The novelist Robert Harris was right to call the BBC’s lack of a books show a ‘disgrace’. There’s plenty the corporation could do to make a popular literary programme on TVWith injury, there is always a little insult. When a BBC spokesperson, responding to Robert Harris’s complaints at the Costa book of the year ceremony about the absence of a dedicated book show on its television channels, pointed out that the corporation was responsible for introducing readers to books by way of adaptations such as Wolf Hall and The Casual Vacancy, one might feel that Harris’s comments – in which he called the absence of a BBC TV books show an ‘absolute disgrace’ – had been somewhat misunderstood.While Hilary Mantel and JK Rowling, their publishers, agents and the book industry doubtless benefit from book adaptations, the BBC’s motive in putting them on is not altruistic. It does not broadcast these adaptations to benefit poor, garret-bound writers, nor because it thinks the publishing industry is struggling to connect with potential readers, nor because it worries that amid the hubbub of rapid-fire entertainment opportunities, the novel is becoming marginalised. It does it because the best novels - whether classic or contemporary, comic or tragic, philosophical or political or romantic - are masterpieces of narrative and entertainment. The BBC is in the debt of writers of such novels as Parade’s End, Mapp and Lucia, South Riding, Death Comes to Pemberley and The Night Watch for... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2015-01-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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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Simply submitting your story to be read by someone who knows talent when they see it is important for so many reasonsWriting prizes are massively important for aspiring and emerging writers. I think they are vastly more important than literary prizes. So many aspiring writers don’t have access... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-10-03 07:00:18 UTC ]
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Industry experts weighed in on the state of the Christian publishing industry during the virtual American Christian Fiction Writers Conference on Sept. 18. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-09-23 04:00:00 UTC ]
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With no room for Hilary Mantel’s conclusion to her Wolf Hall trilogy, the six finalists also include four debutsHilary Mantel will not win a third Booker prize with the final novel in her Thomas Cromwell trilogy, after American writers made a near clean sweep of this year’s shortlist.With four... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-09-15 12:21:07 UTC ]
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Even for a prize that thrives on controversy, the omission of Hilary Mantel’s The Mirror and the Light from the Booker shortlist today is a big shock. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-15 07:24:12 UTC ]
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In April, on the first night of Passover, Michael Cohen—Donald Trump’s former fixer, who was then incarcerated at Otisville prison, in New York—took an early manuscript of a book he’d been working on, and tossed it into a fire that Orthodox inmates had built to burn leavened bread. According to... Continue reading at Columbia Journalism Review
[ Columbia Journalism Review | 2020-09-09 12:20:26 UTC ]
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The Booksellers Association says it has received a record number of orders for this year's Christmas catalogue, featuring introductions by Hilary Mantel and Cressida Cowell, as the busy autumn period kicks off. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-06 18:42:24 UTC ]
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The publishing frenzy that is Super Thursday will leave many authors in the cold, having to find new ways to engage with potential readers of their work Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-05 08:53:51 UTC ]
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Attention to diversity has yet to pay much heed to us, but we are the biggest minority in the world, so if space is cleared everyone stands to win As a disabled writer, it has been a little strange to watch publishers rush to put on online events during the pandemic. Authors have been... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-09-04 14:00:57 UTC ]
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"ReBoot: Books, Business and Reading," a virtual conference aimed at preparing the publishing industry for 2021, has been set for October 13. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-08-26 04:00:00 UTC ]
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An awesome daily roundup of the most interesting bookish links from around the web. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-08-23 10:30:00 UTC ]
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Aspen asks, 'Why is the world of publishing so reluctant to offer Black writers the same major book deals typically offered to white writers?' The post Aspen Institute Looks at a Publishing Industry Challenged to Embrace Diversity appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-08-21 18:41:12 UTC ]
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We talk with Serendipity Literary Agency founder Regina Brooks, who has built a roster of award-winning authors and illustrators while remaining committed to making the publishing industry more diverse. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-08-21 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The US publishing industry’s revenues are down 4.2% for the year to date, according to the Association of American Publishers' latest StatShot report, although Trade sales in the six-month period held on with a rise of almost 3% compared to the first half of 2019. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-08-19 02:12:36 UTC ]
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Seeing unexpected pairings of readers and books quickly dispels the idea of who reads what• Time to reset: more brilliant ideas to remake the worldI have a party trick. If you name three books you like and two you hate, I can write you a reading list of 10 books you will love.I’ve gained this... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-08-15 10:00:40 UTC ]
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The Day faced legal action from author after implying that her comments on gender harmed trans peopleA news website aimed at British schoolchildren has agreed to pay an unsubstantiated amount after it implied that JK Rowling’s comments on gender caused harm to trans people.The Day, which is... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-07-23 16:33:19 UTC ]
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Eased restrictions in Russia have yet to result in a return of sales for the publishing industry. Some 40 percent of bookstores remain closed. The post Coronavirus Impact: Russian Book Market Struggling Despite Reopenings appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-07-20 15:49:57 UTC ]
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Limited promotion and marketing budgets reinforce false ideas about how well diverse books and writers will sell. This leads to a negative cycle for black, Asian and minority ethnic writers. Continue reading at The Conversation
[ The Conversation | 2020-07-15 09:57:53 UTC ]
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I May Destroy You skewers the weirdness of fandom and captures just how terrifying the publishing industry can beMichaela Coel’s critically acclaimed new TV series I May Destroy You (BBC One), the journey of a young woman uncovering and trying to deal with sexual trauma, is a show that I fall... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-07-11 07:00:06 UTC ]
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The past few months have restricted physical access to bookshops, interrupted supply chains and created a raft of logistical complexities for the publishing industry. Even with restrictions easing, traditional consumer marketing and PR are trickier to execute safely. However, our data at The... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-07 15:24:03 UTC ]
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