The book that tore publishing apart: ‘Harm has been done, and now everyone’s afraid’

Kate Clanchy’s memoir about teaching won the Orwell prize. Then, a year later, it became the centre of a storm that would engulf the lives of the author, her critics and dozens of people in the book trade. So what happened?At the end of March, a book that had been condemned to die came back to life. There was no star-studded launch, and no great fanfare, although this book is now somewhat famous. The new publisher of the poet Kate Clanchy’s memoir Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me felt it wrong to cash in on the controversy that has engulfed it. So the new editions – with some intriguing changes to the original text – were quietly resupplied to bookshops willing to stock them.What follows is a tale that reverberates well beyond publishing. It’s about whose voice is heard, which stories are told, and by whom. But it has broader implications for working life, too, particularly in industries where so-called culture wars raging through the outside world can no longer be left at the office door. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2022-06-18 08:00:13 UTC ]
News tagged with: #book trade #working life #kate clanchy #orwell prize #great fanfare #original text #memoir

Other Publishing stories related to: 'The book that tore publishing apart: ‘Harm has been done, and now everyone’s afraid’'


It’s Time Publishing Tries Something Radical to Entice Readers

Publishing is doing all it can to convince people to buy books and read, but still 47% of Americans don't. It's time to try something radical: let's start with men. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-01-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Bestselling Books of 2012

Half of the top 20 bestselling books of 2012 in print were either Fifty Shades titles or Hunger Games titles, and only one book not written by E.L. James or Suzanne Collins—Jeff Kinney’s latest Wimpy Kid title—cracked the one-million-copies-sold mark for the year, according to Nielsen BookScan,... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-01-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sales of printed books slump in 2012

The printed book market fell by almost £74m in 2012, down 4.6% year on year, but the rate of decline was slowed by Fifty Shades Of Grey. Continue reading at BBC World

[ BBC World | 2013-01-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Independent Publishers Association Launched in the Maghreb

AMELI, the Association Maghrebine des Editeurs du Livre Independents, was launched late last month. The organization currently has 22 members Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-01-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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China Will Never Be a Gold Mine for Western Publishers

Cultural differences aside, China's book market is itself largely a self-contained entity—politically, socially and, more importantly, economically. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-01-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Printed book sales slump £74m in 2012

The value of the printed book market slumped by almost £74m year on year in 2012 but,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-01-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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News Publishing Co. Files Chapter 11 Reorganization

News Publishing Co., parent corporation of the Rome News-Tribune, Calhoun Times, Walker County Messenger, Catoosa County News, Cedartown Standard and Rockmart Journal, has filed a petition for Chapter 11 reorganization. Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-01-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Touch Publishing Platform Onswipe Now Reaching 10M Monthly Active Users On iOS

Onswipe, a startup that helps publishers build websites optimized for iPads and other touchscreen devices, is closing out what sounds like a big year. Content published through the Onswipe platform reached 44 million unique visitors over the course o ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-01-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Doris Kearns Goodwin on her bestselling books and the movie adaptation of 'Lincoln'

Doris Kearns Goodwin talks about her book 'Team of Rivals,' and what it was like to see her work come to life in Steven Spielberg's 'Lincoln.' Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-01-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Print book sales soar to three-year high

Sales of printed books soared to a three-year high in the UK last week as shoppers flooded the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-12-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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E-book restrictions leave 'buyers' with few rights

Unlike the owners of a physical tome, buyers of ebooks are licensees with lots of limitations. It's time to change the rules.There's a crass old joke about how you can never buy beer, just rent it. Who would think that the same joke applies to book buying in the digital age? Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-12-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Happy Holidays! Here's a Free E-Book of Our Best Stories From 2012

A free ebook of our best work just in time for the holidays. Makes a great gift for wordy nerds! And much cheaper than a Battlestar Galactica box set. Continue reading at The Atlantic

[ The Atlantic | 2012-12-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Twelve Book Trade Days of Christmas

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[ Publishing Perspectives | 2012-12-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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News Corp publishing loses $2.1bn

News Corporation said its publishing wing, which is set to be split off as a separate business, incurred losses of $2.1bn in the last financial year. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2012-12-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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E-books grow but at low prices

  The consumer ebook market was worth more than £90m in the first 10 months of 2012... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-12-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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News Corp. Says Publishing Unit Lost Money

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[ AllThingsD | 2012-12-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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2012: the year of self-publishing

The most recent sign that self-publishing is on the rise? New York Times book critic Michiko Kakutani chose a self-released book as one of her favorite titles of the year. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-12-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Faber co-publishes interactive '39 Steps'

Faber has teamed up with publishers from different sectors to create an interactive version of... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-12-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon-Owned Audible Will Sponsor Much of the Guardian's Book Content

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[ Editor & Publisher | 2012-12-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Justice Department, Penguin Reach Settlement on E-Book Pricing

The Justice Department said today it had reached a settlement with Penguin Group (USA), one of six companies it had accused of conspiring to raise prices of ebooks. The agreement, if approved by the court, would leave only two companies -- Apple and Macmillan -- facing the lawsuit, due to go to... Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2012-12-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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