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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[ The Guardian | 2014-07-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Job Moves: July 25, 2014

Abigail Naqvi has joined Bloomsbury as the head of academic marketing for the Americas. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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40 Years After Resignation, a Wave of Nixon Books

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Job Moves: July 24, 2014

After over nine years years at Penguin, Beth Parker, associate publicity director of Gotham and Avery books, has left the company to start her own company, Beth Parker PR. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Job Moves: July 23, 2014

At Portfolio, Sentinel, and Current, Jacquelynn Burke and Margot Stamas have been promoted to senior publicist. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Job Moves: July 22, 2014

Marie Florio has been promoted to director of subsidiary rights for the Simon & Schuster Publishing Group. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Job Moves: July 21, 2014

Jenna Pocius has joined little bee books as associate editor. Pocius was previously assistant editor at Bloomsbury Publishing. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Job Moves: July 18, 2014

Penny Makras will be joining the Harper marketing team on July 21 as a senior marketing manager. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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New material planned for Alex Ferguson paperback

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[ The Bookseller | 2014-07-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Elmore Leonard's unpublished stories to be published next year

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[ The Guardian | 2014-07-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Chris Colfer Doesn’t Want to Know What the Internet Thinks of Him

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[ AdWeek | 2014-07-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Job Moves: July 16, 2014

Kelli Chipponeri has been promoted to editorial director, children's, at Chronicle Books Children’s Publishing. Chipponeri joined the company in 2010 as executive editor. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Job Moves: July 14, 2014

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Guardian | 2014-07-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Owen Sheers wins Book of the Year

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[ BBC News | 2014-07-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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For Lynne Rienner, 30 Years and Counting

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Job Moves: July 10 2014

Teresa Zampino has joined Penguin Random House International Sales & Marketing as Penguin Group marketing manager, international. She was previously at Hachette Book Group. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Job Moves: July 9, 2014

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Job Moves: July 8, 2014

Becky Green has been promoted to v-p, director, children’s retail sales, Random House Children’s Books. She was previously the division's v-p. national accounts. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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