If they succeed in distracting commuters from their smartphones, short story dispensers will be a welcome addition to the landscapeCan fiction miniatures dispensed through slots lure commuters away from their smartphone apps and social media feeds into the imaginary worlds created by authors including Virginia Woolf and Anthony Horowitz? We are about to find out. The French company Short Édition, which already has short-story vending machines in France, Hong Kong and the US, arrives in the UK this week, unveiling its first three terminals in London. Henceforth, travellers through Canary Wharf will have the option of forsaking news, email, Football Manager 2019 and every other temptation their handheld device can offer in favour of a story on a scroll of paper, printed on demand for free.It’s a modern twist on the idea of a free bookstall or swap scheme, already familiar to rail travellers across the UK. The cost is borne by businesses, which are encouraged to install the machines as a way of improving customer experiences and preventing people from getting cross or bored. The novelty lies in the dispenser, but also the brevity and portability of the reads on offer, which range from one minute to half an hour, and can also be viewed online. (Mr Horowitz has been commissioned to pen a 60-second whodunnit for the launch.) They demand far less time and energy than a book – in many cases, less effort to read even than a chapter – and will take up next to no space in a bag.... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2019-04-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A few booksellers attending Winter Institute 2024 have attracted attention on the show floor over unexpected events occurring back home at their stores. For one, B&N is planning to move next door; for another, a spouse's promotion might take him away from his store; for a third, eviction looms. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-02-14 05:00:00 UTC ]
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From England and France to the deepest Arctic and northern China, these stories will transport you. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2024-02-11 10:00:24 UTC ]
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While much science fiction is based on theoretical physics, occasionally literature returns the favor and inspires scientific ideas. A perfect symbiosis between the two came about in the early 1980s, when astronomer-turned-novelist Carl Sagan was researching his fictional work Contact and turned... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-02-09 09:54:04 UTC ]
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Novelist Jacinda Townsend and writer James Bernard Short join co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to talk about the movie American Fiction, which is based on the novel Erasure by Percival Everett. Townsend and Short discuss how the film addresses race in the publishing industry via... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-02-08 09:08:33 UTC ]
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The movie, with its handful of Oscar nominations, has refocused attention on “Erasure,” a satire of the literary world and its racial biases. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2024-02-03 10:02:42 UTC ]
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Penguin Random House strengthened its grip on the picture book lists and made gains on the frontlist fiction lists, which Scholastic still rules. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-02-02 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Concerns raised about interference or censorship after documents showed writers were barred despite receiving enough nominationsA prestigious literary award for science fiction, which was hosted in China for the first time, has come under fire for excluding several authors from the 2023 awards,... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2024-01-24 15:53:48 UTC ]
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Check out these 8 gothic science fiction novels! They're sure to both terrorize and entertain you in equal measure! Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-01-24 11:34:00 UTC ]
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The best historical fiction set in Italy, like these nine titles, explores the complex and even chaotic history of the country. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-01-18 11:31:00 UTC ]
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2023 was an incredible year for books celebrating all things science. Here are 10 of the best science fiction books of 2023. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-01-15 11:30:00 UTC ]
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In the midst of chaos, the characters in these books find their own ways to metabolize real-life tragedy. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2024-01-15 10:00:46 UTC ]
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Read your way into the best historical fiction of 2023, which spans the globe and time. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-01-12 11:31:00 UTC ]
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The debut novel 'Dead in Long Beach, California,' is a sharp, dazzling turn for Compton-raised author Venita Blackburn, who made her name with lightning-fast fiction. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2024-01-11 11:00:44 UTC ]
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The best new sci-fi and fantasy books out January 2024 feature mythological retellings, space adventures, cyberpunk ghost stories, and more! Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-01-02 11:30:00 UTC ]
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These books provide us with a deeper understanding of what Korea is beyond what we hear or see in popular culture. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-12-15 11:30:00 UTC ]
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Of all the great premises™ boasted by this year’s slate of movies, the wonderful American Fiction has one of the very best. The film is about a veteran writer of literary fiction who, as a Black man, finds himself undesirable in the literary market for his lack of conforming to type. The... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-12-15 09:55:27 UTC ]
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Jim Milliot, PW’s outgoing editorial director, has been awarded the first-ever Frederic G. Melcher Lifetime Achievement Award for his decades of work covering the publishing industry. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-12-15 05:00:00 UTC ]
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NoViolet Bulawayo among authors paying tribute to independent publishing house that shook up the country’s literary sceneWhen the Zimbabwean editor Irene Staunton and her husband Murray McCartney set up their publishing business in 1998, it seemed natural to call it Weaver Press. Their modest... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-12-07 07:00:02 UTC ]
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Should historical fiction stick to the views and opinions of the time, or provide a modern perspective? Here are the pros and cons. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-12-05 11:31:00 UTC ]
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It’s been a roller coaster of a year. Thankfully, we’ve had novels to whisk us to days gone by, even if those eras had their own highs and lows. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-12-05 10:01:03 UTC ]
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