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’'


Fair Play? French Want to End Amazon’s Free Book Delivery

The French government announced a plan to introduce a law to stop Amazon from offering discounts and free delivery for books, citing it as "unfair" competitive practice. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-06-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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E-book price-fixing trial: Will the judge come down on the side of Apple?

Judge Denise Cote seemed inclined to rule for the Department of Justice at the beginning of the trial, but her remarks as the case closed seemed to indicate a shift towards Apple's side. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-06-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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AUDIO: Should adults read children's books?

Jennie Bristow, associate fellow at the University of Kent, says grown-ups read children's books because they feel 'disenchanted with adult culture'. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2013-06-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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John Blake signs book by Mandela's prison guard

Publisher John Blake has signed world rights to a new title about the life of Nelson Mandela [... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-06-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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E-book royalty debate reignited

Author Nick Harkaway has called for authors to be offered a greater share of royalties from e-... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-06-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Google News opt-in is not good enough, German publishers say

German publishers will disappear from Google News on Aug. 1 unless they opt in to the service as Google seeks to comply with a new German law. But the publishers said on Monday that this is not good enough, they want a share in Google's revenue.The law will come into effect on Aug. 1 and gives... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2013-06-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Google News Becomes Opt-In For German Publishers After Copyright Law Change

Since Google News began, publishers have complained that it scrapes their content and offers little in return, letting readers get vital parts of stories as short snippets. In late 2012, the site settled with Belgian publishers after a six-year-long ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-06-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Seoul Sidelines: Borges Beach Blankets, “Slow” Irish Art Books

Among the curiosities for sale at last week's Seoul International Book Fair were Borges-themed beach gear and tiny hand-bound artists books from a tiny Irish island. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-06-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Princeton Academics Form GitHub Book Club

For much of the year, Andrej Bauer spent more time on GitHub than he did on Facebook. But Bauer wasn't writing software. A mathematician by profession, he was embarking on a bold adventure in online collaboration. He and about two dozen other mathematicians used GitHub to write a book.     Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2013-06-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Southern Newspaper Publishers Association Launches Revamped Website

June 21, 2013, ATLANTA, GA – Southern Newspaper Publishers Association launched a re-designed website this week designed to serve the needs of newspaper executives by providing a new source of ideas, solutions, resources and information. ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-06-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Librify: The BOMC For E-books?

Online subscription services have proved successful for entertainment businesses like Netflix, Hulu, and Spotify, but other than O’Reilly’s Safari Books Online, which is geared to professionals, trade ebook subscriptions have gained little traction. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-06-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Google News in Germany asks publishers to opt-in for indexing, sidesteps copyright fees

Despite its "Defend Your Net" campaign last year, Google was unable to fully put the brakes on changes to German copyright law that may mean it has to pay up for news excerpts it indexes. As a result, the company announced that unlike the other 60 countries where Google News operates by relying... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2013-06-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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HCB to publish posthumous Diana Wynne Jones tale

HarperCollins Childrens Books fiction publishing director Ruth Alltimes has bought a posthumous... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-06-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Blurring The Line Between Book And App

Why does HarperCollins need a VP of Innovation? Ana Maria Allessi, who holds that very title, tells us about a future in which books look a lot like apps. Ana Maria Allessi is somewhat of an oddity, for someone who’s worked at a publishing house for almost 13 years. While publishing is rife... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2013-06-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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More publisher offers for IBW

Further offers have been unveiled by publishers to help independent bookshops boost their... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-06-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Column: It's Hard Out There For a Publisher

Conventional wisdom says that entrepreneurs who start a Web-based business will do so with VC money. Read enough stories of Internet ventures that enjoy lucrative exits in the millions (in some cases billions) of dollars, and it’s easy to assume that the only path to success is to begin by... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2013-06-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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UK leads in global publishing

British-based publishers topped the world’s global publishing rankings in 2012, making up... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-06-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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News Corp. Spinoff Pegs Value of Publishing at $9.1 Billion (2)

News Corp. (NWSA)’s publishing spinoff began trading today at a market value of about $9.1 billion, one-seventh the size of the entertainment side of the media empire, underscoring the business’s growth challenges. The &ldqu ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-06-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon Publishing Has First Million Copy Bestseller: What Next?

Amazon Publishing announces that the Hangman's Daughter series is their first million seller. Is it a cause for concern? Celebration? Or merely surprise that it took this long? Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-06-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Penguin Books' First to Read program will give readers sneak peeks

Through First to Read, members will have the chance to get advance reading copies of Penguin Books before they are published. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-06-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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