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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All seven Harry Potter books are now available in the Kindle Owners' Lending Library, marking the series' first availability outside the Pottermore store. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-06-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Further evidence of the rise of digital and the decline of print comes from the US where,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-06-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Thirteen novels, including "The Good Earth,'' which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1932, will be published in ebook format by Open Road Integrated Media. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2012-06-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Rielle Hunter writes that Edwards was 'temporarily insane' when he denied paternity of her child. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-06-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Thanks to blockbuster sales of The Hunger Games trilogy—fed by the release of the Hunger Games movie—sales for the children's/young adult category surged in the first quarter and were the only print books to show growth at all in March, according to industry figures released Friday. For the... Continue reading at Crains New York
[ Crains New York | 2012-06-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon on Thursday released updates to the Kindle app for iOS, along with the Kindle Cloud Reader Web app. The updates add in support for children's books. Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2012-06-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A group of Israeli authors launch a battle to stop the country's leading bookstores from slashing prices, claiming it reduces their royalties. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2012-06-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The ebook store market may be dominated by Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Apple, but a few independent online ebookstores, patterned after bricks-and-mortar retailers, have carved out a lucrative niche. Some were emboldened as far back as 2003, when Barnes & Noble.com initially exited the... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-06-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Engage: The Fall and Rise of Matt Hampson has won the British Sports Book Awards Sports Book of... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-06-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Parragon Books has acquired master publishing rights in the UK for Nickelodeon UK children's... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-06-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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British author Jon McGregor wins the 100,000 euro (£81,000) International Impac Dublin Literary Award for his third novel Even the Dogs. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2012-06-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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HarperCollins has set up a global publishing programme, HarperCollins 360, which aims to make... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-06-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Thomas Pynchon, author of “Gravity’s Rainbow” and “The Crying of Lot 49,” characteristically declined to speak about his decision. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2012-06-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Nearly 60% of families do not own a single baby book until they receive their first packs from... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-06-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Google has struck a deal to digitise French books, ending a six-year legal battle. Continue reading at BBC World
[ BBC World | 2012-06-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Though results aren't what they used to be, sales still spiked for the first pick. Continue reading at Crains New York
[ Crains New York | 2012-06-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hay Festival founder Peter Florence has blamed “crap books” from UK publishers as... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-06-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hay Festival founder Peter Florence has warned that it is “almost impossible” to make... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-06-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Printed book sales rebounded after a poor week, with Nielsen BookScan reporting spending surged... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-06-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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US pop star Katy Perry will become the latest celebrity to be depicted in the biography comic book Fame series, publisher Bluewater Productions says. Continue reading at Stuff
[ Stuff | 2012-06-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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