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 ]
William Collins has landed an '"extraordinary” memoir by Indian writer and commentator Ramachandra Guha, detailing his love affair with cricket. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-05 02:04:46 UTC ]
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Greystone Books is to partner with William Collins on two forthcoming non-fiction titles by Peter Wohllebe, author of The Hidden Life of Trees, with William Collins buying paperback rights in a six-figure deal. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-08-17 19:07:12 UTC ]
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Ben Fogle's Inspire: Life Lessons from the Wilderness has been acquired by publisher William Collins, to be published this October. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-08-11 16:39:53 UTC ]
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William Collins has signed a “deeply poignant and personal” investigation into the Nigerian Civil War by Emmanuel Iduma. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-10 01:50:43 UTC ]
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William Collins has bought the first book from ex-Bank of England governor Mark Carney, an "unblinking, inspiring" look at how value can shape our lives and world. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-10 02:21:59 UTC ]
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William Collins has scooped an “era defining” history of contemporary Britain from broadcaster and author Andrew Marr. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-31 22:20:47 UTC ]
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William Collins has signed a “bold and sweeping” history of the concept of woman from Oxford University associate professor Merve Emre. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-18 22:15:07 UTC ]
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William Collins has landed the “riveting and candid” memoir of Kim Darroch, Britain’s Ambassador to the US during Donald Trump’s White House reign. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-04 06:17:07 UTC ]
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Authors John le Carré, William Boyd, Sathnam Sanghera, Frederick Forsyth and Antony Beevor are among a number of public figures declaring their refusal to vote Labour in the coming general election over the party's association with anti-Semitism. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-11-15 10:33:49 UTC ]
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The "extraordinarily talented" former Collins chairman and c.e.o. Ian Chapman has died, aged 94. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-11-08 14:43:47 UTC ]
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William Collins has triumphed in a three-way auction to publish Financial Times journalist Simon Mundy’s "urgent and practical" book on how climate change will transform global industry, economy and international development. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-23 16:03:08 UTC ]
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The Cliveden Literary Festival returned for a third time last weekend with Ian McEwan, Howard Jacobson and Elif Shafak among the authors taking part in a busy event that saw speakers discuss topics from feminism to Russian spies, cyberwarfare and conspiracy theories to secrets of the universe. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-09-30 13:22:16 UTC ]
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Ian McEwan is releasing a new novella at the end of this month, a “biting political satire” on Brexit about a man’s metamorphosis into the Prime Minister, hellbent on carrying out the will of the people. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-09-12 00:26:24 UTC ]
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William Collins has acquired a collection of letters from contributors including Yoko Ono, Mark Rylance and Green MP Caroline Lucas urgently responding to the climate crisis. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-12 13:23:26 UTC ]
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William Collins has acquired a new history of the British Constitution by legal expert and academic James Grant, about the UK's "unwritten" constitution. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-07-31 20:13:39 UTC ]
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A round of promotions has been revealed across 4th Estate and William Collins with Helen Garnons-Williams promoted to associate publisher across the two HarperCollins imprints and Tom Killingbeck appointed to William Colllins' editorial director, while Anna Kelly will become editorial director... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-07-02 10:55:24 UTC ]
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David Nicholls, Ali Smith and Ian McEwan are among the line-up for this year’s the Times and Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-07-01 05:28:19 UTC ]
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William Collins has acquired writer and wildlife filmmaker Tom Mustill’s debut, How to Speak Whale, following a five-way auction. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-06-17 18:08:26 UTC ]
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