Frank Cottrell Boyce has discovered some new literary heroes at the most beguiling library in the world, The International Jugendbibliothek. It was set up after the second world war by a Jewish refugee after Nazi book burning and banning. Here Frank tells us all about it – and kicks off a discussion on the missing classics in our livesWe also share a first chapter of Pushkin Press’s The Secrets of Blue Glass, (AKA the Japanese Borrowers) by Tomiko Inui, published this month for the first time in English, but beloved in Japan since 1967)I found myself some new heroes this week. When Germany was rebuilding itself after the war, a Jewish refugee who had made it to Britain in 1936 decided to give up her comfortable job at the BBC and go back to Germany and help. Her name was Jella Lepman and her speciality was children’s books. The Nazis had burnt and banned children’s books. They had destroyed the infrastructure of the Imagination just as surely as the Allies had destroyed the road network. Jella Lepman wanted to rebuild that infrastructure. With no budget, she blagged and begged books from foreign publishers, laying down the foundations of a library of international children’s books. Related: The best British children's illustrators in the Bratislava awards – in pictures Related: The 10 best Pippi Longstocking quotes Related: Letter for the King by Tonke Dragt - review Related: What are your favourite books in translation? Related: 'Oh, what happiness!' - 10 best... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2015-07-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with:
#jella lepman
#foreign publishers
In the first step of a two-phase launch, the long-awaited Los Angeles Review of Books has debuted its preview site at lareviewofbooks.org with essays and reviews by Ben Ehrenreich, Geoff Nicholson, Jane Smiley, Jefferson Hunter, and Richard Prince. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-04-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#jane smiley
Here's a clever idea from Chris Dixon: The investor and entrepreneur has turned his well-read blog into an ebook. Dixon, who runs Hunch and helps steer Founder Collective's bets when he's not blogging, has taken a couple years' worth of posts and compiled them into "Startups; Dixon's proceeds... Continue reading at AllThingsD
[ AllThingsD | 2011-04-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#couple years
The two reports measure different aspects of the book market and one is far more comprehensive than the other, but figures released last week by Nielsen BookScan and the Association of American Publishers showed a trade market where ebooks are thriving and print books are struggling. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-04-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#book market
#figures released
#nielsen bookscan
#trade market
#print books
Howard Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, announced on Monday that on May 24, it would publish "Blind Allegiance to Sarah Palin," an account of Ms. Palin's time as governor and as a vice-presidential candidate, written by Frank Bailey, one of her former aides. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2011-04-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#sarah palin
#howard books
#simon schuster
Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Mon, 18/04/2011 - 09:19 Authors including Iain M Banks and Michael Moorcock have written to the BBC's director general Mark Thompson, attacking the treatment of genre fiction in its recent World Book Night coverage. In total 85 authors, across the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#genre fiction
#science fiction
Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Fri, 15/04/2011 - 09:05 read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Thu, 14/04/2011 - 09:57 Like for like book sales at W H Smith have fallen by 3% in a "soft" market as the retailer reported a 3% increase in profits to £64m. In its interim management statement, for the six months to 28th February, the group's sales... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#book market
#childrens books
#book sales
#retailer reported
#3% increase
#28th february
Written By: Benedicte Page and Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Thu, 14/04/2011 - 16:09 A libraries boss has admitted cutting spending on books is "the easiest" way to achieve savings, as wholesaler Bertrams reports its library sales have slumped by a quarter. Results put out by parent Smiths... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#benedicte page
#library sales
#operating profits
Written By: Benedicte Page, Philip Jones and Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Wed, 13/04/2011 - 09:28 Bricks and mortar bookshops in the United States face a grim future, with the heaviest book buyers choosing to buy digitally, delegates at London Book Fair were told. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#benedicte page
#philip jones
#mortar bookshops
Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Tue, 12/04/2011 - 08:00 Beautiful Books has signed exclusive world rights at London Book Fair with The Real Man Pizza Company to produce a series of cookbooks. The deal was signed between managing director Simon Petherick and Real Man m.d. Tom... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#real man
#digital formats
#beautiful books
#offer readers
It doesn't seem so long ago that we used to gawp at the occasional postage stamps that would appear on a letter from the USSR: oversized, bright images extolling the successes of Communist endeavour. Soviet books in contrast were distinctly drab affairs whose covers would have appealed to few in... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-04-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#long ago
Written By: Benedicte Page and Philip Stone Publication Date: Mon, 11/04/2011 - 09:40 Book sales have slumped on both sides of the Atlantic as the British and American markets experienced year-on-year declines in the first quarter of 2011. Book sales in the UK were down 3.1% to £324m, with... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#book sales
#volume sales
#book trade
#benedicte page
#nielsen bookscan
Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Mon, 11/04/2011 - 11:35 New awards for Best Racing Book and Best Sports Book Retailer will be up for grabs at this year's British Sports Book Awards 2011. W H Smith, Amazon, Waterstone's and Foyles are all in the mix to win the best sports retailer... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#football book
#rugby book
#publicity campaign
Reading reader Greg Jacobs is interested in putting books other than those available from the iBookstore on his iPad. He writes: Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2011-04-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#putting books
In 2001, 81% of publishers were already preparing for the coming ebook (BML research March 2001). Indeed they thought it would come quickly, with half predicting ebooks would deliver more than 10% of total book income by 2006. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-04-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#open mind
Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Mon, 11/04/2011 - 09:06 The publisher behind The Bookseller is launching an ambitious new quarterly consumer book magazine and website this June, We Love This Book. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#bookseller group
Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Mon, 11/04/2011 - 11:53 Arabic will be the focus language of this year's Harvill Secker Young Translators' Prize. The award, in its second year, will ask entrants to translate the short story Layl Qouti by Egyptian writer Mansoura Ez Eldin to be in... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
This year's London Book Fair is taking place at a time of unique change. The shift from the printed word to the downloaded text is accelerating; chains and standalone bookstores are closing down around the world; and the very future of the book "entity" is being challenged by commentators and... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-04-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#taking place
#printed word
E-books, mobile apps and e-learning modules are hot. That's the conclusion from a quick survey of 18 content services vendors operating in India. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-04-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#content services
#mobile apps
#quick survey
Until recently, reading a book had resisted technological advances, but like everything else, this has started to evolve and now we are embracing technology. Books are now more easily available in electronic format and sharing your opinion about a title print or ebook is more popular. So... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-04-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#book lovers
#social networking
#electronic format