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 ]
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Facebook’s most recently published study is not unique. This is a call to action. We should work together to demand that companies promise not to make us involuntary accomplices in corporate activities that compromise other people’s autonomy and trust. Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2014-07-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bloomsbury gets ‘Inked’ and throws down for Dinerstein and more in this week's notable book deals. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-06-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The 2014 Self-Publishing Book Expo, first held in 2009, will take place at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City on November 15. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-06-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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International wheeling and dealing has had little impact on the standing of the world's largest publishers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-06-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Venture capitalist and book lover Frank Pearl started the Perseus Books Group in 1996. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-06-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This week, a spy thriller retelling of "King Lear," Francisco Goldman explores Mexico City, and a feminist spin on "Tom Sawyer." Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-06-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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According to the National Book Foundation, the writer will be the first master of ceremonies to have published books in both the children's and adult fiction categories. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-06-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund has released its first 'Banned Books Week Handbook,' a free resource for librarians, retailers and fans to use during this year's Banned Books Week, which will focus on comics and graphic novels. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-06-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Novels by Kate Atkinson, Stephen King and Muriel Spark have all had namesakes. Should writers adopt the imitator-proof JK Rowling approach instead?People first started to notice last year when Kate Atkinson's Life After Life coincided in the US with Jill McCorkle's Life After Life, which had... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-06-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Industry sales had a small decline in 2013, falling to $27.01 billion from $27.12 billion in 2012, according to figures released last week by BookStats, the statistics program run by the AAP and BISG. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-06-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Following “a successful pilot program” in 20 select library systems, S&S will now open its catalog of ebooks to all libraries nationwide. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-06-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Video is on the tip of every publisher's tongue these days. And for good reason: Advertisers want it. Still, video is complex and not necessarily for everyone-at least not right away. That is, there's no disputing that the medium has arrived but what's still debatable is the value proposition... Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2014-06-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Chatto & Windus is to “shortly” publish a book about Rupert Murdoch and phone... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-06-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket, will serve as master of ceremonies for the 65th National Book Awards on November 19, 2014. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-06-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hachette Book Group, the publisher of J.K. Rowling and James Patterson, is buying the independent publisher Perseus Books Group, according to the industry newsletter Publishers Lunch. The deal is... To view the full story, click the title link. Continue reading at Crains New York
[ Crains New York | 2014-06-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Report says publishers under heavy pressure to make damaging concessions including giving online retailer rights to print on demandBritish authors have condemned as "deeply worrying" reports that Amazon is now pressing for improved terms from publishers in the UK, as its showdown with Hachette... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-06-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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CU-Boulder's Tactile Picture Books Project is using three-dimensional-printing to bring the joy of picture books to the blind and visually impaired. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-06-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Beyonce's pastor writes about love; liberation theologian Leonardo Boff assesses Pope Francis. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-06-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Booktrust has given away 2,500 children’s books to foodbanks as part of this month’s... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-06-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Zola’s Bookish recommendation engine is coming to 67 libraries in the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-06-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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