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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Telegraph Media Group confirms Clissitt will not be joining Bloomberg as Grazia editor-in-chief lands deputy editor job with focus on lifestyle contentBen Clissitt is staying with Telegraph Media Group and Grazia’s Jane Bruton is taking a senior editorial role in the publisher’s latest... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-01-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Which books took off and which failed to sell? Publishers choose their books of the year, and the ones that slipped through the netThe book that made my year: The commercial publication of Picador’s year was The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton, which has just been crowned Waterstones book of the... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-12-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Six ways Hearst is tackling the gritty work of becoming a modern publisher. The post How fusty old Hearst is becoming a modern publisher appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2014-12-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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TIME launched its digital archive, "The Vault," on Wednesday, but it's not the only magazine to look to its past for new content, more inventory and increased value for subscribers. Through bundles, tiered subscription models or one-off purchases, titles are able t Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2014-11-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Unexpectedly, Algerian writer Kamel Daoud's powerful novelistic homage to Camus nearly took France's top literary prize. The post Near Miss for Algeria’s Kamel Daoud for Goncourt appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-11-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A memorial for Jane Queller, former Barnes & Noble national accounts manager for Consortium, who passed away on October 12, will take place on Sunday, December 21 at 11 a.m at JCC of Manhattan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-10-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon KDP's top selling author of all time, Barbara Freethy, has started a new imprint to oversee publication of her works in print formats. Hyde Street Press, part of Freethy’s Fog City Publishing company, will have its titles distributed by Ingram Publisher Services. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-10-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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No one chronicles a Manuncian night out like her, says Helen Pidd (who also enjoyed Zoe Pilger, Anneliese Mackintosh and Karima Francis at the book fest)I loved Animals by Emma Jane Unsworth so much that I read it twice in a week.Picking it up for the first time over the summer, I binged on it,... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-10-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Metafilter's founder talks about the perils of Google Panda, publishers' current problems with Facebook and why he's already a fan of social network Ello. The post Web 1.0 dinosaur Metafilter modernizes, slowly appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2014-09-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Jane Harris has been appointed interim m.d. at Inpress, a sales and marketing agency for... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-09-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This week, we reviewed the HTC One for Windows, investigated Amazon's controversial ebook-pricing model, played around with Hyperlapse, learned about LG's G Watch R and more! Read on for Engadget's news highlights from the last seven days. Oh, and... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2014-09-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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When Bill Gates recommended Business Adventures, a 1969 essay collection by late New York contributor John Brooks, as part of his 2014 summer reading list, the Microsoft founder called it “the best business book ever,” but noted that it’s “not easy to find.” Not any more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-08-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This year’s Best Translated Book Award went to Ottilie Mulzet for her translation of Laszlo Krasznahorkai’s Seiobo There Below. Here she discusses the challenges of the three year process. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-08-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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It is 43 years old and was out of print for ages, but the Microsoft mogul's approval has caused a brand new surge in salesName: Business AdventuresAge: 43 Continue reading... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-08-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Qu’ran is the star at the Islamic Book Exhibition in the United Arab Emirate of Sharjah, where the holy book being celebrated in a myriad of guises. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-07-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Paula Marcoux, author of "Cooking with Fire" (Storey Publishing, 9781612121581) will appear on NPR's "The Splendid Table" on Saturday, June 28. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-06-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Barbara Griffini, a translator and literary agent representing Italian authors, provides a snapshot of her working life selling rights in Europe and the US. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-06-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Susan Jane Gilman always planned to be a novelist, but took a detour to the nonfiction bestseller lists with Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven, Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress, and Kiss My Tiara. Her fiction debut, The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street (Grand Central, June), is off to a... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Life is one adventure after another, and at booth 1313, Abbeville Press is celebrating some of the things that make it so: Italian cuisine, the seven seas, and Jane Austen. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Virago Modern Classics has acquired three titles by Joan Aiken for its children’s list.... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-05-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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