Frank Herbert on his Boeing, Stephen King on his Wang, and Philip Roth worrying that writing would become too easy … Matthew Kirschenbaum’s account of literature in the digital ageIn a photograph taken in his high-tech home office at 29 Merrick Square, London, in 1968, thriller writer Len Deighton is hard at work on his next novel, Bomber. An electric typewriter is perched atop a desk, a huge telex machine extrudes paper coils on to the florid carpet, and a video camera on a tripod is pointed at the author’s face. In the foreground is another, bulkier, typewriter connected by a fat cable to a cabinet or console. The author of Billion Dollar Brain had lately taken delivery of a magnetic tape selectric typewriter (MT/ST) (marketed in Britain as the IBM 72 IV). It was first posited at IBM’s main offices in Poughkeepsie, New York, in 1957; the finished product weighed 200lb and cost $10,000. And with it Deighton was about to compose the first novel ever written on a word processor.In fact, as Matthew Kirschenbaum points out in his unexpectedly engaging history of word processing, it was Deighton’s sedulous assistant Ellenor Handley who did most of the typing (until 1968 she’d had to redraft each novel dozens of times). As she typed, her keystrokes were saved to tape, and corrections could be made before a final printout. It was a vexing process in which writing happened both on paper and in the typist’s harried imagination; IBM’s literature commanded the user to “visualise... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2016-06-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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If you have grown tired of hardback and paperback books, then a Kindle may be your answer. Coincidentally, Amazon has released two new models, a standard and the Voyage, which my colleague Brian Fagioli reviewed recently. These complement the existing Paperwhite, which has not yet been updated.... Continue reading at Betanews
[ Betanews | 2014-11-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A book about the history of Scottish towns has won £10,000 after being named Saltire Book of the Year. The Scottish Town in the Age of Enlightenment 1740-1820 (Edinburgh University Press), written by historians Bob Harris and Charles McKean of Dundee University, was awarded the top prize at the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Following the appointment of Sabrina McCarthy as senior v-p, group sales at Perseus Books, part of CEO David Steinberger's restructuring efforts, the publisher announced further reorganization to its sales division. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-11-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Buddhist poet Gary Snyder in conversation; Eben Alexander returns to the subject of heaven. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-11-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The most dominant story in magazine media over the last decade-the decline in print as digital media surges-may be changing, according to an all-star panel of ad agency executives at a min breakfast Thursday. There was general consensus on the panel of four that the decline has stopped and... Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2014-11-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Some of the most widely used messaging apps in the world, including Google Hangouts, Facebook chat, Yahoo Messenger and Snapchat, flunked a best-practices security test by advocacy group the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).The organization evaluated 39 messaging products based on seven... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2014-11-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Dulwich Books hosted its first literary festival over half-term, using the money it received as the winner of the Independent Bookshop of the Year award at the Bookseller Industry Awards in May. The south London bookshop won a £5,000 prize sponsored by Gardners for winning the award, and... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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HarperCollins Canada president and CEO David Kent will leave the company at the end of the year following the decision to move fulfillment of HC Canada's titles in Canada to R.R. Donnelley. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-11-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Brazil’s Bookcase Literary Agency has made a name for itself after just one year in business by connecting talented, independent authors with international publishers. The post Bookcase Literary Agency Makes a Global Splash with Self-Publishing appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-11-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Wylie calls for fellow publishers to stand firm and not to blink during negotiations over ebook royalties with digital retailerHe is the sinister jackal of the literary world who counts Salman Rushdie, Philip Roth and Martin Amis among his formidable roster of clients.Andrew Wylie, arguably the... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-10-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Profile Books has signed a book which explores the role of personality throughout the ages by Samuel Johnson Prize-winning historian Margaret MacMillan. The as-yet-untitled book, which will be published in autumn 2015, was signed by Profile m.d. Andrew Franklin in a deal for UK and Commonwealth... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-10-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A supermarket turned tablet maker doesn't sound like the wisest of career progressions. Tesco's not your average supermarket, though. When you consider the Tesco machine also operates video- and music-streaming services, an ebook store and an online... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2014-10-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The much-maligned and little-clicked banner ad is 20 years old. We talk with its creators about the glory days of online ad innovation.Contrary to lore, there was no "first" banner ad. When HotWired, Wired magazine's digital arm, launched 20 years ago, it did so with not one, but many, banner... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2014-10-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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It seems like everyone has a tablet or phablet nowadays. These devices are wonderful as they let you do many things, like listening to music, surfing the web and reading. Yes, you can read a book on an iPad, Nexus 7 or Galaxy Note, but you shouldn't -- your eyes do not want you to. You see,... Continue reading at Betanews
[ Betanews | 2014-10-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A veteran EMT and ambulance driver in Boston, Ed McCarthy is in a great position to understand his hometown spatially. But he’s also a history geek, and while constantly driving around the city’s neighborhoods, he loves recognizing the streets, buildings and other locales from the history books... Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2014-10-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The History Press has restructured following a company-wide review, creating four distinct business units, and putting "a small number" of people into consultation over their jobs. The independent publisher, specialising in local history as well as military history titles, underwent a... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-10-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A starred review for Rob and Kristen Bell's new book on marriage; the best examination to date of Pope Francis, who he is, and what to expect. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-10-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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It's not a shocker that print ad revenue has fallen while the pile of dimes from digital advertising has been growing. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2014-10-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Country musician Jimmy Wayne tells the affecting story of his own youth as a foster kid; American Christian men examine their approaches to faith and fatherhood. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-10-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A generation ago, church history was the trending topic in American religious history books, with Protestant titles dominating. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-10-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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