Publisher adept at balancing the demands of literature and commerce, and a notable writer on artIn his prime, with his coloured shirts, red braces, bright bow ties and macho cigars there were few more flamboyant London publishers than Tom Rosenthal, who has died aged 78. But the extravagant top dressing disguised a high intellect that ensured that during the 1970s and early 80s the publishing house of Secker and Warburg was very much premier league.During his time at the helm, the firm profitably mixed literature and commerce. The list of authors, some inherited, some new, was mainly fiction-driven, its impressive phalanx of talent including, from the UK, Malcolm Bradbury, David Lodge, Tom Sharpe and Melvyn Bragg; from South Africa, the future two times Man Booker winner JM Coetzee; from mainland Europe, Umberto Eco, Italo Calvino and Günter Grass; and from the Americas, James Michener, George V Higgins, Carlos Fuentes and Saul Bellow.Publishing was not his only professional talent. His lifelong enthusiasm for mid-20th-century art lead to a stint as art critic of the Listener and later the New Statesman. Among painters he admired were Jack B Yeats, John Piper, Ivon Hitchens, Arthur Boyd, Sidney Nolan, Paula Rego and particularly LS Lowry, whom he championed when the art establishment dismissed him. In the 1960s, following an interview with Lowry for BBC Radio 3 he bought a small Lowry oil for £60. It was the start of a collection.Rosenthal was born in London, the son of... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2014-01-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
The celebrated author of Money and London Fields, whose works defined the 80s and 90s literary scene, died of oesophageal cancer on Friday at his home in FloridaMartin Amis, the influential author of era-defining novels including Money and London Fields, and the memoir Experience, has died at... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-05-20 18:53:35 UTC ]
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From Kazuo Ishiguro to Zadie Smith, Granta’s list has been spotlighting future stars since 1983. Four decades on, what does its evolution says about our literary landscape?Last month, a reformed Glaswegian gang member, a former personal trainer and a Booker prize winner all glammed up for a... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-04-15 08:00:36 UTC ]
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The journal’s once-in-a-decade selection of the best fiction writers under 40 has broadened its selection of 20 to include authors who ‘regard the UK as their home’Granta magazine’s Best of British Novelists list, which hails the literary stars of the future, has this year expanded to include... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-04-13 07:00:37 UTC ]
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Filippo Bernardini impersonated hundreds of people in the publishing industry to obtain work by Margaret Atwood, Sally Rooney and Ian McEwan, but never intended to leak the booksThe former publishing employee who stole manuscripts of books by Margaret Atwood, Sally Rooney and Ian McEwan has said... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-03-13 11:30:25 UTC ]
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The book, which so far has no title or publication date, was announced by publisher William Collins, who did not reveal how much Johnson will be paidA memoir by former prime minister Boris Johnson, covering his years as leader, will be published by HarperCollins, it has been announced.The book,... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-01-16 16:38:43 UTC ]
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Sexually abused by his piano teacher, a boy struggles to reclaim his life in Ian McEwan's new novel "Lessons." Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2022-09-20 15:52:11 UTC ]
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In “Circus of Dreams,” the literary editor John Walsh writes about the bookish life in London when Martin Amis, Ian McEwan, Jeanette Winterson and their generation were in the increasingly bright limelight. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-07-12 02:13:37 UTC ]
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William Collins has landed Marvel star Simu Liu's "honest and inspiring" memoir. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2022-01-31 16:51:25 UTC ]
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The Booker prize-winning author’s new novel Lessons is ‘a powerful meditation on history and humanity told through the prism of one man’s lifetime’Ian McEwan’s “most epic book to date”, moving from the end of the second world war to the current pandemic and exploring the impact of childhood... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-01-19 12:00:11 UTC ]
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Ian McEwan’s “ambitious and mesmerising” new novel Lessons will be published by Jonathan Cape in September. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2022-01-19 02:10:47 UTC ]
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William Collins has landed a new history on the Interregnum period by Anna Keay, the director of the Landmark Trust, a charity which rescues buildings of historic interest or architectural merit and then makes them available for holiday rental. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-10-17 19:09:49 UTC ]
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William Collins has landed a book by environmental campaigner Guy Shrubsole looking at Britain's lost rainforests. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-10-08 15:11:28 UTC ]
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William Collins has pre-empted Aarathi Prasad’s book Silk, a history of “the natural world’s most extraordinary invention”. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-04-01 08:45:54 UTC ]
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William Collins has pre-empted the “explosive” diaries of former UK Foreign Minister Sir Alan Duncan, kept while he served in government from 2016 until the end of 2019. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-03-03 09:34:55 UTC ]
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Set in Brighton Beach in 1968, the novel follows three characters involved in a wacky film production. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2021-01-26 13:00:00 UTC ]
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William Collins has snapped up a “radical” new assessment of Indian independence from debut author Sam Dalrymple in a pre-emptive co-publication deal with HarperCollins India. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-12-06 19:12:38 UTC ]
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William Collins has won a five-way auction for a feminist exposé of the economy by journalist Katrine Marçal. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-19 00:41:42 UTC ]
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William Collins has picked up debut writer J S Tennant’s “brilliantly original” history of Cuba. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-10-07 05:38:06 UTC ]
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Last month, 58 writers, journalists and artists signed a letter in the Sunday Times in support of JK Rowling, condemning the ‘onslaught of abuse’ she has received regarding her views on sex, gender and trans rights. Signatories included Tom Stoppard, Ian McEwan and Lionel Shriver. Three days... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-10-04 20:35:25 UTC ]
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William Collins has pre-empted a “ground-breaking” history of urban rebellion in America by Elizabeth Hinton, professor of history and law at Yale University. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-29 03:02:58 UTC ]
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