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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Strange Ads Promote an Author Who Isn't Real and a Book That Doesn't Exist

IFC's upcoming The Spoils of Bablyon, a comedy miniseries that spoofs serious miniseries, is based on a book that seems to be sold out in Hudson News stores around the country. The problem with keeping the book in stock, though, is that there were never any printed copies. Eric Jonrosh (and the... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2013-11-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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8 Years Later, Google's Book Scanning Crusade Ruled 'Fair Use'

Eight years after a group of authors and publishers sued Google for scanning more than 20 million library books without the permission of rights holders, a federal judge has ruled that the web giant's sweeping book project stayed within the bounds of U.S. copyright law.     Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2013-11-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Wimpy Kid kicks Alex Ferguson into touch

Manchester United legend's bestselling memoir pushed from the top of books chart by Jeff Kinney's weedy heroHis protagonist is a lazy schoolboy weakling, Greg Heffley, but now children's author Jeff Kinney has shoved the big man of football off the top spot in the UK official book chart.Hard... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2013-11-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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AUDIO: Topsy and Tim on TV after 50 years

Cressida Cowell, author of the How to Train Your Dragon book series, and Greg Childs, former executive producer for CBBC & Cbeebies, discuss the re-introduction of classic children's TV. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2013-11-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Alex Ferguson print run hits one million

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[ The Bookseller | 2013-11-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Why Procrastination Doesn't Need A Cure––And Might Even Make You More Productive

Is wasting time as productivity killing as we've always thought, or does it provide a creativity–enhancing escape from the chaos of the world? Stop dawdling and let's explore!Recently, I read a great book and promised to mail it to a friend overseas when I was done, about nine months ago. Today,... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2013-11-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon offers physical bookstores a cut of Kindle ebook sales, and just enough rope

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[ Engadget | 2013-11-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon to Let Independent Bookstores Sell Kindles and Gives Them a Cut of E-Book Sales

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[ AllThingsD | 2013-11-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2013-11-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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98 British publishers folded last year due to ebooks, discounts

Closures were up 42% over the previous year, according to the Guardian. The companies that folded included the 26-year-old healthcare publisher Panos London and Evans Brothers.Ninety-eight British publishers closed their doors in the year ending August 2013. The cause? E-books and online discounts. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-11-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Job losses as Bonnier companies relocate

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[ The Bookseller | 2013-11-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishing Innovator of the Year

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[ Publishing Executive | 2013-11-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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E&P Publisher of the Year: Dennis Francis, Honolulu Star-Advertiser

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[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-10-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Martha Stewart's New CEO Choice Suggests Cuts Ahead

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[ Advertising Age | 2013-10-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Alex Ferguson beats rivals, smashes sales records

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[ The Bookseller | 2013-10-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Vice named Ad Age's publishing company of the year

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[ Crains New York | 2013-10-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ad Age's Magazine A-List: Vice Media is Publishing Company of the Year

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[ Advertising Age | 2013-10-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ad Age's Magazine A-List: Bon Appetit is Magazine of the Year

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[ Advertising Age | 2013-10-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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