What’s in a name? Well, the right letters would help | Noo Saro-Wiwa

I’m used to my name being mangled and botched in every conceivable way, but seeing it wrong on my latest book was too muchIt’s the moment every writer lives for: a box arrives at your door containing copies of the new edition of your book. Beaming with satisfaction, I tear off the binding tape. Years of hard work are stacked and gleaming, ready for display on the bookshelf. But it doesn’t take long for my warm glow to turn frosty. For, when I open the consignment from my US publishers and inspect a copy, I can see that my surname doesn’t look quite right: Saro-Wiwa has become “Saro-Wiva”.Anyone with a complex name will feel my pain. We have resigned ourselves to seeing loose approximations of our names on envelopes, application forms, dinner invitations and event programmes. The issue is so irritating there is even a Facebook support group called “I’m Tired of People Fucking Up My Name” (one of the more polite ways of putting it, in my opinion).So shaky is my faith in society's literacy skills that there is no situation in which I can relax Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2015-02-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #hard work #literacy skills

Other Publishing stories related to: 'What’s in a name? Well, the right letters would help | Noo Saro-Wiwa'


Four Publishing Trade Groups Criticize Google’s Ad Policy Change in Letter to CEO

Announcing its policy change less than a month before GDPR goes into effect, Google has left publishers scrambling to make sense of its new rules. The post Four Publishing Trade Groups Criticize Google’s Ad Policy Change in Letter to CEO appeared first on Folio:. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2018-05-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #ceo appeared #policy change #make sense


An Open Letter to the London-centric Publishing Industry

The Northern Fiction Alliance proposes an eight-point plan to address the issue of regional diversity in publishing.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-04-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #open letter #eight-point plan #regional diversity


British publishing can still lead the world after Brexit | Letters

Representatives of the Publishers Association call on the government to make sure the UK retains its place as ‘the world’s publisher’UK publishing is world leading and a cornerstone of Britain’s cultural and economic influence. The books and journals our authors write have helped shape thoughts... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2018-04-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #academic works #digital age #continuing success


More poetry, please. And pagination, too | Letters

Readers of Review miss the Guardian’s Saturday poem and information about the number of pages in each book reviewedThe poem Do You Think We’ll Ever Get To See Earth, Sir?, by Sheenagh Pugh, appeared in the Guardian many years ago (The Saturday poem, 25 November 2000). It made such an impression... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2018-04-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


The case for abolishing online anonymity | Letters

The Guardian requires a name, address and phone number for all of its letter-writers, points out Dr Monica Threlfall. Nigel Gann, Michael Rundell and Martin Davidson air their thoughts on Cambridge Analytica. And Patrick Cosgrove says just don’t use FacebookWhen democrats fought for free speech,... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2018-03-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #cambridge analytica #free speech


Poetry is pleasing, even on YouTube | Letters

Poetry of all tastes and genres should be celebrated, say Angela Croft and Catherine RoomeFurther to the critique in PN Review that you report (Literary world split as poet attacks rise of social media ‘noble amateur’, 24 January), the wonderful thing about the current poetry scene is there is... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2018-01-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #hollie mcnish #kings place


Letter from the Editor: Macmillan Stands Up to President Trump

PW' editorial director Jim Milliot examines Macmillan's resolution to stand firm against threats from President Trump, and 'PW' publishes Macmillan CEO John Sargent's letter to staff on the matter. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-01-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #president trump #stand firm


Literary fiction conveys the human character | Letters

Helen Cross, Andy Stelman, Mark Stewart and Richard Adams respond to a recent Guardian article by Tim LottAs someone whose tiny, grimy literary novels have attracted the interest of the film industry, the truth is the opposite of what Tim Lott (Why should we subsidise writers who’ve lost the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2018-01-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #mothering sunday #sebastian barry #irish authors


Joyce Marlow’s was a life to remember | Letters

The historian did important work on the Peterloo massacre and the suffragette movement, says Lindsey German, and deserves greater prominence than the failed memoir forger Clifford IrvingIt shows a somewhat strange priority that your main obituary on 27 December described the life of Clifford... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2018-01-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #world war


The facts on fiction and Marley’s origins | Letters

Karl Sabbagh says small publishers face with huge obstacles with selling books and even letting anyone know they exist; plus a descendant of Dr Miles Marley sets the record straightWith reference to your leader on literary fiction (28 December), as a small publisher we are faced with huge... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2017-12-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #won prizes #dozen languages #cover design #printing costs #broadcast media #literary journal


Internet giants such as Facebook and Twitter must be made accountable for content they publish | Letters

Ian Bartlett says the ruling that Uber is a transport company not a digital service could also change the way we view other digital giants; and Derek Wyatt suggests a post-Brexit Britain could create a Global Digital Foundation to address these issuesUber is officially a transport company and... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2017-12-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #british council #soft power #foreign policy


Bodleian reveals Tolkien's 'Father Christmas' letters

The Bodleian Libraries in Oxford are unveiling a series of previously unseen letters that J R R Tolkien wrote to his children “from Father Christmas” every winter for 23 years. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-12-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #father christmas #bodleian libraries


Letter from the Editors: Covering Sexual Abuse in the Book Business

As a trade publication for the book business, we are committed to helping make publishing a profession where all members are given the respect they deserve. That means covering sexual abuse in publishing—with rigor. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-12-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book business #trade publication


Why Cleveland’s A-W Award is One of the Most Important Honors in American Letters

Established in 1935, the A-W Awards are only American book prize to focus on works that address racism and diversity. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-11-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #american letters #address racism


Hillwalkers fall foul of Twitter crackdown | Brief letters

Twitter and Russia | Men of letters | Swaths blasted | Evolving words | Robert Mugabe backwardsTwitter ruthlessly rooted out the duplicate accounts of a friend who was using one for himself and one for the hillwalking group whose Facebook page he moderates, and has banned him from returning. So... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2017-11-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Unseen letters show Hemingway’s fight against celebrity and ‘bullshit publicity’

‘My private life being an open sewer, I am sometimes a little touchy,’ wrote the authorHis prose matched his macho lifestyle, from wartime adventures to big-game hunting, boozing and bullfighting. But Ernest Hemingway was extremely sensitive about his private life, which he described as “an open... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2017-10-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #ernest hemingway #reveal details


The “How Does a Comic Book Letterer Work?” Transcript

This is a transcript of the Sept. 24 edition of Working. These transcripts are lightly edited and may contain errors. For the definitive record, consult the podcast. Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2017-10-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #lightly edited #definitive record


How Does a Comic Book Letterer Work?

This season on Working, we’re talking to the people who make Batman comics, leading you through the artistic production process. Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2017-09-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


NBF Names Annie Proulx Winner of Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters

The author of such works of fiction as 'The Shipping News' and 'Barkskins' is the 30th recipient of the medal, which has writers including Robert A. Caro, Judy Blume, and Toni Morrison. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-09-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #distinguished contribution #american letters #judy blume #toni morrison