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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Phil Budnick has been named director of field and wholesaler sales for Penguin’s adult hardcover division, effective June 16. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

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Job Moves: May 20, 2014

Jill Freshney has been promoted to the newly-created position of senior executive managing editor, Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Job Moves: May 14, 2014

At S&S Children’s, Christina Solazzo has been promoted to senior production editor for the Simon Spotlight and Little Simon imprints. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Job Moves: May 13, 2014

Rachel Hendrick has been named operations manager of "Choice," effective immediately. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Job Moves: May 12, 2014

Following the death of agent Deborah Rogers on April 30, Rogers Coleridge & White has appointed Gill Coleridge as chair to succeed Rogers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Faber and Cape makes Wales Book of the Year shortlist

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[ The Bookseller | 2014-05-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Job Moves: May 8, 2014

Molly Lindley has left Simon & Schuster, where she was an associate editor, to pursue freelance editing. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Job Moves: May 7, 2014

Jacob Dalborg is succeeding Hartmut Jedicke as board chair for Bonnier in Germany and U.K. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Job Moves: May 6, 2014

Liz Perl has been promoted to executive v-p, marketing for Simon & Schuster. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Job Moves: May 5, 2014

Emma Ledbetter has been promoted to associate editor at Atheneum Books for Young Readers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Job Moves: May 2, 2014

Kristin Spang has been promoted to publishing manager and manager of special initiatives at Penguin. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Job Moves: April 30, 2014

At Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, Ellen Grafton has been promoted to assistant managing editor. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-04-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Job Moves: April 29, 2014

At Chronicle Books, Sarah Golski has been promoted to managing editor of the lifestyle group. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-04-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Teresa Rolfe Kravtin: PW 2014 Rep of the Year

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-04-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Green Apple Books: PW Bookstore of the Year

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-04-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The P&L Sheet: My Year of Reading Quickly

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-04-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Savannah Book Festival to Offer Year-Round Author Events

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-04-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Job Moves: April 16, 2014

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-04-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Job Moves: April 15, 2014

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-04-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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