Author of the 1970s cult bestseller Zen and the Art of Motorcycle MaintenanceWhen, in 1968, Robert Pirsig, who has died aged 88, sent a synopsis and sample of his novel Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance to 122 publishers, only one showed any interest, and James Landis, the editor who responded from William Morrow, warned him not to expect either a large advance or big sales. But within a month Pirsig set off on his Honda Super Hawk, accompanied by his young son, Chris, and friends John and Sylvia Sutherland, on the 17-day journey from Minneapolis to San Francisco that, six years, two drafts and some 700,000 words later, became the basis of an immediate bestseller. Millions of readers were drawn to this guidebook for the transition of a culture from the rebellious 1960s to the “me generation” of the 70s.George Steiner’s New Yorker review, titled Uneasy Rider, famously compared the book to Herman Melville’s sprawling masterpiece Moby-Dick; other reviewers mentioned Thoreau, whose American transcendentalism also sought to link everyday life and the metaphysical. In a road novel in the spirit of Jack Kerouac’s On the Road, Pirsig drew on the aphoristic humour of hippy writers such as Richard Brautigan. “Metaphysics is a restaurant where they give you a 30,000-page menu and no food,” he wrote. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2017-04-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Dick Donahue, retired features editor at 'Publishers Weekly,' died on July 5 at his assisted living residence, the Beth Abraham Center in the Bronx. He was 79. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-07-15 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Peter Quandt, a former president and CEO of Macmillan Book Clubs and the K-III Education Group, has died of cancer in Chappaqua, N.Y. He was 71. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-07-14 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Egmont has snapped up a picture book of "The Great Realisation", Tomos Roberts' poem in response to Covid-19 that has been viewed more than 60 million times since it was posted online in April. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-29 12:53:30 UTC ]
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Felicity Bryan, founder of Felicity Bryan Associates and one of Britain’s most respected literary agents, died June 21 of cancer. She was 74. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-06-22 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The comic book’s creators will return for a one-issue story focusing on Negan, one of the villains of the series, in hopes of aiding comic book retailers. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2020-06-18 16:00:10 UTC ]
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Robert Granfeldt has been named general manager of the Midland Reporter-Telegram and Texas Panhandle properties for Hearst Communications. The Panhandle Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2020-06-16 21:40:30 UTC ]
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Children's author Stella Pevsner, widely known for her middle grade and YA novels that often addressed difficult subjects, died on June 11 at age 98. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-06-16 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Veteran book publishing copy editor and actor India Cooper died on May 17 in Madison, Ind., after a brief illness. She was 67. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-06-02 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Children's book author and journalist Karen Blumenthal, widely recognized for her works of narrative nonfiction addressing complicated subject matters, died on May 19 in her hometown of Dallas, following a heart attack; she was 61. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-05-21 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Thomas Low, co-founder and CEO of multicultural children's publishing house Lee & Low Books, has died of cancer, his family confirmed; he was 78. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-05-19 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Longtime literary agent and left-wing activist Frances Goldin died May 16. She was 95. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-05-18 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Bill Shannon, contracts director for the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, died May 9 after an extended illness from complications of kidney cancer. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-05-13 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Irv Myers, a respected publishing logistics expert for such companies as Waldenbooks, Rowman & Littlefield/NBN, and New Leaf, died May 7 of a heart attack. He was 68. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-05-11 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Jeremy Trafford, who has died aged 85 after contracting Covid-19, was a publisher, teacher and writer. I met him in the late 1970s, while supply teaching at the London Oratory school, in west London, where he taught English literature in the sixth form. He was a brilliant teacher, who inspired... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-05-05 11:07:04 UTC ]
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Simon & Schuster UK has struck a deal for two new Robert Hunter thrillers by author Chris Carter. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-29 09:09:44 UTC ]
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He wielded his pencil at Random House for more than 50 years, nurturing the writing of Seymour Hersh, Neil Sheehan, Pete Dexter and other authors. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2020-04-20 22:42:26 UTC ]
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Pinsky explains the neighborhood memories that spurred him to write “House Hour” and how he is using walks to cope with the coronavirus pandemic. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2020-04-17 12:18:21 UTC ]
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Canadian children's book author Jean Little, internationally recognized for her novels featuring characters who realistically deal with adversity, died on April 6 at Hospice Wellington in Guelph, Ontario. She was 88. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-04-07 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Faxel, who joined Midwest Tape's Dreamscape Media in 2014 and quickly took the helm as publisher, died unexpectedly on March 30. She was 55. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-04-06 04:00:00 UTC ]
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