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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Characters from children's books often take on legendary status in the popular imagination. Peter Pan inspired his own pathological syndrome (and maybe R. Kelly's "I Believe I Can Fly"); Willy Wonka led to a real–world candy company; and hundreds of wannabe Hobbits live in commercially... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2013-10-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Superworm, Julia Donaldson's tale of a resourceful worm and The 5th Wave, Rick Yancey's novel about an alien invasion, are among the 10 books shortlisted for the Red House Children's Book Award. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2013-10-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Online booksellers like Amazon and Kobo have begun banning self-published titles featuring themes like incest and bestiality. But now, some readers complain, other erotic titles are disappearing as well. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-10-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Samsung is taking preorders on an updated version of its Ativ Book 9 Plus Ultrabook, which features a Core i7 processor and a touchscreen display with a native resolution of 3200 by 1800 pixels. The company expects to ship the new notebook in early November. The new Ativ Book 9 Plus looks a lot... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2013-10-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Several self-publishing ebook platforms have censored rape, incest and other objectionable titles while others appear to continue profiting from them. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-10-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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While no one in the publishing world wants to halt the march of digital distribution, many would like to ensure the neighborhood bookstore doesn't go the way of the record store. That's why there are a growing number of people in the industry who are looking to disrupt the disruptors and show... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2013-10-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A federal judge taps former federal prosecutor Michael Bromwich to keep an eye on Apple's antitrust compliance. Continue reading at AllThingsD
[ AllThingsD | 2013-10-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Just like the Marvel movies, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. enjoys adding references to the more obscure details of the Marvel Universe as tiny presents for longtime readers of the comic books. And we enjoy breaking them down. Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2013-10-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The contenders for the fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and young people's literature prizes are now narrowed down to five. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-10-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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When's the last time you sat down to read a book for several hours? Or even one hour? We are both card-carrying humanities scholars, but even we can barely scrape 15 minutes together for sustained engagement with a text. And yet humans are reading now more than ever when you think about the... Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2013-10-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The former Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams is to chair the judging panel for the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-10-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Independent publisher Caffeine Nights has extended its relationship with Richwater Films. The... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-10-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The 2013 National Book Award finalists were announced on Wednesday, and for the first time, the National Book Foundation has offered a free ebook series with samples of the finalists' work.The 2013 National Book Award finalists were announced on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" Wednesday, and for the first... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-10-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Booker Prize winner Eleanor Catton wrote an 832-page murder mystery set in Catton's homeland, New Zealand. This is the last year that the Man Booker Prize will be open only to writers from the former British Empire. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-10-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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American Psycho author Bret Easton Ellis is what's known in online circles as a world–class troll. For the uninitiated, a troll is someone who expresses a controversial and often contrarian opinion in order to get a rise out of people and draw attention to himself. If someone is widely... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2013-10-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Reviewers label latest book sad, desperate and irrelevant - but readers beg to differ. Continue reading at The Sydney Morning Herald
[ The Sydney Morning Herald | 2013-10-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The 2013 Frankfurt Book Fair was a busy one, despite another modest decline in trade visitors Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-10-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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E-book seller Kobo suspends all self-published books from its UK store after the discovery of abuse-themed titles on sale. Continue reading at BBC World
[ BBC World | 2013-10-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A textbook rental company is trying to mimic the instantaneous speed of ebook delivery for printed books by utilizing civil drones in Sydney, Australia. Imagine the book you need to ace the exam showing up at your door, care of your friendly neighborhood drone. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-10-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In 2002, Marta Hallett—a very experienced and successful publishing executive and packager— founded Glitterati Inc., a New York–based boutique press that focuses on art and photo books. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-10-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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