pupils come dressed in their pyjamas and cosy up to listen to stories, making the day into one long dreamy sleepover. I’ve been to schools where, instead of parents or carers dressing up children, children are invited to dress wooden spoons, or their classroom door. Another where the teachers sat in their classrooms reading their favourite stories and the kids could chose which one to go and listen to. There are whole school book swaps. And “home and away” reading, where children from one class go and read to... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2023-03-02 11:42:37 UTC ]
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QOTD: About Those Amazon E-Book Sales…

“As a former Amazon Associate, I can tell you that a great many sales of Kindle Books are for the 99¢ complete Dickens, etc.” –Movie critic and Web publisher Roger Ebert, providing some context for Amazon’s stat about Kindle ebooks outselling print books. Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2011-05-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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E-Book Sales Pass Print on Amazon

While the Rapture isn’t scheduled to occur until Saturday, according to members of certain religious fringe groups, it looks like doomsday has come early for publishers of print books. Amazon announced Thursday that sales of ebooks on the site have finally surpassed combined sales of hardcovers... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2011-05-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sphere acquires Seal Team Six book

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Thu, 19/05/2011 - 09:02 Sphere is capitalising on the interest surrounding the US Navy Seals following the assassination of Osama bin Laden and has acquired Seal Team Six by Howard E Wasdin and Stephen Templin. Sphere non-fiction publishing... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Independent Booksellers Book Prize shortlists unveiled

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Thu, 19/05/2011 - 12:19 Readers are being called to cast their vote for the Independent Booksellers’ Book Prize winner, after the shortlist was announced today. The annual award, which recognises works of fiction for adults and children, asks members... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Number of US physical books printed increases despite digital

Written By: Philip Jones Publication Date: Wed, 18/05/2011 - 15:57 Traditional US print book output in 2010 increased 5% in 2010, despite the huge growth in ebooks, though there was a continuing fall in the number of fiction titles published. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Michael O'Mara prescribes An Aspirin a Day

Written By: Katie Allen Publication Date: Wed, 18/05/2011 - 14:44 Michael O’Mara has acquired a title about the health benefits of aspirin written by a former GP. MOM commissioning editor Kate Moore acquired world rights in An Aspirin A Day by Dr Keith Souter from Souter’s agent Isabel... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Conde Nast’s New Address Will Be 1 World Trade Center

A decade after New York City sustained one of the largest terrorist attacks in recent American history on September 11, 2001, Conde Nast has decided to move its head quarters, 18 magazine titles and 5,000 employees to 1 World Trade Center. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-05-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Myers wants joined-up thinking over book events

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Wed, 18/05/2011 - 09:33 Dominic Myers has called on the book industry to collaborate in creating more nation-wide events like World Book Night in order to enhance the dialogue around books. The Waterstone's m.d told the Book Industry Conference forum... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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E-book price-fixing law passed in France

Written By: Barbara Casassus Publication Date: Wed, 18/05/2011 - 14:45 The French National Assembly yesterday (17th May) voted into law a bill allowing publishers to fix prices of all ebooks sold in France. The text says that retailers inside or outside France must respect the fixed prices.... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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WBN giveaway to be cut to 500,000 books

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Tue, 17/05/2011 - 15:59 World Book Night in 2012 will see 500,000 rather than 1m books given away, WBN founder Jamie Byng told Book Industry Conference (BIC) delegates this morning, as he also discussed incorporating digital and audio elements... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sticking with Books

As publishers worry about the shrinking number of physical bookstores, Levy Home Entertainment is making the case that mass merchants will be a viable alternative not only to showcase books but to sell them as well. In a presentation at the Book Industry Study Group's May 5 "Making Information... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-05-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Getting the Word Out: Audio Book Marketing 2011

The Audio Publishers Association is set to kick off its 14th annual June Is Audiobook Month campaign, designed to celebrate the industry and bring greater awareness of audiobooks. As formats and consumer habits have changed over the past 10 years—sometimes dramatically—audio publishers have kept... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-05-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishers battle for Townshend and Walliams books

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Fri, 13/05/2011 - 08:30 The Who guitarist Pete Townshend and "Little Britain" star David Walliams are the latest figures to have memoirs put in front of publishers, as the trade shows no sign of losing its appetite for celebrity autobiographies. Ed... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Transworld claims first day Madeleine sales of 40,000

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 13/05/2011 - 13:05 Transworld is reporting first day sales of at least 40,000 copies of Madeleine by Kate McCann, about the infamous disappearance of her daughter from their holiday apartment in Portugal four years ago. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Spoof kids' book to Canongate

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Fri, 13/05/2011 - 10:47 Canongate has bought a foul-mouthed gift book for exhausted parents, which has been the subject of intense hype in the United States. M.d. Jamie Byng and senior editor Francis Bickmore bought UK and Commonwealth rights,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sainsbury's grows book sales 20%

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Wed, 11/05/2011 - 08:22 Sainsbury's has singled out book sales as an area of strong growth in its most recent financial year, and has said that it will now devote more new space to "non-food ranges". For the 52 weeks to 19th March 2011, the retailer... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book sales spring back after Royal Wedding week

Written By: Philip Stone Publication Date: Tue, 10/05/2011 - 15:50 Book sales bounced back after a dire seven days in the week of the Royal Wedding in which physical book sales plummeted to an eight-year low. According to Nielsen BookScan data, spending in the seven days to 7th May was up... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book sales "well down" as general retail rises

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Tue, 10/05/2011 - 08:59 Book sales for April were "well down" in a month where general UK retail sales rose by 5.2% on last year. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) today (10th May) reported like-for-like sales were up 5.2% in value from April... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Richard and Judy extend Book Club with W H Smith

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Tue, 10/05/2011 - 16:38 W H Smith has signed an exclusive deal to extend the Richard and Judy Book Club until 2015. The high street retailer has signed a contract with the celebrity couple to personally read and recommend eight fiction titles to WHS... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Yellow Jersey hat trick at British Sports Book Awards

Publication Date: Tue, 10/05/2011 - 08:24 Random House imprint Yellow Jersey Press has scored a hat trick of wins at the British Sports Book Awards, with W H Smith also taking home the best sports book retailer prize. Catrine Clay's Trautmann's Journey won best biography, while Promised Lane by... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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