Monday, November 30, 2015

Kieran Read - Tribute to a Great Eight


Kieran Read
Tribute to a Great Eight

By Matt Elliott

Bateman - Hardback - RRP $39.99

‘I suppose you could say he was fearless. If you looked at him back then, there wasn’t much to him — he was pretty lanky. He wasn’t the type to get into fights. You can play some pretty rough teams at times around here … but he was more the type to tell the hot-headed guys to pull their heads in.’ — James Fraser, coach of the young Kieran Read.

In an era of some of the greatest All Blacks the game of rugby has ever seen, Kieran Read counts as one of the best. Stepping up to the role of captain in the absence of the legendary Richie McCaw, Kieran Read exhibits a rare blend of leadership, fearlessness and outstanding skills and game smarts on the paddock, and is hugely popular with players, coaches and administrators alike.

Writing on Read’s age-group rugby, right through to captaining the All Blacks and playing in the Rugby World Cup, and including chapters on the Canterbury earthquakes, and Read’s bouts of concussion, Matt Elliott offers a tribute to this world-class number eight for his fans in New Zealand and around the world.

About the author
Matt Elliott is best-known for his award-winning and critically acclaimed book Nice Day for a War: Adventures of a Kiwi Soldier in World War I, based on his grandfather’s wartime diaries. Among other titles, he is also the author of biographies on early All Black Dave Gallaher, and comedian Billy T. James.

Potton & Burton have another accolade to celebrate

PANZ News release

And the winner is…Emma Radcliffe – Recipient of the W.E and M.L Forde Scholarship to Yale announced
The competition was fierce with 14 of New Zealand’s top publishing executives in the running for a coveted place at the Yale Publishing course next July. 
The scholarship of NZ$13,000, to cover course costs, flights and accommodation is thanks to the generosity of the late Margaret Forde.

The selection panel had a tough decision to make; made all the more difficult by the sheer calibre of the applicants, and the discussion was challenging and robust.

PANZ is delighted to announce that the candidate who stood out both with her experience and for her application and the recipient of the W.E and M.L Forde Scholarship is Emma Radcliffe, Managing Director of Potton & Burton.  
Emma comes from a varied and diverse background in sales and marketing overseas and is responsible for Potton & Burton’s day-to-day operations and the on-going relationship management for distribution partners.  She has been with the company for more than seven years and works in conjunction with the company’s owners, Craig Potton and Robbie Burton, to develop the strategic direction of the company.

Emma says “I am absolutely delighted to have been chosen as the recipient of the W.E & M.L Forde Publishing Scholarship for 2016. My attendance will really enhance my own career progression, as this kind of training is obviously difficult to find in New Zealand and Yale provides the perfect opportunity to immerse myself in a programme designed to encourage new strategies and ways of thinking about publishing. It will also allow me to benchmark Potton & Burton against other international publishers and enables me to bring their best practices back to New Zealand.”

About the scholarship:
W.E and M.L Forde Publishing Scholarship to the Yale Book Publishing course.

Margaret Forde left a legacy to fund a publishing scholarship which PANZ has been asked to administer for the next 4 years. Margaret Forde and her husband Ted worked for William Collins & Sons from the late 1950s and Margaret also worked proof-reading and editing for David Bateman in Auckland.

The scholarship of NZ $13,000 is available to one publisher to attend the Yale Book Publishing course held annually in mid-July on the Yale University Campus. The scholarship is to be awarded  annually from 2016-2019 inclusive. 

The Yale Publishing Course (YPC) is a week-long intensive classroom-based course for mid- to senior-level book professionals in all areas of publishing: management, editorial, business development, digital strategy, design and production, advertising, sales, and marketing. With a challenging and timely curriculum, YPC focuses on introducing attendees to new strategies and ways of thinking in a highly intimate seminar environment. The YPC experience exposes attendees to an international network of peers and an expert faculty composed of Yale faculty and thought leaders in the industry..

New Zealand publishers who have previously attended the course have found it immensely beneficial.

Sam Elworthy, Director AUP writes;

I’d been in publishing more than a decade when I did the Yale Publishing Course and I learned a whole lot—from outstanding Yale Business School lecturers; from major figures, young and old, from US publishing who were the presenters; and from other participants in the course, from the US and around the world, from Random House to Elsevier to independent and university presses. You live in, you talk publishing 24/7, you gain a bigger vision.”

The Great Summer Read

When: Monday 7 December - Monday 1 February
Where: All Auckland Libraries
Who can take part: All Auckland Libraries members aged 14 and over
Cost:
Free
How:  The reading challenges are listed below, or you can pick up a Great Summer Read log book at your library.


Heat up your reading by taking part in The Great Summer Read! We’ve set 15 fun reading challenges for you. Complete one or more and be in to win books, vouchers and other prizes.

The more challenges you complete, the more chances you have to win a prize, but even if you’ve just got time to read or listen to one book this summer, you could be a winner! 
Every time you complete a challenge, record it using our online reporting form. You’ll be entered into our prize draw automatically every time you report a completed challenge, plus our bonus draws for completing five different challenges, or all 15. Challenges may be completed in any order.

Summer in Auckland is even better with a book! Try it and you’ll see!
If you are going on holiday and won’t be near one of our 55 libraries, download some of our free e-books onto your e-reader or mobile device.

Challenges

1. Read a book
2. Read a book to another person
3. Check out a book bundle at one of our libraries and discover a new author
4. Share your read on social media using the hashtag #ALGreatSummerRead and tag us in (Twitter and Instagram @auckland_libs, Facebook Auckland Libraries)
5. Reread a childhood favourite
6. Read a graphic novel or manga
7. Read an eMagazine from Zinio
8. Read a book by an Aotearoa writer
9. Watch a movie or TV programme based on a book
10. Read a classic (at least 50 years old)
11. Read a collection of short stories
12. Read a non-fiction book
13. Read an eBook
14. Read a book from the Auckland Libraries Top 100 list
15. The #BFF challenge: get a friend to take part in The Great Summer Read along with you. If your friend isn’t a member yet and joins now, we’ll double your entries to the draw! Enter your friend’s name in the comments box.
Note: Listening to an audiobook counts as reading a book.
With a long, hot summer stretching out before you, there is no better time to find a shady spot and get reading!

Thanks to our sponsors:
  • Bridget Williams Books
  • Victoria University Press
  • Auckland University Press
  • HarperCollins
  • Allen & Unwin

Nine to Noon - Scheduled interviews and reviews this week

Nine to Noon with Kathryn Ryan
Nine to Noon episode archive

Scheduled interviews and reviews

Monday 30 November


9-10am
  • COP21 - Nearly 200 countries are gathering in Paris for critical talks on tackling climate change. VUW's and former Kyoto Protocol negotiator, Adrian Macey.
  • Silicon Valley 'roadmap' for Auckland
  • Europe correspondent, Seamus Kearney
    10-11am
    • Ilan Noy on Canterbury's long term quake recovery prospects
    • Book Review:   Even Dogs in the Wild by Ian Rankin
    • Reading: The Atlas Game short story by Liz Breslin told by Peter Hayden
    11-12pm
    • Politics with Matthew Hooton and Stephen Mills.
    • Food: Handmade burrito's and quesidillas with Cartel Food, Wairarapa
    • Kennedy Warne is on the road to nowhere - Ashburton and beyond

    Tuesday 1 December


    9-10am
    • news and current events
    • The social responsibility of engineers and scientists in an age of mass surveillance
    • US correspondent Susan Milligan
    10-11am
    • Stanford Economics Professor Steven Haber on The Political Origins of Banking Crises
    • Book Review: History's People: Personalities and the Past by Margaret MacMillan
    • Reading: Awa short story by Shelly Davies told by Nicola Kawana                
    11-12pm
    • Rod Oram on business.
    • Complicated stuff in simple words with Randall Munroe
    • Media commentator Gavin Ellis

    Gecko Press title gets rave review in The New York Times


    Julia Marshall and her small Wellington team must be elated with this:


    This is the kind of unexpectedly profound picture book that often prompts people to say, “That’s more for adults than for kids.” Certainly, many adults will appreciate its clever turnabouts and succinct wisdom, but I don’t think that makes “The King and the Sea” any less likely to connect with children. Its sly humor is ageless, for one thing. And its message about the necessity of compromise and the futility of making demands, in particular, is sure to resonate with that little control freak who lives inside even the sweetest child. What Janisch seems to understand exceptionally well is that children, who have so little power, are stealthy, determined students of it.

    THE KING AND THE SEA
    21 Extremely Short Stories
    By Heinz Janisch
    Illustrated by Wolf Erlbruch
    Translated by Sally-Ann Spencer
    48 pp. Gecko Press. 

    Read the full review here.

    Blog Milestone

    Over the weekend I received the 8.5 millionth visitor to my book blog. I feel honoured.

    Why Orson Welles lived a life like no other

    When Simon Callow set out to write a biography of Welles, he thought it might take four years. A quarter of a century and three volumes later, he’s still not finished



    Orson Welles
    Complex and enigmatic … Orson Welles in 1982. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
    I understood from the beginning, though I had just one medium-sized, single-volume biography of Charles Laughton under my belt, that any account of Orson Welles would have to be big. His life was so complex, his achievements so multifarious, his personality so unfathomable, the myths so pervasive, that I was sure that if I was to understand him I would have to cast my net very wide, at the same time as going deep down under the surface; one volume, I knew, could never do him justice.

    When Nick Hern, who initially commissioned the book, and I went to see the much-admired American publisher Aaron Asher, I told him I wanted to write it in three volumes. The first, I said, would end with Citizen Kane (1941), the second with Chimes at Midnight (1965), and the third, dealing with his unfulfilled last two decades, would be a novel. The great man looked at me pityingly. “If you are very lucky,” he said, “you will be allowed to write the book in two volumes – neither of which will be a novel.” Then he pointed to Michael Holroyd’s Bernard Shaw: first volume bestseller; second volume very successful; third volume poor sales; fourth volume remaindered almost the moment it appeared. I accepted his wisdom and set to: volume one up to Kane; volume two the rest. That was the summer of 1989. Welles had only been dead four years, I had just turned 40.
    More

    Sunday, November 29, 2015

    Standing Room Only for 11/29/2015

    Standing Room Only


    Standing Room Only is literally radio with pictures... and arts, theatre, film, comedy, books, dance, entertainment and music – all the things, in other words, that make life worth living.

    Full programme details are available on the Standing Room Only webpage
     

    The Gentlemen's Club

    Jen Shieff has moved from writing reports for ministers of the Crown to writing a psychological thriller set in the underbelly of 1950s Auckland. In The Gentlemen's Club, Jen introduces us to the menacing Pitchaithly who's using an orphanage as a front for the uncharitable plans he has for the young girls in it. There is also a host of strong minded women, from hairdresser and brothel owner Rita, based loosely on real life brothel owner Flora McKenzie, to a 16 year old who's come to Auckland for an abortion. topics] arts, author interviews, books, history
    Nov 29, 2015 02:49 pm

    Tell You What 2016

    Gaybys, grumpy bus drivers, ANZAC day hype and assisted dying are all amongst blogs, memoirs and travelogues included in a new anthology: Tell You What 2016: Great New Zealand Nonfiction. Editors Susanna Andrew and Jolisa Gracewood have scoured websites and blog sites to gather two dozen short nonfiction works that cover not only current topics but much of the globe.
    Nov 29, 2015 02:40 pm

    Conor Clarke: Artist in Residence at Waitawa Regional Park

    Artist Conor Clarke likes to find the beauty in the unspectacular. This former Auckland photographer has been based in Berlin for the last six years where her dramatic and ominous urban landscapes are starting to get some serious attention. Recently she took up an artist's residency at Waitawa Regional Park outside of Auckland. But can an artist who thrives on ugliness find inspiration in a beautiful environment? Justin Gregory caught up with Conor Clarke to find out.
    Nov 29, 2015 02:25 pm

    The Laugh Track - Virginia Kennard

    Virginia Kennard is a performance artist, choreographer, director, curator and producer of The Performance Arcade 2016. She chooses comedy picks from The Katering Show, Portlandia, and Adrienne Truscott.
    Nov 29, 2015 02:06 pm

    From Nelson to Antartica

    A treasure trove of personal items belonging to early Antarctic explorers - from equipment and food, to clothing and even toothbrushes are to be committed to canvas by Nelson artist Sean Garwood. He will sketch and photograph the items that are preserved in the historic Scott and Shackleton huts. While he'd love to paint the objects in oil in situ, the cold makes that impossible.
    Nov 29, 2015 01:50 pm

    Elam marks 125 years of teaching New Zealand's artists

    The Elam School of Fine Arts is marking 125 years of producing artists who've gone on to great things here and overseas, as well as unleashing its graduates of 2015.
    Nov 29, 2015 01:30 pm

    Seacliff Mental Hospital: The Musical

    In 1942, 37 women died in a fire at Seacliff Mental Hospital just north of Dunedin. Until the Ballantynes fire in Christchurch a few years later, it was New Zealand's worst fire disaster. Playwright (and New Zealand's Got Talent winner) Renee Maurice came across the story when she was 15, and after doing a lot of research, including talking to the victim's families, has turned the story into a musical: Seacliff: Demise of Ward 5.
    Nov 29, 2015 12:48 pm

    Audio Culture - The Loxene Golden Disc

    The Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards have just been held - a tribute to the range and multiplicity of NZ music. But it was not always like this - Simon Morris with Simon Grigg from AudioCulture looks back on when a British shampoo brought New Zealand the Loxene Golden Disc.
    Nov 29, 2015 12:36 pm


     

    Older stories

    Personal stories emerge in Otago fashion collections
    Daringly different
    Tall tales and true…
    Remember when Hugo said "you go"…
    Simon Kaan meditates on his Chinese-Maori heritage
    Not all audio is available due to copyright restrictions

    McLeavey, McCahon and Me - David McGill shares a memory

    St Matthew By Thine agony and bloody sweat/By Thy cross and passion/By Thy precious death and burial/By Thy glorious Resurrection and Ascension and by the coming of the Holy Ghost. Lightning. Good Lord deliver us.

    For nine years this awe-inspiring painting by Colin McCahon hung on the western tawa panelled wall of my billiard room at Houghton Bay, Wellington. I paid Peter McLeavey $4000 for it and was roundly jeered by many of my associates at the time.

    Above - David McGill &  Robin Perks next to the threatened McCahon.

    ‘What do you see in it?’ was a common accusatory question, often followed by ‘I could do better than that. A kid with a paint pot could. A monkey.’
    These were literate folk, but in 1979 McCahon was still a favourite object of derision by those who knew what they liked and liked to tell you what they didn’t. I didn’t argue, for I had been no better when Barbara Magner took me into Barry Lett’s gallery in Auckland to look at the Noughts and Crosses series McCahon was exhibiting.

    I spent a month at a flat in Wellington where a McCahon sat opposite the sofa. I used to look and wonder what its owner saw in this crude black and white lettering. One day the scales fell from my eyes. Like Saul of Tarsus, something exploded and I was converted. I rushed down to the McLeavey gallery to tell the mild-mannered fellow with albino-white hair and owlish glasses that I had to have a McCahon. Peter McLeavey nodded and smiled in his enigmatic fashion and said we would have to see.

    I was seeing, but yet I did not see. I was a turbulent ex-seminarian who had been struck dumb by the power of McCahon. I craved McCahon. What about the Muriwai beach one, where sea and sand and sky are scarcely separate? I must have that. Peter said he did not think that was for me, I should look at more McCahons. Rumour was he had 150 of them. I tried to curb my impatience as he suggested other McCahons.

    I went back over three purgatorial months. Peter shook his head in that slightly startled fashion, as if surely I would come to my senses and realise this McCahon was not for me.
    Finally, one day, after I went to and fro between three big paintings, I said YES! Peter graced me with a slight nod and a ghost of a grin. ‘Yes,’ he agreed. ‘Colin recalled that twice to work on it. Timbacryl on yacht canvas, makes it robust. Even so, you must keep it safe.’ We both stood gazing upon this epic painting. ‘Colin saw it,’ he said, ‘as a 500-mile cross in the sky.’

    Fantastic. I was even more impressed. I paid up and Peter personally rolled up the painting. The only wall we agreed big enough was by the billiard table. I don’t think he was too impressed.
    I used to visit Peter for years after, not just to reassure him about my McCahon, but to chat, thinking like so many that he conferred on me a special relationship. I did not tell him of the terrible day when a noisy, whisky-fuelled gathering knocked my McCahon off the wall. My daughter was getting into crayon decoration and Neil Rowe told me his daughter defaced his McCahon, ruining a $55,000 retirement fund. I visited Maurice Shadbolt and he showed me what had been his retirement fund, a glorious butterfly and blue painting his mate Colin did on the side of his bench, until his lad had kicked a hole in it. I got the message and went back to Peter to say I had to sell, I feared I couldn’t protect my McCahon. I told him Sam Neill had been around twice to contemplate the painting. He nodded.

    Peter got me $80,000, but could not reveal who had bought it. I thought for years it was Sam, until I read the McLeavey biography and figured it was an Auckland couple. Like Peter said, we were only temporary custodians of genius. It was close to my heart, as no doubt it was to Colin’s, for he married Anne Hamblett at St Matthew’s church, Dunedin, a few months before I was born in 1942.

    The New York Times Best-Sellers Lists

    COMBINED PRINT & E-BOOK FICTION

    1. TRICKY TWENTY-TWO, by Janet Evanovich
    2. THE GUILTY, by David Baldacci
    3. ROGUE LAWYER, by John Grisham
    4. ALL DRESSED IN WHITE, by Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke
    5. THE CROSSING, by Michael Connelly

    Experts speak out about what climate change actually means for NZ – and why we should care


    On Monday the 21st annual Conference of the Parties to the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change will begin in Paris. Over the two weeks of CoP21, 147 heads of state will attempt to negotiate a global agreement to mitigate the potentially devastating effects of climate change.

    New Zealand is one of these states. It has tabled its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution to the global reduction in carbon emissions, which has been criticised as inadequate. Some have pointed out in defence that New Zealand contributes only 0.15 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

    Two books in the BWB Texts series show why we should care about climate change on our own doorstep, and why our own commitment towards reducing emissions can – and should – be significant.


    Veronika Meduna’s Towards a Warmer World: What Climate Change Will Mean for New Zealand draws on the latest scientific research to outline exactly how climate change is expected to affect these islands, in both the low-carbon future aimed at by the attendees at CoP21, and the high-carbon future we face if negotiations fail.

    Marshalling her long experience as a science journalist, Meduna (right) clearly lays out the data around the predicted increase in climate ‘events’ such as floods and wildfires, the demise of flora and fauna struggling to adapt to a warming climate, the threat posed by rising sea levels to the two thirds of New Zealanders who live in coastal communities, and the long-term consequences of ocean acidification. For those who want to be better informed about the tangible outcomes of climate change in New Zealand, Meduna’s book is the perfect place to start.

    Ralph Chapman’s Time of Useful Consciousness: Acting Urgently on Climate Change outlines the actions we can take to address climate change in New Zealand. The Director of the Graduate Programme in Environmental Studies at VUW, Chapman draws on his expertise to assess why the government’s INDC isn’t good enough, why emissions trading isn’t the answer, and why and how New Zealand needs to transition speedily to a green economy. His book answers the important questions about how to green our transport system and our urban planning, and proposes a plausible path towards 100 per cent renewable energy.
      
    As Chapman points out, if we fail to address climate change robustly in the ever-narrowing window of time remaining, it will impact not just upon our economy and environment but upon our ability to maintain a democratic society. These two rigorous and informative BWB Texts are essential reading for New Zealanders monitoring efforts to tackle climate change 
    in Paris, and beyond.

    AMERICAN BLOOD - NZ author's novel picked up for a major motion picture


    AMERICAN BLOOD
    Ben Sanders
    Allen & Unwin - $32.99
    The brilliant crime thriller by New Zealander Ben Sanders, making waves in the States after it was picked up for a major motion picture…

    “This novel has it all—great characters that are all too-real, switch-blade sharp writing,
    dialogue that would bring a smile to Elmore Leonard's face and
    a plot that grabs a reader by the collar, squeezes hard and never lets go.
    American Blood is a first-rate, first-class, top-tier thriller and Ben Sanders hits it far and deep.”
    Lorenzo Carcaterra, New York Times bestselling author of Sleepers and The Wolf

    American Blood is a lean, mean power-packed novel.
    Ben Sanders has set the new standard for gritty, action packed thrillers.”
    Victor Gischler, Edgar Award nominated author of Gun Monkeys

    “For lovers of Jack Reacher and Jason Bourne there is a new gun in town - an noble loner called Marshall Grade with a blazing gun and burning desire to right wrongs.
    Whatever happens, I want him on my side.”

    Michael Robotham

    About the author:


    Ben Sanders (right) is the author of three previous novels: The Fallen (2010), By Any Means (2011), and Only The Dead (2013), all of which were New Zealand Fiction Best-sellers. Sanders' first three novels were written while he was studying at university; he graduated in 2012 with a Bachelor of Engineering, but now writes full-time. 

    American Blood is his first U.S.-based novel, and have been optioned by Warner Bros. and Bradley Cooper for a major motion picture. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand. 

    Adult Coloring Books For The Stressed Family Member In Your Life

    The perfect holiday distraction? A coloring book.

     

    Imagine you're arguing with your uncle, again, over who knows more about the upcoming election. Or a fight breaks out between your brother and mother, again, because a certain child refuses to answer his parent's phone calls. Instead of hammering home your views on Bernie Sanders' campaign -- or stepping in between a monumental yell fest betwixt mom and son -- what if you just pulled out a coloring book and went to town? It sounds childish, but, so does your 35-year-old sibling right now.


    For the adult set, coloring has been growing in popularity over the past year or so as a sort of coping mechanism, used to counter the pitfalls of busy, everyday life. Take the advice of psychologists -- who recommend coloring as a stress-relieving technique and an alternative to mediation -- and seek refuge this holiday season in a few black-and-white pages begging for adornment. Who knows, maybe you and Uncle Fred will find middle ground in your shared love of coloring inside the lines.


    Here are the 13 best adult coloring books out there:


    Meanwhile at PW more on the same subject:

    The Coloring Craze: Adult Coloring Books, 2015

    Coloring books for adults are this year’s surprise smash hit category, and they’re gaining steam heading into the gift-buying season



    The adult coloring book craze that started at the beginning of 2015 shows no sign of slowing down. Lost Ocean, Johanna Basford’s newest book (and her first published by Penguin), sold more than 55,000 copies in the first week after its October 27 release, according to Nielsen BookScan. Her first two books were published by Laurence King: Secret Garden and Enchanted Forest have sold more than 453,000 copies and 350,000 copies, respectively, so far this year.

    Since adult coloring books don’t have their own BISAC code, they appear in different categories in BookScan, but most titles are grouped under art, and coloring books dominate that list (Basford’s books appear on the juvenile nonfiction list). A list of some of the biggest sellers to date shows that 10 of the most popular books have combined to sell about 1.5 million copies at outlets that report to BookScan, which captures about 80% of print book sales. And many publishers note that they have done very well in nontraditional outlets that do not report to BookScan
    More

    Verity La / Stephen OLiver

    A poem of Stephen Oliver's on Verity La - appears to be gaining traction on FB:




    Why did Harry Potter honour Severus Snape? JK Rowling reveals all

    DANICA KIRKA - November 28 2015 - stuff.co.nz

    Professor Severus Snape "died to save the wizarding world", author JK Rowling says.
    Harry Potter readers have long wanted to know: Why did the boy wizard choose to honour Severus Snape - a teacher who had been so mean to him?

    Author JK Rowling took to Twitter to answer the enduring question on Friday in an exchange with a fan who asked why one of Harry's children received the middle name of Severus.

    The acclaimed author explained that Harry paid tribute to Snape because of "forgiveness and gratitude". Though Snape bullied Harry, he also saved him.
    More

    Writing and Gender- a Broader Conversation

    jason_books_sm

    Claire Vaye Watkins’ “On Pandering” Describes a Specific Experience of Writing and Gender, But Has the Power to Start a Broader Conversation

    By
    If you follow more than a handful of professional wordsmiths — writers, editors, poets, novelists, journalists — on the Internet, especially female ones, you’ve probably seen some discussion of Claire Vaye Watkins’ essay “On Pandering.”

    …Read More

    Saturday, November 28, 2015

    Latest News from The Bookseller

    The Bookseller 100
    This year's Bookseller 100—our annual list of the main movers and shakers in the book trade—marks a generational shift.
    Black Friday
    Publishers roll out their Black Friday deals to consumers.
    Bloomsbury
    Bloomsbury won three awards at the 2015 British Book Design and Production Awards, including the "coveted" Book of the Year award.
    Kathy Settle
    The Libraries Taskforce has received funding for a further four years, its c.e.o Kathy Settle has revealed, as it delivered its six-month progress report.
    Summer Reading Challenge 2015
    The number of children in the UK who took part in The Reading Agency’s Summer Reading Challenge this year was down 2.8% on last year’s figure.
    Michael Tamblyn
    Michael Tamblyn has been made c.e.o of Kobo, taking over from Takahito Aiki, who was in charge of the company for just under two years.


    William Hill Sports Book of the Year,
    David Goldblatt’s study of the “changing face of English football and how it reflects the nation as a whole”, has been named the winner of the 27th William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award.
    This Book is Gay
    James Dawson has spoken of his frustration that a group of parents in Alaska are trying to get his non-fiction YA title This Book is Gay banned from the local library, saying there are some “hate-filled people in this world”.
    Stewart Lee
    Faber has signed Content Provider, a new book from award-winning comedian and writer Stewart Lee.
    Jerwood Charitable Foundation
    Thomas Morris, Catherine Nixey and Duncan White are the recipients of the 2015 winners of the RSL Jerwood Awards for Non Fiction.
    The Book of Strange New Things
    Michel Faber has won the 2015 Saltire Book of the Year award for The Book of Strange New Things (Canongate).
    DSC Prize for South Asian Literature
    Penguin Random House has three titles shortlisted for the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2016 which reflects “the variety and vigour” of South Asian fiction writing and writing about South Asia.