The novelist on his new collection of journalism, why he regrets criticising Sally Rooney and how he’s never shaken off the influence of JG Ballard“I’ll see your eidolon next Tuesday,” writes Will Self, 61, when I email to arrange a video call to discuss his new collection of journalism, Why Read: Selected Writings 2001-2021, which is centred on the concern (as he later told me, or my on-screen spirit-image) that “people are dumbing down their entire response to their own culture by their unfettered use of social media”. Self’s 26 previous books include Umbrella, shortlisted for the Booker prize in 2012, and its sequels Shark and Phone, the latter a single 624-page paragraph which the Telegraph called an “epic anti-tweet”. Speaking from his home in south London, he said he liked the description “because the book was a deliberate attempt to call people’s attention to what was being lost by the digital. I don’t think the Umbrella trilogy is that hard to read at all; it’s only hard to read in contrast to a tweet. By Donald Trump!”How did you pick the pieces in Why Read?Until fairly recently, certainly since 2001, I probably wrote an average of 150,000 words of journalism every year, so there’s a vast amount to choose from. My New York editor said that in the age of the web, collections like this need a theme or else readers feel they’re just getting a grab bag they could’ve sourced themselves. So the emphasis fell on the impact on reading and writing of what I choose to call... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2022-11-26 18:00:32 UTC ]
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Mix one maverick comics publisher, a horror movie classic, a renowned video game company and some of the best oral storytellers from NPR’s popular The Moth Radio Hour and you have a pretty unusual mix for a new line of comics. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In 1996, the first book in the Harry Potter series was released and a publishing phenomenon was born. Continue reading at BBC World
[ BBC World | 2015-08-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hot Key Books has acquired a YA rom-com, set in London, by author and journalist Sarra Manning. London Belongs to Us follows Sunny and her friends as they cross London one night, chasing an errant boyfriend from Cyrstal Palace to Alexandra Palace. The story is a “love letter to being young,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Writer Catherine Nichols submitted the opening pages to her novel to 50 literary agents under her own name, and then again using a man's name. Can you guess which name got more positive responses? Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-08-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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At age 99, renown indie publisher George Braziller looks back on 70 years in the book business, and a career that saw him rub shoulders with Sartre and PicassoHe pursued Jean-Paul Sartre in Paris, dined with Pablo Picasso in Antibes, and rescued New Zealand’s Janet Frame from the manuscript... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-08-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ben Freeman, organiser of London event, says: ‘Everyone realises the internet hasn’t killed the record industry or the publishing industry – just changed it’A fair celebrating the future of physical objects in media – from books and magazines to records and cassettes – will debut in London this... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-08-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Retailers have praised the 2015 Man Booker Prize longlist as “excellent” and containing a “rather lovely mix” of publishers. However literary agent David Godwin has said the dominance of US writers on the list means people's “worst fears have come to pass”. The longlist was announced yesterday... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Family, identity and the past are among the themes addressed by the books on this year’s Man Booker Prize longlist. The 13 books, known as the Man Booker Dozen, tackle a variety of subjects, time spans and countries. There are seven women on the list and five US-based authors. The UK is... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Marilynne Robinson, a novelist who was shortlisted for the Man Booker International prize in 2011 and 2013, is on the longlist with her novel 'Lila.' She's one of several American writers to make the cut. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-07-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bill Clegg, Anne Enright, Marlon James, Laila Lalami, Tom McCarthy, Chigozie Obioma, Andrew O'Hagan, Marilynne Robinson, Anuradha Roy, Sunjeev Sahota, Anna Smaill, Anne Tyler and Hanya Yanagihara are this year's Man Booker "Dozen", longlisted for the £50,000 prize. There are five US authors on... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The 13 books longlisted for this year's Man Booker Prize are announced, with previous winner Anne Enright among those in contention. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2015-07-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Marilynne Robinson, Anne Tyler, Hanya Yanagihara, and literary agent Bill Clegg are among the U.S. writers longlisted for this year's Man Booker Prize. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hosted by Joe Haddow, producer of the BBC's Radio 2 Book Club, the episodes will go live alternate Friday mornings from July 24 through to the winner announcement in October. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A woman was held captive in a closet and sexually abused by a Richmond, Calif., man she met on Facebook a year ago, police said. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2015-07-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Established authors Ann Cleeves and Peter James and newcomer Paula Hawkins were among the winners of the inaugural Dead Good Reader Awards. The awards, given out on Friday 17th July at the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate, were voted on by readers and members of... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Emmanuel Roman, the c.e.o. of the Man Group, sponsor of the Man Booker Prize, has joined the board of directors of Penguin Random House. Roman will act as an independent director. He has served as c.e.o. of the London-based Man Group since 2013. As well as a career in investment, Roman has... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishers and booksellers have enthusiastically welcomed the merger of the Man Booker International Prize and the Independent Foreign Prize for Fiction, saying it will create a prize with "a new stature", making "a good counterpoint" to the Man Booker itself. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Man Booker International Prize and the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize are to merge to create one annual award for a work of literary fiction translated into English. Jonathan Taylor, chair of the Man Booker Foundation, said at a press conference this morning (7th July) that the Man... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In 2016, the new prize will transition to an annual award recognizing a work translated into English. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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