Teachers, parents and poets alike know how children thirst for poetry. Now it's up to booksellers and publishers to save it from extinctionChildren dive into poetry with the same natural ease as swimmers into water, climbers into trees and sleepers into dreams. I've seen this alchemy at work on countless visits to schools, visits which have convinced me that poetry's narrative, rhythm and vibrant imagery is the real language of childhood. But poetry written for children is in danger of dying out, of sliding into fossilised irrelevance, cut off from modern verse. A classic such as Robert Louis Stevenson's A Child's Garden of Verses may be lovely, but it can't sustain the vital connection between children and poetry. Children also need poets who are still breathing.The delicate machine which brings poetry books into the hands of children is in desperate need of repair. I used to help choose the poems for the Children's Poetry Bookshelf, the Poetry Book Society's book club for ages seven to 11, and I watched with horror as the submissions from publishers gradually dried up. Starved of funding and support, the club had to stop taking on new members in 2011. As PBS director Chris Holifield said, it seemed that "children's poetry in book form was close to extinction, with just a small number of new titles being published and not much backlist being kept in print." Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2014-03-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Thu, 15/09/2011 - 11:35 Penguin is "significantly" increasing its investment in its children's division, with a focus on pre-school, big brands and the global market, as well as on digital innovation, according to UK c.e.o. Tom Weldon. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Caroline Horn Publication Date: Wed, 14/09/2011 - 09:28 Waterstones has extended its childrens book prize to include teen fiction and picture books, in addition to books for five to 12 year olds. Waterstones spokesman Jon Howells said: The childrens award had done very well... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Barbara Casassus Publication Date: Tue, 06/09/2011 - 08:55 Two French publishers have launched a public call to arms to defend independent booksellers, which continue to suffer from financial decline in the country. Le Seuil c.e.o. Oliver Bétourné wrote in Le Monde last week that... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Caroline Horn Publication Date: Fri, 02/09/2011 - 15:00 Teacher and artist Patricia Le Baudrier is using digital printing and marketing to launch her debut novel The Orphans of St Cecile, which she created using dolls she has modeled and using photographs as illustrations. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Thu, 01/09/2011 - 14:45 Hodder Children's Books has bought two teen titles from journalist and presenter Dawn Porter. Publisher Emily Thomas did the deal directly with Porter for a "sizeable" sum. The books are described as "epic stories of an... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Fri, 26/08/2011 - 07:13 A coalition of "left-leaning political bookshops" is to launch in October, creating a support network for independent booksellers. The Alliance of Radical Booksellers (ARB) will officially begin on 6th October and so far has... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Tue, 23/08/2011 - 15:00 Waterstones supply chain director Tim Owrid is leaving the company on Friday. Owrid joined Waterstones in April 2010 and will begin a new job as the head of logistics at SuperGroup Plc, the retail brand comprising Superdry,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Mon, 22/08/2011 - 15:18 One in six children do not read a single book per month, according to a new survey by the National Literacy Trust. The research suggested the United Kingdom is polarised between those who do not read and the one in 10 children... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 19/08/2011 - 08:46 The Poetry Society has reinstated Judith Palmer as its director after leading poets and members including poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy called for her to be returned to the post. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Fri, 12/08/2011 - 08:40 The recently appointed children's laureate Julia Donaldson has condemned the "Future Libraries" report as a "cost-cutting exercise" containing among its recommendations some likely to lead to a deterioration of the service.... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Thu, 11/08/2011 - 09:00 Poet Laureate Carol-Ann Duffy is selecting the third volume of The Twelves Poems of Christmas, which is out this autumn. Duffy will also write the introduction to the titles, which is priced £4.95 and published in October... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Much has been made about the importance of bricks-and-mortar bookstores as showrooms, places that will help prevent the book business from going the way of the music industry as the sales of digital books grow. But hundreds of showrooms and thousands of square feet of book retail space are about... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-08-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Mon, 01/08/2011 - 15:54 Macmillan Children's Books has appointed current Carlton Publishing m.d. Belinda Rasmussen to the role of publisher. She will report directly to Pan Macmillan m.d. Anthony Forbes Watson, and will join the Pan Macmillan... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Thu, 28/07/2011 - 09:00 Members of the Poetry Society, including poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy, have started a petition to reinstate Judith Palmer as director of the embattled society in hope of a "new start". The petition follows the departure... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Wed, 27/07/2011 - 15:05 A former director of the Poetry Society has said her resignation was caused by an "extraordinarily stubborn and ill-considered sequence of actions", as the fallout of a row involving the board and senior staff continues. read... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Tue, 26/07/2011 - 11:52 Arts Council England (ACE) has confirmed it is withholding the Poetry Society's quarterly grant payment of almost £78,500, in the wake of the major internal row and resignations. The payment was due to the Poetry Society at... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Tue, 19/07/2011 - 09:15 The Bookseller has added its voice to calls for Amazon's acquisition of The Book Depository (TBD) to be referred to the Competition Commission. The Office of Fair Trading's deadline for submissions about the merger ended at... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Mon, 18/07/2011 - 15:00 The Reading Agency director Miranda McKearney has called for the annual Summer Reading Challenge, which launches its 2011 run today (18th July), to be on every head teacher's school improvement plan. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 15/07/2011 - 14:29 Ebury is hoping to have unearthed the talents of a new generation of war poets as it publishes a collection of verses, selected by a panel including poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy, to coincide with Armistice Day. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Caroline Horn Publication Date: Fri, 15/07/2011 - 08:46 The industry is "haemorrhaging talent" as authors and illustrators are finding it increasingly difficult to make a living in the children's sector. Agent Caroline Sheldon said that she estimated that fewer than half of the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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