Sebastian Faulks gave his former Sunday Telegraph boss, John Thompson, a warm send-off in his tribute yesterday, "A nurturing force in the final days of Fleet Street".It reinforced the picture drawn of Thompson in the more formal Daily Telegraph obituary following Thompson's death, aged 93, on 24 November.Thompson, who edited the Sunday Telegraph for 10 years from 1976, was mild of manner and ran a kindly regime but had "an inner steel", wrote Faulks. This characteristic was necessary, as both Faulks and the obituary pointed out, because of the difficulties he faced in producing a paper in Fleet Street's final days of continual union disputes.Faulks pointed out that it was difficult to know Thompson well because "he was a diffident man who did not invite intimacy." It reminded me of a description of him by Henry Porter as "retiring to the point of joining a trappist order." But Faulks and the Telegraph's obituarist overlooked Thompson's most extraordinary, and disastrous, decision as an editor. In 1978, the Sunday Telegraph negotiated the serialisation of an autobiography by a former Liberal MP, Peter Bessell, who was a chief prosecution witness in the trial of Jeremy Thorpe, his party's leader. Thorpe was accused of conspiring to murder a male model, Norman Scott, who was said to have blackmailed him over their alleged gay relationship.Two months after Thorpe was charged, Thompson agreed a contract with Bessell which stated that he would receive £50,000 for extracts... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2013-12-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A self-help guide to toilet etiquette, How to Poo on a Date, wins the Diagram Prize for the oddest book title of the year. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2014-03-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A seasoned rights agency knows the answers to the following questions: What kind of title will sell and what will become silverfish fodder in the warehouse? Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-03-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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When online bookstores came on the scene back in 1999, there were around 5,000 brick-and-mortar bookstores in Korea. Today, there are barely 1,500 nationwide. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-03-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Consider these figures: This is the country with the fastest Internet speed in the world at 13.3 Mbps (against 8.7 Mbps in the U.S.), and 98% of its households have access to broadband Internet. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-03-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Diagram prize, honouring the year's strangest title, awarded to self-help guide to toilet etiquetteIn pictures: Thirty odd years of the Diagram prizePowered by the British public's unstoppable enthusiasm for toilet humour, the enticingly-titled How to Poo on a Date has carried off this... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-03-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A visit to the Gwanghwamun branch of Kyobo, Korea’s largest bookstore chain, provides many clues to the country’s present book market. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-03-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The next book in Jeff Kinney's Wimpy Kid series will be released on 5th November 2014. A... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-03-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Germany's small press scene is thriving, with an eclectic mix of ambitious publishers seeking out new authors, experimenting with formats and finding audiences. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-03-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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HarperCollins Children’s Books has acquired three books by debut picture book author Rob... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-03-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Citing numerous pending motions, a letter to the court from the class plaintiffs acknowledges that a May trial may be a stretch. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-03-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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There are growing calls for young people's reading to broaden its picture of society from what is currently a depressingly monochrome viewRead Tanya Byrne's top 10 black characters in children's booksAfter a study in the US showed that of 3,200 children's books published in 2013, just 93 were... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-03-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The new Vintage Books imprint, titled Vintage Movie Classics, re-released such novels as 'Show Boat' by Edna Ferber. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-03-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Veteran author Christian Jennings offers tips, techniques and strategies on how to write a good non-fiction proposal for submission. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-03-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Guardian reports that “a UK campaign to stop children’s books being labeled as ‘for boys’ or ‘for girls’ is gaining support in the publishing community. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-03-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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"The Book Show", a new series hosted by presenter James Whale for Information.TV, will... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-03-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Homeless busker James Bowen was helped in his struggle against addiction by the companionship of a stray cat. Now his books charting their friendship have propelled him into an elite publishing clubSamuel Johnson used to buy oysters for his cat, Hodge; Charles Dickens was so distressed when his... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-03-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon began its retail life as an online book distributor, though it's something we rarely consider the company now -- unless you choose to count digital versions for Kindle and Kindle apps. However, a thriving market for textbooks exists and that has become a recent focus for the company --... Continue reading at Betanews
[ Betanews | 2014-03-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Digital publishing is rapidly becoming a haven for struggling writers—but it turns out the format might hold similar potential for struggling readers too. Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2014-03-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This week Porter Anderson sets up an #EtherIssue discussion on the market implications of bargain-basement book prices and looks at Kobo's fight for Agency. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-03-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Cooperative Children's Book Center of the University of Wisconsin – Madison found that of the new children's books they received at their center, less than 3 percent focused on black people and even fewer were by black authors (about 2 percent, according to the CCBC.) Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-03-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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