Leading Sunday Times journalist who was the first editor of its groundbreaking investigative Insight unitRon Hall, a former top executive of the Sunday Times in its pre-Murdoch golden era, has died aged 79. Hall's distinctions were many: first editor of the paper's successful investigative unit, Insight; dominant force behind its exposures of the Profumo affair, later to evolve into a book, Scandal 63; inventor of the words Rachmanism and Rachmanite following its revelations about Peter Rachman's violence against his tenants; and editor of the Sunday Times magazine.A perpetual pipe-smoker, Hall sometimes would puff silently and sceptically at editorial conferences when a news editor or foreign editor enthused about a possible scoop ahead. The resulting smoke at times would blur an intensely furrowed brow. Then the pipe would briefly leave his mouth and Hall would glance at the newspaper's editor, Harold Evans, before uttering "Huh!" or perhaps "Bullshit!" in a growly voice. He could hone his rebuffs of others as sharply as he could deflect barbs towards himself. Yet he was extremely popular with all staff: curt but clever, reserved but resourceful – "a scholar in scepticism who burned on a slow fuse" – as Evans put it in his autobiography.Even when hosting extravagant parties for friends and colleagues at his home in Hampstead, north London, Hall would be the last one to speak in the language of jaunty persiflage. Instead he preferred the whispers of intrigues and... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2014-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Author and performer Echo Brown, widely praised for her genre-fluid YA novels that blend memoir and magical realism, died September 16 from renal failure. She was 39. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-09-28 04:00:00 UTC ]
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American screenwriter and producer behind the creation of the hugely successful soaps Dallas and Knots LandingDavid Jacobs, who has died aged 84, was an aspiring novelist when he created the show Dallas, a worldwide phenomenon and US television’s first peak-time soap success since Peyton Place.... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-08-23 13:56:48 UTC ]
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Radio and television producer who was head of plays at the BBC and steered productions of work by Harold Pinter, Alan Plater, Ibsen, Strindberg and Athol FugardNo BBC radio or television producer in the postwar era was more admired within his profession than Michael Bakewell, who has died aged... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-08-01 16:09:15 UTC ]
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My cousin Carol Smith, who has died aged 84, was a literary agent and author best known for her thrillers Kensington Court (1996) and Unfinished Business (2000).Born in London to Winifred (nee Mapleston), a teacher, and David Smith, a businessman, Carol attended the North London Collegiate,... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-07-25 15:31:17 UTC ]
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Award-winning children's author and poet Mary Ann Hoberman died July 7 following a long illness; she was 92. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-07-11 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Editor with the Paris-based publisher Gallimard Jeunesse who was determined to give British children’s books a presence in FranceChristine Baker, who has died aged 71 of cancer, did much to give British children’s books a presence in France, making them readily available to families and schools... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-07-10 16:54:07 UTC ]
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Author of a series of comic novels that focused on the tragi-comic nature of relationships and the general absurdities of lifeMavis Cheek, who has died aged 75, was the author of a series of comic novels that cast an acute eye on middle-class marriage and relationships and marked her out as one... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-07-04 16:07:50 UTC ]
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American editor who worked with many celebrated authors including Anthony Burgess, Doris Lessing and Joseph HellerRobert Gottlieb, who has died age 92, was the outstanding literary editor of the second half of the 20th century. Among the renowned novelists he worked with were Doris Lessing, Toni... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-06-26 16:14:17 UTC ]
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Caroline Raphael, who has died of Parkinson’s disease aged 85, was for 20 years editor-in-chief of The Good Hotel Guide. She had worked on every edition from the first, in 1978, until her retirement in 2021, when the 2022 edition had gone to press.The Guide was launched by the literary agent... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-05-28 16:03:11 UTC ]
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Children’s illustrator whose picture books with his wife, Elizabeth, and authors such as Ted Hughes, are enjoyed worldwideThe illustrator Gerald Rose, who has died aged 87, was the youngest winner of the Kate Greenaway medal for children’s book illustration, in 1960. Then still in his mid-20s... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-05-12 17:25:36 UTC ]
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Niels Aaboe, most recently an editor at Rowman & Littlefield as well as its Lyons Press imprint, died on April 17. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-04-24 04:00:00 UTC ]
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In 2013, I was one of the chosen 20. Today, I still question the accolades and gimmickry around making the gradeIn 2013, the fourth Granta Best of Young British Novelists (BYBN) list was published, and I was among the 20 writers selected. I was 39 and had published four novels and received... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-04-16 10:00:08 UTC ]
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Publisher whose eponymous company changed the face of children’s nonfiction with its fact-filled illustrated booksPeter Usborne, who has died aged 85, created a publishing company that changed the look and feel of nonfiction books for children. Although they were widely used in schools, Usborne... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-04-14 15:02:43 UTC ]
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Award-winning author Julie Anne Peters, best known for her groundbreaking YA novels featuring complex LGBTQ+ characters navigating relationships and exploring issues of identity, died on March 21 following a long illness; she was 71. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-03-28 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Children’s author who devised the adventures of the Pig family and illustrated stories including Dick King-Smith’s The Sheep-PigThe writer and illustrator Mary Rayner, who has died aged 89, was best known for her picture books about Mr and Mrs Pig, and the escapades of their 10 piglets. In... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-03-23 16:59:39 UTC ]
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Author-illustrator, fine artist, and designer Ian Falconer, best known as the creator of witty picture books about headstrong, precocious piglet Olivia, died of natural causes on March 7. He was 63. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-03-08 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Author-illustrator Amy Schwartz, creator of more than 60 books for young readers, died suddenly on February 26 at her home in Brooklyn; she was 68. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-03-02 05:00:00 UTC ]
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The Los Angeles Times Book Prizes recognize works in 12 categories, with winners to be announced at USC in person on April 21. James Ellroy will receive a lifetime achievement prize. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-02-22 15:00:07 UTC ]
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Illustrator and author widely admired for The Church Mice, his series of children’s picture booksGraham Oakley, who has died age 93, was an illustrator and writer known almost entirely for one series of picture books: The Church Mice, published over a period of nearly 30 years from 1972.... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-01-24 17:41:11 UTC ]
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Natalie S. Bober, best known for her biographies for young readers, died on December 29 at age 92. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-01-10 05:00:00 UTC ]
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