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

Other Publishing stories related to: 'The Hatchet Job of the Year doesn't cut it | Alex Clark'


How AMI Cut Production Costs by 50 Percent

American Media, Inc. (AMI) and Michael Esposito, Senior Vice President of Operations and Digital Production, think they've hit upon a recipe that could work across the magazine industry for rationalizing print publishing costs and scaling up on digital platforms. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-11-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #american media #digital production #ve hit #magazine industry #digital platforms


Jobs biog sells 379,000 copies Stateside

Written By: Philip Stone Publication Date: Wed, 02/11/2011 - 14:00 Walter Isaacson's biography of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs sold 379,000 copies in the US in its first week on bookshop shelves, BookScan US data has revealed. The $35 publication, published by Simon & Schuster in the US,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bookshop shelves #$35 publication #simon schuster #bestselling book #john grisham #litigators doubleday #journalist bill


Jobs memoir tops bestseller lists

Written By: Philip Stone Publication Date: Wed, 02/11/2011 - 08:27 Walter Isaacson’s biography of the late Steve Jobs has become one of the fastest-selling hardback non-fiction books since records began. Brought forward from its original publication date of 24th November following the Apple... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #opening week #records began #brought forward #24th november #5th october #steve jobs #exclusive biography #bookshop shelves


Jobs biography sells 379,000 Stateside

Written By: Philip Stone Publication Date: Wed, 02/11/2011 - 14:00 Walter Isaacson's biography of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs sold 379,000 copies in the US in it first week on bookshops shelves, BookScan US data has revealed. The $35 publication, published by Simon & Schuster in the US,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #$35 publication #simon schuster #bestselling book #john grisham #litigators doubleday #journalist bill


Rachael Stilwell steps down at Haymarket after 17 years

Rachael Stilwell, publishing director of Haymarket's Brand Republic and Meetings & Travel Group, is stepping down from the company after 17 years. Continue reading at Media Week

[ Media Week | 2011-11-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Johnny Vegas book delayed until next year

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Thu, 27/10/2011 - 08:30 HarperCollins has delayed publication of its autobiography of comedian Johnny Vegas, Becoming Johnny Vegas, due for release this autumn, until this time next year. The publisher said the decision was taken in order to... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Amazon Cuts Publishers Out of the Mix, Makes Deals With Writers

Releasing a book on one of the world’s largest publishing marketplaces could help your company. Here's a quick guide to the basics of self-publishing. Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2011-10-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #quick guide


Alma Books to expand after profitable year

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Thu, 20/10/2011 - 08:45 Alma Books is planning to hire more staff and expand its non-fiction and YA lists, after reversing a loss made in its 2009 financial year. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #alma books #profitable year


Book Business Has Big Hopes for Biography of Steve Jobs

Industry experts said the biography of Steve Jobs could easily sell millions of copies in print, audio and ebook editions. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2011-10-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book business #steve jobs #industry experts #ebook editions


Potential Spanish ebook VAT cut welcomed

Written By: Paul Rigg Publication Date: Fri, 07/10/2011 - 15:11 The Spanish socialists pledge to reduce ebook VAT (IVA) to 4% has been welcomed by the director of the Spanish ebook platform Libranda. The announcement came from Alfredo Rubalcaba, who is the socialists’ candidate to become prime... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #prime minister #ebook market


Digital sales 'could be 15%' by year's end

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 07/10/2011 - 14:39 Independent publishers are predicting that ebook sales may make up as much as 15% of their total sales by the end of 2011, as FutureBook's Digital Census reveals that a quarter of UK publishers now have ebook sales which... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #digital sales #ebook sales #total sales #uk publishers #kindle fire


Little, Brown brings forward Jobs biography

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 07/10/2011 - 08:25 Little, Brown is to be bring forward publication of Steve Jobs: The Exclusive Biography by Walter Isaacson, publishing now on 24th October. The biography was written by Isaacson based on conversations with Apple-founder... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #exclusive biography #steve jobs #walter isaacson #24th october #5th october #originally scheduled #21st november


Steve Jobs Biography Arrives in October, a Month Early

Steve Jobs's death has prompted Simon & Schuster to move up the publication date for his much-anticipated biography by Walter Issacson. The CBS-owned publishing unit has moved up the release date for "Steve Jobs" from Nov. 21 to Oct. 24. Not surprisingly, preorders for the book are... Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2011-10-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #steve jobs #release date


Toubon confident over French VAT cut on ebooks

Written By: Barbara Casassus Publication Date: Wed, 05/10/2011 - 08:51 Former French culture minister Jacques Toubon has said he has high hopes that France will be able to cut VAT on ebooks from 19.6% to 5.5% next January as planned without triggering the wrath of the European Commission.... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #good chance #high hopes #european commission #digital revolution


Fortune Releases Steve Jobs History E-Book

"All About Steve: The Story of Steve Jobs and Apple from the Pages of Fortune" has been released on Amazon as a Kindle book. Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2011-10-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #steve jobs #kindle book


Lizzie Kershaw leaves Hearst after 29 years

Lizzie Kershaw, executive group publishing director of Hearst's Women's Interest Group, is leaving the UK publisher in the midst of a restructure after 29 years service. Continue reading at Media Week

[ Media Week | 2011-09-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #uk publisher


Reading scheme axed due to school spending cuts

Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Mon, 19/09/2011 - 09:39 A primary schools project that has helped thousands of struggling young pupils to read is being axed by the government, according to the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT). The Reading Recovery Project involves... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #national association #london university


Paper Cuts

The printed book is facing its share of challenges in the digital age. But one of the big­gest problems facing the future of the book has gone relatively unnoticed by book lovers—the quality of paper being used in many first edition hardcovers is declining, saddling consumers with inferior... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-09-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #printed book #digital age


Tracking 20 Years of Bookstore Chains

The bookstore chain landscape has undergone seismic shifts over the past 20 years and will enter the fall with approximately 1,100 fewer stores than dotted the country in 1991. Just as it is today, Barnes & Noble was the country's largest bookstore chain 20 years ago, closely trailed by... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-08-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bookstore chains #barnes noble


Kay wins Scottish Book of the Year award

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Fri, 26/08/2011 - 14:34 Jackie Kay has won the £30,000 Scottish Book of the Year award for her autobiography Red Dust Road (Picador). The award, which is run by Creative Scotland, was presented to Kay by Dame Jenni Murray today (26th August) at an... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #creative scotland