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 ]
News tagged with:
#frederick forsyth
#contemporary literature
#philip larkin
#future books
#delivery charges
#novelists
#jonathan cape
Hachette Children’s Group will this October publish a new story in the Asterix and Obelix series, in which the pair cross paths with the daughter of Vercingetorix, the leader of the Gauls. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-04-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#hachette children
#october publish
Every year, the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books brings some of the world's most acclaimed authors, artists and performers together for one unforgettable weekend. It's a chance for book-loving Angelenos to see, in the flesh, the writers who have educated and entertained them. This year's... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-04-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#times festival
#books brings
#acclaimed authors
People on Twitter erupted in anger after the president went after the former first lady. Continue reading at The Huffington Post
[ The Huffington Post | 2019-04-05 10:43:47 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#twitter erupted
Knights Of has acquired Harriet!, a book about a girl who finds out her hearing aid can help her understand aliens from across the universe, by comedian Samantha Baines. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-03-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Elly McCausland and Dan Saladino have won the Jane Grigson Trust prize, marking the first time the judges have decided to award the prize to two shortlisted authors. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-03-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#shortlisted authors
The connection between the 1840 murder of an aristocrat and William Harrison Ainsworth's novel "Jack Sheppard." Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-03-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Hachette is launching its first ever modern classics list for its international markets, featuring titles from Margaret Atwood, David Mitchell and Sarah Waters among others. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-03-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#international markets
#featuring titles
#margaret atwood
#david mitchell
#sarah waters
Faber editorial director Laura Hassan has acquired UK and Commonwealth rights to Miss Dior, the “moving and powerful” story of Catherine Dior, from The Wylie Agency’s Sarah Chalfant. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-03-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#acquired uk
#powerful story
#wylie agency
#sarah chalfant
Octopus imprint Mitchell Beazley has landed the angling adventures of chef, restaurateur and food writer Mark Hix. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-03-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Indie publisher Fairlight Books is adding five more titles to its pocket-sized Moderns series this year. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-03-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
After 20 years of teaching Religion 101, Episcopal priest and acclaimed author Barbara Brown Taylor is reflecting on the lessons she learned from other religions, and why it’s important to do so, in her latest book. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-03-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#episcopal priest
The long-running saga of the rabbit, Usagi Yojimbo, by Stan Sakai, is moving to IDW Publishing, which will begin a new, full-color series in June. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2019-02-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#idw publishing
Religion columnist Riess explores how changing behaviors and a ‘crisis of belief’ among millennials is impacting the LDS Church in her new book, ‘The Next Mormons.’ Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-02-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
'Learning Arabic is a winding road,' Paula Santillán Grimm has said, 'but the views are so spectacular.' She speaks now about her new position with the Sheikh Zayed Book Award's 'scientific committee.' The post Five Questions for the Sheikh Zayed Book Award’s Paula Santillán Grimm appeared first... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2019-02-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#winding road
With three historical novels to her name, former editor Lucy Foley has turned her hand to a Highlands-set murder mystery. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-01-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#lucy foley
#historical novels
Netflix's choose-your-own-adventure style film Black Mirror: Bandersnatch is the subject of a new lawsuit, brought against the streaming giant by Chooseco LLC. The company is known for publishing the "Choose Your Own Adventure" book series popular in... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2019-01-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#streaming giant
Publishers of book series claim Netflix is using an association with the brand to increase awareness of the Black Mirror episodeNetflix is being sued over its recent interactive episode of Black Mirror.The streaming platform released the feature-length Bandersnatch in December which allowed... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2019-01-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#adventure series
#increase awareness
#black mirror
#make decisions
#tipping point
Nonfiction writers began publishing books about Donald Trump even before Sean Spicer could start lying for him. Fiction writers, though, have been slower to incorporate the Mogul into their work. Continue reading at Stuff
[ Stuff | 2019-01-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#barbara kingsolver
#sean spicer
#fiction writers
Jane Havell, who has died aged 65 of pancreatic cancer, was my business partner in the independent publishing house Maia Press.We planned the launch of the company over a kitchen table with a large glass of wine in 2002 and over the next six years, before it was bought by Arcadia, we published... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2018-12-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#pancreatic cancer
#business partner
#kitchen table
In 'Missed Opportunities,' religion scholar Gabriel Moran offers an accessible roadmap toward a more modern and inclusive Roman Catholic Church. (Sponsored) Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-12-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#missed opportunities