This excellent cradle-to-grave biography of a much loved novelist who goes in and out of fashion captures her alarming habits and tormented love affairsIn 1971 the author Barbara Pym was at her day job at the International African Institute when she noticed “Mr C” laboriously attacking his lunchtime sandwich with a knife and fork. Pym made a mental note of the detail before asking herself ruefully, “Oh why can’t I write about things like that any more – why is this kind of thing no longer acceptable?” Ten years earlier, Jonathan Cape had dumped her after her sixth book on the grounds that her brand of anthropological observation of English social manners was old lady-ish, dull and didn’t sell. As an extra humiliation, no other publishing house had been interested in picking up Miss Pym: books built on “the daily round of trivial things” could hardly compete with Frederick Forsyth’s The Day of the Jackal or, if you were feeling fancy, Gabriel García Márquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude. Jonathan Cape had even published John Lennon (Pym liked the Beatles, but still). Clearly there was no place in contemporary literature for Mr C and his oddly formal way with a sandwich.There is nothing unusual about major minor novelists having a disappointing and disproportionate decline, followed by a posthumous flowering in reputation and sales. What’s unusual about Pym is that her phoenix moment came while she was still alive. In 1977 the Times Literary Supplement asked well-known... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2021-04-08 06:30:07 UTC ]
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Loyola Press' Joellyn Cicciarelli says mysteries and fantasies can reach young readers about of faith and doubt. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-09-25 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Diane Cook, Tsitsi Dangarembga, Avni Doshi, Maaza Mengiste, Douglas Stuart and Brandon Taylor have been shortlisted for this year's Booker Prize, in a selection packed with independent presses but featuring the notable absence of two-time winner Hilary Mantel. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-15 08:26:08 UTC ]
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Barbara Marcus, president and publisher of Random House Children’s Books in the US, will headline this year’s Bookseller Children’s Conference, alongside speakers from World Book Day, Cocoa Girl and authors Andy Griffiths and Katherine Rundell. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-09 20:51:08 UTC ]
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Jacob P Avila has won this year's Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize for Best Unpublished Manuscript, for his contemporary thriller Cave Diver. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-09 12:39:04 UTC ]
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The man briefly in contention to become the nation’s first first gentleman continues his role as Mayor Pete’s “public-relations weapon.” Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2020-08-31 16:39:52 UTC ]
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Launching a digital media company looking to take over the role of local newspapers is a tricky undertaking, even without calculating a looming recession. The post ‘This is not your grandfather’s Patch’: Lookout Local wants to be the modern local news of Santa Cruz appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2020-08-17 04:01:53 UTC ]
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HarperCollins imprint Thorsons has scooped a new book from Rhonda Byrne, author of global phenomenon The Secret. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-08-16 21:08:19 UTC ]
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Vertebrate Publishing has scooped Never Leave the Dog Behind, a celebration of mountain adventures with four-legged friends by award-winning author Helen Mort. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-08-14 03:06:11 UTC ]
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Ebury Press will publish The Missing Cryptoqueen by Jamie Bartlett, based on his BBC podcast of the same name. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-08-11 01:13:49 UTC ]
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Hodder & Stoughton has acquired The Heiress by Molly Greeley, an "LGBTQ+ reimagining" of the life of the Pride and Prejudice character Anne de Bourgh. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-31 10:53:36 UTC ]
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Scribe will publish The Chief Witness: Escape from China’s Modern-day Concentration Camps by Sayragul Sauytbay and Alexandra Cavelius. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-27 14:49:23 UTC ]
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Indie publisher Lume Books will publish the latest psychological thriller from Jane Holland, Someone to Care. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-27 09:26:34 UTC ]
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Russell may no longer be a household name, but his novels — popular in the later Victorian era — are worth revisiting. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2020-07-15 12:00:00 UTC ]
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High-end regional magazine publisher Modern Luxury Media parted ways with several employees in a restructuring earlier this month, including at least seven editors-in-chief, Folio: has learned. Those who have exited the company since the start of July include the editors-in-chief at both San... Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2020-07-14 13:28:14 UTC ]
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Zephyr, Head of Zeus' children's imprint, will publish two middle-grade children's books set in Ancient Rome from Annelise Gray. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-14 01:26:12 UTC ]
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“Death in Her Hands” is not so much about solving a death as it is about conjuring a life. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2020-06-23 14:05:17 UTC ]
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Every Monday through Friday, AudioFile’s editors recommend the best in audiobook listening. We keep our daily episodes short and sweet, with audiobook clips to give you a sample of our featured listens. On today’s episode, host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten discuss Barbara’s narration of... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-06-23 08:20:12 UTC ]
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Audur Ava Olafsdottir does a brilliant job of conveying Icelandic life — its harshness, its connection to the land and to history, and its amusing qualities. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2020-06-16 08:29:45 UTC ]
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The modern remake of XIII, the early 2000’s first-person shooter based on the Belgian graphic novel of the same name, will finally be available for PC and the latest consoles this holiday season after a year-long delay. A remake of the game is headin... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2020-06-13 18:44:28 UTC ]
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Suzy Krause’s Sorry I Missed You (Lake Union) posted straight to the top of the Bookstat e-book chart for the week ending 6th June. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-10 20:33:24 UTC ]
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