Philippa Pearce Memorial Lecture: February 2018 Newsletter


 
   
   

 

The Philippa Pearce Memorial Lecture: celebrating excellence in children’s literature

February Newsletter

Booking is now open for Frances Hardinge’s 2018 lecture, Peopling the Dark
 
The lecture will take place at 5.00pm on the 19th of April in the Mary Allan Building, Homerton College, Cambridge, CB2 8PH. After the lecture there will be a short wine reception. 
Frances’ highly acclaimed children’s novels include Fly By NightTwilight Robbery, the Carnegie-shortlisted Cuckoo Song and Costa Book of the Year, The Lie Tree. For her Philippa Pearce lecture, she will explore unseen and half-seen figures of menace and malice in children’s literature, including Philippa Pearce’s The Shadow-Cage.
 
This year sees the lecture celebrating its tenth anniversary. Both lecture and reception are free to the public, but are supported by Homerton College and also by personal donations. Please consider donating – you can do so easily by clicking the red donation box at the Philippa Pearce Lecture website: www.pearcelecture.com
 
To book your ticket please use the form on the booking page of the website. You will receive a confirmation email that includes your e-ticket. Print it out or download a mobile version, and take this with you to the lecture.
 

PHILIPPA PEARCE died in 2006, but respect and affection for her writing is as strong as ever. In her memory, a series of lectures is now underway, each intended to celebrate excellence in literature for children and to emphasize its continuing vital importance.  

Off the Shelf


 
12 Great Movies You Didn't Know Were Based on Nonfiction Books
     

With the Academy Awards right around the corner, it’s not surprising that many beloved and award-winning movies are based on novels. But you may be shocked to realize just how many films are inspired by nonfiction books. From tales of true crime to riveting memoirs of astounding lives, this list features 12 of our favorite compelling nonfiction works that have inspired some truly great movies.
READ MORE

The Roundup with PW


Roxane Gay Offers to Write 'Batgirl': The author has thrown her hat into the ring of potential writers for the upcoming movie, and DC Comics appears to be interested.

Can Authors Make Up Their Memoirs?: Joseph Conrad invented a boat and H.G. Wells omitted his affairs. But does it matter if a little fiction reveals a different kind of truth?

Are Feminist Dystopias Lit's #MeToo?: A steady rise in post-apocalyptic/dystopian books that feature control over some aspects of female reproduction has not been entirely lauded.

Drawing Black History: Learning from the creators of four children’s books that depict forgotten figures from black history or find new meaning in familiar ones.

Poetry in Mexico City: Mexico City’s traditional literary meeting spots have long been cafes, cantinas and bars. Here's how poetry happens there.

Latest from The Bookseller


Bonnier Publishing
Bonnier Publishing "wrestled with profitability problems" as the result of its rapid growth in 2017, financial accounts revealed a week before its chief executive Richard Johnson's departure.  
Becoming Michelle Obama
Former first lady Michelle Obama’s forthcoming memoir, Becoming, will be published in the UK on 13th November, Penguin Random House has confirmed.
The Barefoot Investor
Scott Pape’s The Barefoot Investor was Australia’s number one title for January 2018, carrying over from topping the overall bestseller charts in both 2017 and 2016.
Philip Jones looks back on "maverick" Richard Johnson's nine years at the helm of Bonnier Publishing. 
Kate Tempest
Picador will publish the "unashamedly personal and intimate" third poetry collection by writer and performer Kate Tempest.
Avon
Avon is calling for open submissions for its digital-first publishing list.
[Alt-Text]


Simon & Schuster
Elisa Offord, marketing and publicity director at Simon & Schuster Children’s, has left the company to go freelance after 12 years in the role. 
Richard Johnson
Richard Johnson is stepping down as group chief executive of Bonnier Publishing with immediate effect, after nine years in the role. He is being replaced by Jim Zetterlund, current chief operating officer and chief financial officer of Bonnier Books in Sweden.
Radio 4
Cassell Illustrated has signed a publishing partnership with BBC Radio 4’s "Today" programme, to publish the programme’s first official book along with two others.
The Spy Who Changed the World
William Collins will publish the first book by Cambridge espionage historian Svetlana Lokhova revealing the "greatest pre-war triumph of Stalin’s secret services".
Sam Hawke
Transworld has won two books in a new fantasy series at auction.

Publishers Lunch


Today's Meal


Group ceo of Bonnier Publishing Richard Johnson is stepping down immediately, an abrupt move announced by the company on Friday. He has run the fast-growing division for the past nine year. COO and CFO of parent unit Bonnier Books Jim Zetterlund will serve as acting CEO.

In headline results for 2017
released on February 12, Bonnier Group noted that, "Our UK-based book publishing house Bonnier Publishing has had several years of great expansion and acquisition, but during 2017 sales lagged and write-offs affected profits." It was one of two "business areas that performed weaker than expected." The company added that, "After operational measures and write-offs, Bonnier Publishing has a good chance of sharply improving its profitability for 2018." Later in the report, they say the UK division had "a strong negative effect on the financial results," with good performance in Sweden and Germany.

In 2017, sales for the books division (which includes retailers as well as publishers), grew to 8.098 billion Swedish krona (about $948 million), up from 7.690 billion krona in 2016 (about $900 million). EBIT fell considerably even on the higher sales, however, at 232 million krona ($27 million), down from 427 million krona in 2016 ($50 million).

IPG announced that Chicago Review Press and Triumph Books will integrate shared production, marketing, and publicity services. The restructuring includes a number of promotions: Andrea Baird has been promoted to director of marketing, Chicago Review Press and Triumph Books; Allison Felus to director of production, Chicago Review Press and Triumph Books; Caitlin Eck to director of publicity, overseeing publicity for Chicago Review Press and Trafalgar Square Publishing, as well as corporate communications for IPG; and Noah Amstadter, to associate publisher of Triumph Books. Mitch Rogatz, publisher at Triumph, has stepped down to pursue other opportunities.

Will Lach has joined Eriksen Translations as director of sales, focusing on museums and creative services. Previously he was editorial director at Abbeville Press.

Events
Book Expo announced speakers for the Thursday morning breakfast session on May 31, which will feature Trevor Noah on his second memoir; Barbara Kingsolver (Unsheltered); Nicholas Sparks on his latest love story; and Jill Lepore (These Truths: A History of the United States). Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman, co-authors of The Greatest Love Story Ever Told, will host the event.

New Zealand Books - Autumn 2018 issue

 Contents:

2         Letters

3         Mark Broatch: Paula Morris, False River

5         Maggie Trapp: Catherine Chidgey, The Beat of the Pendulum: A Found Novel; Kirsten McDougall, Tess; Catherine Robertson, Gabriel’s Bay

7         Craig Cliff: C K Stead, The Necessary Angel; Patrick Evans, Salt Picnic; Tim Corballis, Our Future is in the Air

9         Catherine Robertson: Paddy Richardson, Through the Lonesome Dark

10       Jim Mora: Tom Scott, Drawn Out: A Seriously Funny Memoir

11       Max Harris: Colin James, Unquiet Time: Aotearoa/New Zealand in a Fast-changing World

13       John Larkindale: Gerald McGhie, Balancing Acts: Reflections of a New Zealand Diplomat

14       David V Williams: Brad Patterson, Richard S Hill and Kathryn Patterson (eds), After the Treaty: The Settler State, Race Relations and Power in Colonial New Zealand

15       Lydia Wevers: Anne Salmond, Tears of Rangi: Experiments Across Worlds

17       Mark Williams: Peter Simpson (ed), Charles Brasch: Journals 1945–1957

18       Michael Hulse: Elizabeth Caffin and Terry Sturm (eds), Allen Curnow: Collected Poems

20       Simon During: Terry Sturm (Linda Cassells ed), Allen Curnow: Simply by Sailing in a New Direction

22       Elspeth Sandys: At the Robert Lord cottage (comment)

23       Guest editorial: Readership survey results

24       Bookshelf

25       Miriam Meyerhoff: Michael C Corballis, The Truth About Language: What it is and where it came from

27       Stella Ramage: Conal McCarthy and Mark Stocker (eds), Colonial Gothic to Māori Renaissance: Essays in Memory of Jonathan Mane-Wheoki

29       Sylvan Thomson: Evan Hazenberg and Miriam Meyerhoff (eds), Representing Trans: Linguistic, Legal and Everyday Perspectives

30       Julia Millen: Michael Gill, Edmund Hillary: A Biography

32       Jonathan Lane: Lilia Tarawa, Daughter of Gloriavale: My Life in a Religious Cult

33       Helen Watson White: Huberta Hellendoorn, Astride a Fierce Wind

34       Dylan Horrocks: Brent Williams (Korkut Öztekin illus), Out of the Woods: A Journey Through Depression and Anxiety

35       Crossword

In shops 2 March

Monday, February 26, 2018

Radio with pictures... and arts, theatre, film, comedy, books, dance, entertainment and music


 
 

This week's stories

 

Early journalist James Boswell

Eassayist, poet, editor, wit and lexicographer - Dr Samuel Johnson was undoubtedly one of the leading lights of Eighteenth Century England. And Scottish writer James Boswell's greatest hit was his comprehensive biography of Doctor Johnson. But Otago University Senior English lecturer Dr Paul Tankard became curious about Boswell's less recognised journalistic writing for the British press in the late 1700s. Boswell wrote more than 600 items for 14 newspapers and magazines of London and Edinburgh - most of them anonymously, as was the norm. Dr Paul Tankard's been awarded the William L. Mitchell Prize for Bibliography or Documentary Work on Early British Periodicals or Newspapers for his new book Facts and Inventions: Selections from the Journalism of James Boswell. Lynn Freeman discovered that many of the stories hadn't been republished for more than 200 years.
Feb 25, 2018 02:40 pm

The Mystery of the Missing McLoughlin

In the mid 1970s, a painting by American artist John McLoughlin went missing while it was moving between art galleries in New Zealand. Not only did it disappear. Before that, it had been badly damaged - even spat at by a member of the public. Now Los Angeles based Kiwi artist Fiona Connor has turned detective and created a film and exhibition - Object Classrooms - that trace the movements of John McLoughlin's long-lost painting. The Govett-Brewster Art Gallery in New Plymouth, which organised the exhibition in the first place, commissioned Fiona's film and opened up its archives to her.
Feb 25, 2018 02:26 pm

Behind the scenes - CSO volunteers

Continuing our series on people who work behind the scenes of the arts, Lynn Freeman meets two Christchurch Symphony Orchestra volunteers. They may be separated by about 50 years in age but they're totally united in their love of music and the orchestra. Meet Philippa Graham, in her early 70s, and 24 year old Caitlin Godfrey.
Feb 25, 2018 01:47 pm

20 years of the challenging work of painter Graham Fletcher

An exhibition representing 20 years of Graham Fletcher's paintings - some rescued from obscurity in his mother's garage - is about to go on show in Auckland. The Third Space: the Art of Graham Fletcher, which is part of the Auckland Festival programme, opens March 2 2018 at the Gus Fisher Gallery and is curated by Linda Tyler.
Feb 25, 2018 01:32 pm

Getting up close to the Southern Cross Cable

Artist Bronwyn Holloway-Smith spent years getting enough scuba-diving experience so that she could touch the Southern Cross Cable on the sea floor. It's New Zealand's mainline internet connection cable, running across the top of the North Island. But while there was a huge fanfare when it was commissioned in 2000, Bronwyn's found it's now heavily protected - to the point where she wasn't allowed to create public art works around the key logistical sites. She's taken a different direction in The Southern Cross Cable : A Tour, opening March 3 2018 at City Gallery Wellingon.
Feb 25, 2018 12:46 pm

Virtual Reality film-making?

Will virtual reality, VR, help filmmakers craft a new kind of experience for film fans? That's being explored by some of the next generation of filmmakers at Victoria University's new Miramar Creative Centre. Director of the Centre is award-winning film director and producer Dr Paul Wolffram.
Feb 25, 2018 12:34 pm

Unearthing evidence of New Zealand's early inhabitants

It's taken two years of work so far and there'll be more years ahead as archaeologists sort though almost 10-thousand objects unearthed from a swamp at the Waitaki River mouth more than 50 years ago. The Willetts Collection takes pride of place in the North Otago Museum where it was donated by the family of the farmer who lovingly collected the stone tools, flakes and artefact fragments. Richard Walter and Chloe Searle from the North Otago Museum discuss why the Willetts collection is so remarkable.
Feb 25, 2018 12:16 pm
 
 

Older stories

Not all audio is available due to copyright restrictions