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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Books written by women or men from the perspective of a female character are less likely to win major literary awards than books written from a male perspective or about men, research by author Nicola Griffith has found. Griffith analysed the last 15 years of winners for six fiction awards –... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-06-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A panel of novelists of forthcoming middle-grade titles, talks the difference between middle grade and YA, the origins of their stories, and life before publication. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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From Chesterton to Christie to Conan Doyle to Highsmith, tracing the modern detective novel back to its roots. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book packagers and other publishing professionals gathered for a mid-day panel discussion on May 19 on the topic of successful licensing and branding in children's and young adult media products Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Pakastani-born Canadian children's book author Rukhsana Khan explains how to leveraging appearances at book fairs for the greatest benefit and impact. The post A Canadian Author’s Adventures in International Book Marketing appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-05-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Emma Healey’s début novel Elizabeth is Missing (Penguin) has been voted as the best title in Richard and Judy’s Spring 2015 Book Club. Readers voted for their favourite book from the book club’s eight Spring picks on the W H Smith website. The second most-voted-for title was The Miniaturist by... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-04-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In this week's Digiday Podcast, Troy Young, president of digital media at Hearst Magazines, joined us to discuss how traditional media companies change -- and what will determine the winners in the fast-changing digital media market. "The whole publishing mechanism for digital is very different... Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2015-04-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Scholastic has acquired a royal superhero fantasy adventure series about Prince Alfie, heir to the throne, by TV scriptwriters Mark Huckerby and Nick Ostler. The publisher acquired world rights to two titles in the series and the first book, Defender of the Realm, will be published in 2016.... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-04-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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We’ve had the BBC’s best children’s books of all time and not a single one was published after 1968, so what are the future classics, books written in the last 20 years that people will still be reading in 50 or even 100 years time? Join in our discussion to predict the future classics! Many of... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-04-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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I’d written a crime short story under one of my pen names for a collection to be published by Macmillan (Writers tell couple who remove ‘filth’ from books where to stick their app, 28 March). The late Lord (George) Hardinge of Penshurst was in charge of their crime fiction at the time and he... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-04-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Marketing campaigns for books by James Patterson, David O’Doherty and Chris Judge, and Helen Walsh were named as the winners of the Best Marketing Campaign of the Year Awards today (25th March). The Book Marketing Society (BMS), which is now part of Nielsen Book, gave its annual awards at the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-03-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In the second of a two part investigation, literary agent Evangelia Avloniti considers the economic reasons why so little Greek literature is translated. The post Greek Literature Abroad: A Modern Odyssey (Part 2) appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-03-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In the first of a two-part series, literary agent Evangelia Avloniti considers the cultural reasons why so little Greek literature is translated. The post Greek Literature Abroad: A Modern Odyssey (Part 1) appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-03-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Can manga-style versions of classics like ‘Pride and Prejudice’ become the Cliffs Notes of a new generation of readers? Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-03-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Celebrity chef Paula Deen--who was dropped, amid scandal, by Random House in 2013--has a new deal. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-03-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Jon Stewart was known for bringing attention to lower-profile, more obscure books. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-02-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Kim Kardashian West has revealed the surprisingly posterior free cover of her selfie book. Continue reading at Stuff
[ Stuff | 2015-01-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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With their distinctive illustrations, Ladybird books offered millions of children their first taste of art. As a new exhibition opens, we pay homage to picnics, polyester and Pat the dog• A hundred years of Ladybird design – galleryA small boy in collar and tie teeters on homemade stilts made... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-01-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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At Oxford University Press we have to balance children’s cultural and learning needs, while retaining some healthy common senseGiven that our editorial guidelines that reference pigs and pork have been in place for as long as I can remember, little did I imagine that they would attract... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-01-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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