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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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Mon, 04/04/2011 - 09:16 The Arts Council has defended its funding cut to the Poetry Book Society (PBS), claiming its "reach and distribution was not as wide or effective as other applicants'". In a letter to the Times, Antonia Byatt, director of... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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As you may have heard, the cookbook sensation of the season, if not the decade, is Modernist Cuisine, a six-volume magnum opus on contemporary cooking principles that will set you back roughly $500. Self-published by Nathan Myhrvoldthe genius founder of Microsoft's research division,... Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2011-04-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Thu, 31/03/2011 - 09:14 Blackwell UK hopes to become profitable in two years, after nearly halving its operating losses to £5.6m. The academic booksellers year-end results to 26th June 2010 show the company has narrowed its operating losses from... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Google may seek help from Congress as it tries to salvage a book publishing settlement that was rejected by a federal judge. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2011-03-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Thu, 24/03/2011 - 08:50 HarperCollins has signed a five book exclusive deal with Emma Chichester Clark to become her worldwide publisher. The deal with Chicester Clark, who has also had titles published recently by Andersen Press, was signed by... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Katie Allen Publication Date: Wed, 16/03/2011 - 16:23 Atlantic Books has made five positions redundant, including commercial director Daniel Scott, a cut of around 15% to the 34-strong staff. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Philip Stone Publication Date: Tue, 15/03/2011 - 15:56 Sales of the six £1 World Book Day books fell 36% week-on-week, to 159,000 copies solda figure down 9% on the comparative week last yearbut they nonetheless continue to dominate the sharp end of this weeks Official UK Top... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Fri, 11/03/2011 - 09:04 Continuum has been crowned the Independent Publishers Guild's Independent Publisher of the Year at the IPG awards, in a night when it and Faber won two awards. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Tue, 08/03/2011 - 08:50 Hodder author Jojo Moyes has won Romantic Novel of the Year at the Romantic Novelists' Association's (RNA) Pure Passion Awards, scooping the prize with The Last Letter from Your Lover. Both Josephine Cox and Penny Jordan,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Katie Allen Publication Date: Fri, 04/03/2011 - 09:06 Booktrust Teenage Prize-winner Patrick Ness has been shortlisted for the Arthur C Clarke Award, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. The shortlist of six was chosen from 54 eligible submissions which award director... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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More than 2000 staff who work for the failed Borders and Angus & Robertson bookshop chains face a nervous month. Continue reading at The Sydney Morning Herald
[ The Sydney Morning Herald | 2011-03-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Mon, 28/02/2011 - 09:20 Bloomsbury is anticipating 2011 to be the "year of the ebook", as it reported ebook sales were just under 10% of trade print sales in its latest results. For the 12 months ending 31st December 2010, sales were up 4.01%... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Mon, 28/02/2011 - 09:42 Penguin UK had its best ever year in 2010 as parent company Pearson reported a profits increase of 21% to £857m. For the year ending 31st December, sales at Pearson were £5.66bn, up 10% on 2009. Sales at Penguin were... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Online publishers like CBS and Forbes are selling the tiny ads on their Web sites, rather than letting a third-party network promote teeth whitening and herbal remedies. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2011-02-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 25/02/2011 - 08:40 Gordon Willoughby, Amazon's director of the Kindle in Europe, is to address London Book Fair's digital conference to be held on the eve of this year's fair. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill and Katie Allen Publication Date: Fri, 25/02/2011 - 16:44 Bookstart has had its funding slashed by 50% after the government pledged to continue funding the bookgifting scheme for the next two years. C.e.o of independent charity Booktrust, which administers the scheme,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Wed, 23/02/2011 - 15:33 A High Court challenge is being launched over library closures in Gloucestershire and Somerset, in what is believed to be the first case of its kind. A challenge to the coalition government's "vague" Big Society concept,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Wed, 23/02/2011 - 17:51 Waterstone's has made 17 members of staff redundant from its head offices in Brentford and Solihull. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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It seems like most of the subway car empties at the Grand Street stop in the heart of New York Citys Chinatown. Just as the last person makes it off, the conductor announces, Stand clear of the closing doors, and Gong Hey Fat Choy! Happy New Year! Its the first day of Chinese New Year and... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-02-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Benedicte Page Hounslow council has postponed proposals to save money by cutting eight libraries, after a public consultation showed a majority of residents wanted to keep them all. The Hounslow Chronicle reports however that campaigners say libraries are not yet safe, as the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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