Tom Margerison obituary

Founder of New Scientist, Sunday Times journalist and BBC broadcaster who made complicated subjects easy to understandA powerful mind coupled with a gift for rendering complex ideas in popular terms made Tom Margerison, who has died aged 90, an outstanding ambassador for science. Equally at home in print or on radio and television, he was in at the beginning of New Scientist, a notable science correspondent on the Sunday Times and the resident boffin of the Tonight programme. His popular science books were acclaimed, and he was drawn to the executive side of the press and broadcasting.He joined the Sunday Times in 1961, the year that the Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space. When Gagarin visited Britain, Margerison looked after him at his press conference. He became a trusted source for news of Soviet technology, and reported for the BBC's Panorama programme on the Red Army's ammunition production at Novosibirsk, in south-west Siberia.For a BBC documentary on Siberia, Margerison, who never wore a coat, impressed his Russian hosts by walking out in -40C in a light Marks and Spencer suit. He also took part in sub-zero swimming competitions under the ice, outdrank his hosts and evaded his minder and hotel room bugs, filing secretly to the Sunday Times.When MI5 tried to harness his exceptional access to the Russians, he was unimpressed by its recruitment technique. Asked to lunch at the Cumberland Hotel in London, he looked around the room and saw a... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2014-03-03 00:00:00 UTC ]

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Obituary: Superagent Ed Victor Dies at 78

The Bronx-born and London-based literary agent, whose clients included a who's-who of bold-faced names from Eric Clapton to David Cameron, was known for bringing a touch of Hollywood flare to the business of author representation. He died of a heart attack on Wednesday night. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-06-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #eric clapton #david cameron #heart attack #wednesday night


Obituary: Geoffrey Hayes

Children’s author and illustrator Geoffrey Hayes died on June 2, at the age of 69. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-06-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Jeremy Mulford obituary

My friend Jeremy Mulford, who has died aged 79, was a poet, publisher and editor who founded Falling Wall Press in the early 1970s as a way of disseminating radical pamphlets on education and the women’s movement by authors such as Harold Rosen and Sheila Rowbotham.As the venture thrived he also... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2017-05-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #published books


Obituary: John Davey

Ivon Asquith and Andrew Franklin pay tribute to John Davey - a prodigious talent in academic, trade and reference publishing.   Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Obituary: Rebecca Swift

The director of The Literary Consultancy, who passed away last month at the age of 53, is remembered by novelist Kamila Shamsie for her kindness, warmth and wisdom. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #rebecca swift #literary consultancy


Robert Pirsig obituary

Author of the 1970s cult bestseller Zen and the Art of Motorcycle MaintenanceWhen, in 1968, Robert Pirsig, who has died aged 88, sent a synopsis and sample of his novel Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance to 122 publishers, only one showed any interest, and James Landis, the editor who... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2017-04-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #american transcendentalism #jack kerouac


Ariadne van de Ven obituary

Our friend Ariadne van de Ven, who has died aged 56 of cancer, was a book publicist and photographer of street life in Kolkata, which she wrote about in original ways.Ariadne was born in Heerlen, in the Netherlands, the daughter of Jep, a solicitor, and Rose Marie (nee Van Grunsven). At the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2017-04-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #english language


Agatha Christie's paperback artist Tom Adams to appear at CrimeFest

The artist behind Agatha Christie’s iconic book jackets in the 1960s and 70s, Tom Adams, will appear as part of CrimeFest’s ninth line-up. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-04-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #agatha christie


Robin Hyman obituary

My father, Robin Hyman, who has died aged 85, was one of the leading independent book publishers of the 20th century. But he was so much more than that: family man, Jew, author, theatregoer, book-collector, sports fan, lover of all things Pepys and political junkie. He packed things in,... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2017-04-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Tom Fletcher writes 'darkly magic' middle grade novel

McFly band member Tom Fletcher will publish his second middle grade novel for Penguin Random House in time for the Christmas market this October. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-04-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #middle grade #christmas market


Tom Cox book breaks Unbound crowdfunding records

Author Tom Cox's new book 21st Century Yokel has become the fastest title to reach its funding target on Unbound in just seven hours. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-03-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #funding target


Obituary: George Braziller Dies at 101

George Braziller, a legendary independent publisher who began his career in the 1930s before going on to publish such international literary stars as Jean-Paul Sartre and Andre Malraux, died in Manhattan March 16. He was 101. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-03-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Letter: Ruth Levitt obituary

I worked with Ruth Levitt as publisher of the Macmillan Dictionary of Art, a 32-volume scholarly reference work. Over a decade, Ruth and her colleague Gillian Northcott indexed 31 volumes, some 16m words of text and many thousands of images. Their index formed the 32nd volume of the dictionary.... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2017-03-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Obituary: Amy Krouse Rosenthal

Amy Krouse Rosenthal, author of children's books and a number of memoirs and guided journals for adults, died of ovarian cancer at age 51. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-03-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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William Heinemann to publish Tom Hanks short stories

Cornerstone imprint William Heinemann is publishing a collection of short stories from actor Tom Hanks, anticipated to be a "major publishing event" for PRH this autumn. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-02-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #william heinemann #short stories


Tom Fletcher pens 'highly inventive' picture book for PRH

Tom Fletcher is set to publish another picture book with Penguin Random House Children's. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-02-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #picture book #tom fletcher


Obituary: Dick Bruna

Dutch children’s author-illustrator Dick Bruna, widely known for his iconic bunny character Miffy, died on February 16 at age 89. In all he created 124 books for children. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-02-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Tom Kerridge gets a Dopamine boost back into the top spot

Tom Kerridge’s Dopamine Diet (Absolute) has boomeranged back into the number one spot, selling 15,532 copies for £131,405. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-02-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #tom kerridge #sdopamine dietabsolute #boomeranged back


Obituary: Robin Hyman

Robin Hyman, the former president of the Publishers Association, whose love of dictionaries and aptitude in the independent publishing world granted him a great deal of respect within the trade, is remembered by Laurence King. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-02-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #robin hyman #publishers association #great deal #laurence king


Obituary: David Miller

Ravi Mirchandani remembers literary agent David Miller of Rogers, Coleridge & White, who died in December aged 50. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-01-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #david miller #coleridge white