Latham, a bookseller for 35 years, has put together a heady mix of history, philosophy, anecdotes and entertaining factsWhat most people know about the American librarian Melvil Dewey is his phenomenal classification technique, the Dewey decimal system, which is still used in 135 countries. Less well known is how he liked to classify people, too. In a chapter entitled “Dubious Dewey”, Martin Latham describes how the great librarian created groups from A to D, banning all in the D group – Jews, African-Americans, Cubans and the “new rich” – from his Lake Placid resort. He was also a prolific groper of women. Latham speculates that Dewey’s hypocrisy, and his “obsessively domineering persona”, were what caused his lifelong constipation and piles.This is a book that is down on banning, rigidity, abuse of power and all kinds of snobbery, bookish and otherwise. It celebrates stories, scribbling in margins and the collecting, cherishing and even kissing of books – something done with surprising frequency, apparently. Latham, a bookseller for 35 years, currently runs Waterstones Canterbury, where he proudly filed the biggest petty cash claim in the chain’s history to pay for the excavation of a Roman bath house under its floor. But this is not one of those funny “anecdotes from a bookshop” books that have recently been popular – though anecdotes there are aplenty. It is rather a history and celebration of all things bookish, from Alexander the Great’s unusual habit of reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2020-12-19 09:00:45 UTC ]
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Former HarperCollins editorial director Martin Redfern is set to turn his hand to agenting, joining Diane Banks Associates as a non-fiction agent next month. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-03-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Bookseller Rising Stars were lauded for their “wealth of talent” and ability to take on the upcoming challenges facing the trade at a party to celebrate the 2016 inductees. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-07-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Buffalo, N.Y., literary center distinguished itself from the beginning by putting an emphasis on working with young people. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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More than 2,000 readers and writers attended the Calvin College Festival of Faith & Writing in Grand Rapids, Mich. to celebrate religious expression in literature. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-04-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The life and work of Ion Trewin, literary director of the Booker Prize Foundation, was celebrated last weekend with a ceremonial tree planting at the Woodland Trust’s Reffley Wood in King’s Lynn. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-03-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The truth about book prizes, why Amazon is like an old-fashioned library and how much famous writers really earned from their journalism …Periodically, signs go up saying that Grub Street is closed to through traffic. Observers speculate that the street is being redeveloped as gentrification... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2016-01-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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While the Twin Cities marked the anniversary with a full schedule of events, literary nonprofits elsewhere saluted the Loft's longevity. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Tech start-up GivingTales has developed a children’s fairy tale app with actor Roger Moore to raise money for Unicef. The app includes stories by Hans Christian Anderson read by actors such as Stephen Fry, Ewan McGregor and Joan Collins The GivingTales app launches today and is free to download... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-06-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Biblical Archaeology Review' has spent four decades covering a contentious field, standing for authenticity amid controversial claims. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hatched over coffee 20 years ago, the Hub City Writers Project has grown into an indie press, a nonprofit bookstore and driving force behind the literary arts in Spartanburg, SC. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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An annual study of the gender balance in reviewers and authors in major literary magazines has found that both are skewed heavily towards men. American organisation VIDA (Women in Literary Arts), looked at publications including the Times Literary Supplement and the London Review of Books in... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-04-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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For some booksellers attending Winter Institute, the fist pumps began before their planes even touched down in Asheville, N.C. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-02-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Bookseller Industry Awards will this year celebrate the ‘book’ of the year alongside the publishers, editors, and retailers who bring the titles to market. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Literary Review has launched a digital archive of all of its issues over the last 35 years for app and print subscribers. The digital archive ha been launched in conjunction with the announcement that all print subscribers to the magazine will also gain free access to the digital edition of the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amis's French and German publishers passed on his novel about the Holocaust, but another French company will be releasing the book and Amis's agent said there will most likely be a new German publisher that is willing to publish it. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-09-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Titan Books is to publish a collection of 21 original stories from authors including Gillian... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-08-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A new study reports that after a book wins an award its social media ratings tend to dip. The Guardian explains why. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-02-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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It may be astonishing that a print publication devoted to book reviews still exists, but it does — and Kirkus Reviews wants to give you a free literary trip to NYC. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-09-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Shakespeare & Co.'s Paris Literary Prize honors novellas written in English by an unpublished author. Judge Rebecca Carter reports on this year's festivities. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-06-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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British crime writer R.J. Ellory is the latest author to be caught out writing glowing online reviews of his own work. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-09-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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