The Hatchet Job of the Year doesn't cut it | Alex Clark

This celebration of bookish snark, won by AA Gill for his Morrissey assault, is less daring and less worthy than it thinksIt's the middle of a wet, wet winter, unaccountably you haven't shed the pounds or learnt the cello as per the optimism of 1 Jan, and to make matters even worse, Valentine's Day is just around the corner. No wonder you're feeling bilious; thank God, therefore, that there is a literary prize to match your mood.Last night, the Omnivore's Hatchet Job of the Year award, an annual celebration of unkind book reviewing, went to AA Gill for his piece on Morrissey's Autobiography; on this scant information alone, if the prize were suddenly in need of a new name, we might reasonably suggest the Shooting Fish in a Barrel award. But more of AA presently; for now, let us leave him to enjoy his spoils, a year's supply of potted shrimp donated by The Fish Society (I think the idea is to draw a parallel between the smell of rotten fish and the smell of rotten writing; it might also be an allusion to those possibly apocryphal stories of spurned lovers sewing prawns into the spurners' curtain rods).The Hatchet Job of the Year, previously won by critics Adam Mars-Jones and Camilla Long, is the duck/rabbit of the literary prize season. Viewed one way, what's to dislike? It takes a welcome hatpin to the balloon of literary pomposity; it declares war on the bland book review and the log-rolling backslap. The prize locates itself firmly in the traditions of seductively... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2014-02-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Piketty named FT/McKinsey Business Book of the Year

Thomas Piketty's Capital in the Twenty-First Century has triumphed at the Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year Awards. Piketty's book, a nearly 700-page exploration of economic processes that concentrate wealth and build inequalities, was chosen as the winner of the £30,000... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Job consultations in Hachette UK field sales

Hachette UK is consulting with "fewer than 10" people over potential redundancy following the restructure of its group field sales division. Earlier this year the publisher created a new sales structure, with two teams, one headed by Rob Manser and looking after Little, Brown and Orion, and the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Piketty Takes 2014 'FT,' McKinsey & Co Business Book of the Year Award

The prize, which comes with a £30,000 purse, was presented to Thomas Piketty’s editor, Harvard's Ian Malcolm, at a ceremony in London on November 11. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-11-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Slightly Foxed wins Vintage Indie of the Year

London’s Slightly Foxed has been named Vintage Independent Bookshop of the Year for 2014, winning £1,000. The shop, in Gloucester Road SW7, impressed judges with its “brilliantly conceived events”, including a vintage wine and Vintage literature evening, and a phantom book group, where people... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Brazil: A Year After the Guest of Honor in Frankfurt

Brazilian publishers, agents and associations reflect on how Brazil's Guest of Honor Program at the Frankfurt Book Fair impacts their business today. The post Brazil: A Year After the Guest of Honor in Frankfurt appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-11-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Igloo 'will reach £50m turnover in under five years', says Johnson

Igloo Books will achieve turnover of £50m in less than five years after its acquisition by Bonnier Publishing, according to Bonnier c.e.o. Richard Johnson.   Bonnier announced its acquisition of Igloo, which currently has annual turnover of £35m, on Friday (31st October).     Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Consultation on jobs at British Museum Press

Ten roles at the British Museum’s digital media and publishing department, which includes the British Museum Press, are under consultation and at threat of redundancy. The department, which also includes website and broadcast teams, is being restructured to help deliver the museum’s “strategic... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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H&S acquires debut from 15-year-old

Hodder & Stoughton has acquired The Catalyst, the first novel in a fantasy crossover series from 15-year-old debut author Helena Coggan.   The book, which Coggan started writing when she was just 13, is about teenager Rose Elmsworth, who lives in a world divided into the Gifted (who have... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-10-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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There will be a lot of Marvel and DC Comics movies in the next few years

Earlier this month, Warner Bros. announced its roadmap for DC Comics movies through 2020, and today, Marvel Studios revealed its plans as well. Basically, if you're into superhero/comic book movies, you're set for the next seven years. Need a quick... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2014-10-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Watch time at YouTube 'growing 50% a year'

Publishers who do not have a strategy related to YouTube are missing an opportunity, publicists and marketeers were told at a YouTube conference held yesterday (27th October) in association with The Bookseller. The event, held at the YouTube offices in St Giles High Street, and aimed at giving... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-10-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Icon signs Vintage Years columnist

Icon Books has signed a book from the anonymous Guardian columnist behind 'The Vintage Years'. The author of the column, who was known in the newspaper only as 'The Invisible Woman', was revealed last year as Helen Walmsley-Johnson, a former PA for the Guardian's editor Alan Rusbridger, who... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-10-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Curtis Brown Ltd. Celebrates 100 Years

History is something Curtis Brown Ltd. has been reveling in of late, as the agency turns 100 this year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-10-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Four Questions for...Dutch Editor Job Lisman

Want to know what international agents, editors and foreign rights specialists see happening in their respective markets? Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-09-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Shortlist Announced for 'FT,' McKinsey & Co Business Book of the Year Award

The winner will be announced at a dinner ceremony on November 11 in London, and will receive £30,000, with each shortlisted author receiving £10,000. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-09-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Pearson targets literacy with five-year project

Pearson is launching a five-year project on literacy by inviting people to contribute tips on... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-09-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Time Inc. Seeks Power to Ship Edit Jobs Abroad, Newspaper Guild Alleges

Time Inc. wants the ability to outsource nearly 200 editorial jobs overseas, according to the Newspaper Guild of New York, which has been locked in an 18-month-long contract negotiation with the nation's largest magazine publisher, owner of People, Sports Illustrated and InStyle, among... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2014-09-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Tampa Bay Times Cuts Employee Pay 5 Percent, Reduces Severance Payments

Paul Tash, CEO and chairman of the Times, announced the cuts in a memo to employees Thursday, citing a difficult summer that resulted in lower than expected revenue. "Newspaper publishing remains a tough business," he wrote. Anticipating jo ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2014-09-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Oyster Looks Back at a Year of E-book Subscription

A year after its launch, ebook subscription service Oyster, has added tens of thousands of titles, scores of new publishers and appears to be attracting more subscribers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-09-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Man Booker Prize: Two American writers make the cut for the shortlist

In addition to the American contenders Karen Joy Fowler for 'We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves' and Joshua Ferris of 'To Rise Again at a Decent Hour,' other nominees include Richard Flanagan for 'The Narrow Road to the Deep North' and Ali Smith for 'How to Be Both.' Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-09-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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B&N Quarterly Sales Fell 7%, But Losses Cut

Revenue at Barnes & Noble fell 7% in the first quarter ended August 2, to $1.23 billion, but the retailer cut its net loss to $28.4 million from $87.0 million in the first period of fiscal 2014. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-09-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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