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 ]
News tagged with: #ve joined #feel great

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SPX 2014 Marks 20 Years Celebrating Small Press Comics

SPX, an annual festival for independent and self-published comics, opens this weekend, September 13-14 in North Bethesda, Maryland with such artists as Lynda Barry, Keith Knight, Charles Burns and others. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-09-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sony Creates Literary Development Job

Sony Pictures Entertainment has tapped Ryan Doherty for the newly created role of v-p, literary development. Doherty, who will be based in New York City, will be tasked with, per SPE, "pursuing book-to-film-and-television opportunities." Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-09-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Men's Fitness: 15 years of covers - in pictures

As the Dennis Publishing title relaunches, we look back at how its covers have changed since its launch in 1999. The new-look magazine offers a bolder design, streamlined sections and new content, aiming for what its publishing director describes as a broader spectrum approach to fitness. Its... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-08-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ellora’s Cave Cuts Staff, Blames Big Amazon Sales Drop

In a letter to her authors, Ellora’s Cave CEO Patty Marks blames the cuts on unexplained declines in ebook sales through Amazon. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-08-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Authors on the Air August 18, 2014: Stephan Eirik Clark

Stephan Eirik Clark, author of 'Sweetness #9' (Little, Brown; 9780316278751), will appear on NPR’s 'Fresh Air' on Monday, August 18. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-08-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Total Moblie Ad Spend Almost Doubled Last Year

Mobile may be next frontier for publishing, but readers have migrated to the platform faster than advertisers—that gap could be closing though. Global mobile advertising revenue nearly doubled in 2013, totaling $19.3 billion, according to a report from the Intera Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2014-08-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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There Are More Scented Ads in Magazines this Year

Magazines have been more fragrant than usual this year. During the first six months of 2014, magazines ran 17 more perfume and cologne ads with scent strips than they did a year earlier, good for a 10% increase, according to a report from analytics firm MediaRadar.The report, which looked at 177... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2014-08-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bookstores celebrate the release of Haruki Murakami's newest novel 'Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage'

Celebrations include karaoke and a film contest that will enable the winner to go on his or her own Tsukuru Tazaki-like pilgrimage. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-08-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Self-publishing becomes larger focus at this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair

The Frankfurt Book Fair will organize a two-day self-publishing and author program at the 2014 fair this year, aimed at an international audience. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-08-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Russian Book Sales Plummet in Ukraine, Imports to Be Cut

Sales of Russian books in the Ukraine have plummeted in 2014 and the Ukrainian government is looking at passing legislation to curtail imports further. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-08-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Gannett introduces digital-centric job titles for its staff journalists

Will Newsquest adopt the same editorial titles (with different pay rates)?Gannett, the largest US newspaper publisher, has created new job titles for editorial staff along with revised descriptions of their duties, as Jim Romenesko reveals.He cites a series of job titles now on offer at one of... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-08-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Liverpool, Glamorgan and Islington face library cuts

More than half of Liverpool's libraries are at risk of closure as the city council looks to... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-08-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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PW Automates Job Moves Submissions

PW has automated the submission process for news about new hires, promotions and departures. Now subscribers can share information about career changes directly with us, though a data entry form on our website. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-08-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Job Moves: August 5, 2014

Louise Braverman has been named director of publicity for Penguin Books and Penguin Classics. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-08-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Orion marks 10 years of Paver's Chronicles

Orion Children’s is celebrating 10 years of Michelle Paver’s Chronicles of Ancient... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-08-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Job Moves: August 4, 2014

Lucy Danziger, most recently editor-in-chief of "SELF" magazine, is joining Ballantine Bantam Dell in the newly created position of editor-at-large. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-08-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Job Moves: July 31, 2014

Stephanie Wong has been promoted to lifestyle marketing and publicity manager at Chronicle Books. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Job Moves: July 29, 2014

Yvonne Hunter, former v-p, publicity and marketing at Penguin Group Canada, will be heading up literary, cultural and special events programming at the Toronto Public Library. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Job Moves: July 28, 2014

At Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Bridgett Paradise has been named senior v-p of human resources and chief people officer. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Dynamite Entertainment's Surprising 10 Years

Celebrating its 10th Anniversary with a panel starring director Quentin Tarantino in front of a packed house at the San Diego Comic-Con, it was hard to remember that when Dynamite Publishing launched 10 years ago, no one was sure what to expect. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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