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 ]
Hilary Mantel, winner of the 2009 Man Booker Prize, has been picked as the favourite to win 2012... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-10-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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J.K. Rowling, E.L. James, and Ken Follett all had books on multiple lists around the world as Septembercame to a close. The Casual Vacancy, J.K. Rowling’s first book for adults, landed at #1 in France and the U.K. when it was released late last month. Two spots behind Vacancy in France is... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-10-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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J K Rowling's The Casual Vacancy (Little, Brown) has retained pole position in the bestseller... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-10-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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After months of hype, the first adult novel from J.K. Rowling debuted with the third biggest print opening of 2012. At outlets tracked by Nielsen BookScan, The Casual Vacancy sold 156,679 copies in its first week—enough to place it behind only No Easy Day by Mark Owen (254,046 copies) and Fifty... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-10-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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J K Rowling's The Casual Vacancy (Little, Brown) has topped the US charts in its first week... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-10-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Some readers were upset by the font size of early releases of the ebook version of 'The Casual Vacancy,' in addition to concerns about its price. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-10-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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J K Rowling's The Casual Vacancy (Little, Brown) has officially become the fastest-selling... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-10-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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J K Rowling's The Casual Vacancy has become "the fastest-selling book in the UK in three... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-09-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bestselling author JK Rowling spoke for the first time in public last night about her new novel The Casual Vacancy, which signals the coming of age of the Harry Potter generation. Continue reading at Stuff
[ Stuff | 2012-09-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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JK Rowling's novel, The Casual Vacancy, suffers a formatting error in the US making it near-impossible to read on some e-readers. Continue reading at BBC World
[ BBC World | 2012-09-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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First, this is not Harry Potter. Those hoping for a dusting of Dumbledore, a sprinkling of Snape... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-09-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Mixed reviews for J K Rowling's The Casual Vacancy (Little, Brown) this morning (27th... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-09-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Casual Vacancy, the first adult novel by Harry Potter creator JK Rowling, receives a mixed response from newspaper critics. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2012-09-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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First-day sales of The Casual Vacancy are "exceeding expectations," according to the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-09-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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It’s almost here, the publishing industry’s annual literary Oktoberfest: the Frankfurt Book Fair. This year’s edition officially kicks off on October 10, with more than 150,000 professional visitors representing some 7,500 companies and 110 countries expected to gather to trade rights, network,... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-09-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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J K Rowling chose Little, Brown publisher David Shelley to publish The Casual Vacancy "... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-09-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Since the Man Booker longlist was announced in July, Hilary Mantel's Bring Up the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-09-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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One of the country's top publishers has turned to a man from the editorial side to run its business. Michael Pietsch, the editor of Keith Richards' Life, David Foster Wallace's The Pale King and the many novels of James Patterson, has been named CEO of Hachette Book Group. Mr. Pietsch has headed... Continue reading at Crains New York
[ Crains New York | 2012-09-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hilary Mantel is still in the running for a second Man Booker Prize, with her historical novel... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-09-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In a move that could reshape the publishing industry, a federal judge has approved a settlement with three of the nation's largest book publishers over alleged collusion in the pricing of ebooks. Continue reading at AllThingsD
[ AllThingsD | 2012-09-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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