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: Caroline Horn Publication Date: Fri, 13/05/2011 - 15:40 Publishers are remaining tight-lipped about recent price increases in books for children and teenagers. Price increases have seen some young adult titles being priced at £18, with some paperback fiction given an £8.99 price... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Thu, 12/05/2011 - 09:40 Hachette Childrens Books has teamed up with Tesco to give away book packs to school pupils. Childrens author Giles Andreae is ambassador for the scheme, which will see a variety of books ranging from £10-£200 available from... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Wed, 04/05/2011 - 09:10 Lonely Planet is launching a range of children's books called Not-for-Parents, and says that it sees children's publishing as a "good route" to grow the business. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Christopher Paolini's Inheritance Cycle and James Dashner's the Maze Runner trilogy are both drawing to a conclusion, while noteworthy collaborations from Daniel Handler and Maira Kalman, and Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, set sail. Also look for fresh ventures from William Joyce, Maggie... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-04-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Independent booksellers may have dreaded Borders's arrival in New York City in 1996, but it was Barnes & Noble that tried to keep its longtime rival out by leasing every available 40,000-sq.-ft. space on its home turf. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-04-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Thu, 21/04/2011 - 08:20 The new children's laureate, to be announced in June, will be branded the Waterstone's children's laureate for the first time. The chain has been the major sponsor of the laureateship since 2006, and is understood to have... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The breakaway group of Angus & Robertson franchisees has returned to the negotiating table. Continue reading at The Sydney Morning Herald
[ The Sydney Morning Herald | 2011-04-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Fri, 15/04/2011 - 08:44 HarperCollins Children's Books m.d. Mario Santos is leaving the publisher at the end of June to "pursue other career opportunities". Publisher Ann-Janine Murtagh has been promoted to take overall publishing and business... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Tue, 12/04/2011 - 08:30 Penguin is topping the table with an industry-leading six nominations in the 2011 Bookseller Industry Awards. Following closely behind in the nomination league tables are HarperCollins and Hodder & Stoughton, both listed... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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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 ]
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The breakaway group of Angus & Robertson franchisees say they're surprised by legal action from the group's administrators. Continue reading at The Sydney Morning Herald
[ The Sydney Morning Herald | 2011-04-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Thu, 07/04/2011 - 09:04 Authors including Philip Pullman have warned the "biodiversity of poetry publishing in England" is in "jeopardy", following Arts Council England's funding cuts to poetry presses Arc, Flambard and Enitharmon. In a letter... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Mon, 04/04/2011 - 09:16 The Arts Council has defended its funding cut to the Poetry Book Society (PBS), claiming its "reach and distribution was not as wide or effective as other applicants'". In a letter to the Times, Antonia Byatt, director of... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Tue, 29/03/2011 - 08:25 London Book Fair is launching a Children's Innovation Zone this year, which will include a theatre on the show floor for the first time. The theatre is designed to showcase ideas specific to children's publishing, with... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Caroline Horn Publication Date: Mon, 21/03/2011 - 15:36 Jacqueline Wilson is to write an updated version of E Nesbit's classic children's novel Five Children and It in a new deal with Puffin. Elv Moody, editorial director for Classic Puffin, and Alexandra Antscherl, Puffin senior... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Mon, 21/03/2011 - 15:45 Waterstone's has called for academic publishers to "significantly" increase their support for the chain, warning bricks and mortar academic bookselling could vanish from the high street within a few years. The retailer's m.d.... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In most parts of Asia, wizardry and fantastical plots have lost much of their magic after dominating the bestseller list for so long. The subsequent vampire and werewolf fever is, by comparison, not as rabidly welcomed in certain territories. As for that wimpy kid, well, his popularity suffers... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-03-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Fri, 04/03/2011 - 09:12 National Reading Group Day is among the new features designed to boost the importance of indie retailers during this years Independent Booksellers Week. The Booksellers Association has just announced that the annual IBW will... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Wed, 02/03/2011 - 08:44 HMV Group has "substantially" backed a social networking site called aNobii, which aims to help readers find buy and share books. The website, www.anobii.com, has existed since 2006 but was bought recently by internet... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Thu, 24/02/2011 - 09:25 Hodder & Stoughton is gearing up for the launch of the final book in the Earths Children series, which began 35 years ago with an idea for a short story. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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