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 ]
Stephen Hayward, who has died of a heart attack aged 61, founded the independent publisher Serif in 1992 and ran it from his east London home with great creative care. The book jackets, by Pentagram Berlin, are works of art in themselves.Stephen, the son of Gay (nee Goulding), an orthoptist, and... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-11-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Tom Gauld rings the changes for short fiction, following Philip Hensher’s article on creating an anthology of British short stories Continue reading... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-11-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Alix Nelson-Frick, author and former CEO of the book-focused advertising firm Franklin Spier, died November 12. She was 77. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-11-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Weschcke, who has owned one of the world's oldest spirituality publishers, Llewellyn Worldwide, since 1961, died on Saturday. He was 85. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-11-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Rena Wolner, the only woman to be named president and publisher of three major mass market publishing houses, died of lung cancer November 7. She was 70. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-11-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Penguin Lessons is a warm and unique story about an unlikely friendship between a man and a penguin, and fond memories of a long-ago trip to South America. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-11-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Authors Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison answer questions about their new book Never Evers (Chicken House). Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-11-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Dan Poynter, author, founder of Para Publishing, publishing consultant, parachute-designer and self-publishing pioneer, died November 3 after a long illness. He was 77. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-11-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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It was standing room only at Golders Green Crematorium on Sunday (1st November) as family and friends from the many walks of his long life gathered to bid farewell to Philip Joseph, founder of Exclusive Books in South Africa and Books etc, a chain which enlivened London’s high streets before... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-11-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Gerald Gross, a top publishing executive at several major houses from 1946-1975, died in his home in the Baltimore area on October 14. He was 94. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-10-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bob Gray, publisher of Central Recovery Press, 57, died on October 15, 2015, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, after a long illness. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-10-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Vera B. Williams, noted children’s book author and illustrator, artist, educator, and social activist, died on October 16, 2015. She was 88. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-10-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The British Library has appointed Tom Holland as chair of the Public Lending Right (PLR) Advisory Committee for the next three years. Holland said: “I am hugely honoured to be taking on the role of chair of the PLR Advisory Committee, which does such excellent work in promoting the interests of... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-10-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Deputy leader of the Labour Party, Tom Watson will address United, We Publish, an evening of workshops hosted by Unite and BookMachine. Watson will discuss his role in exposing the phone-hacking scandal at News International and his book Dial M for Murdoch: News Corporation and the Corruption... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-10-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Jeremy Tarcher, the founder of the publishing company Tarcher Books (now part of the Tarcher Perigee imprint of Penguin Random House), died September 20. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-09-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The former MIT Press director who pioneered the strategy of focused disciplinary specialization, created the first university press website, and published the first interactive ebook died late last week. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-09-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In a recent radio interview, New England Patriors quarterback Tom Brady mentioned a transformative self-help book that serves as a 'mantra' for his life. Brady says he's been reading the book every year since 2002. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-09-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Perle, who served as publisher of William Morrow, among other top level positions across publishing houses, died August 20 at the age of 59, after living with breast cancer for more than eight years. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Prolific children’s author, collage artist, and world traveler Ann McGovern died on Saturday, August 8, at her home in New York City. She was 85. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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