As co-founder of André Deutsch’s publishing house and editor there for five decades, Athill was the shepherd — “nanny” was her preferred term — for books by Philip Roth, Margaret Atwood, John Updike, Jean Rhys, V.S. Naipaul and many others. Late in life, she won acclaim as an author herself, for a series of memoirs, among them the Costa Prize-winning Somewhere Towards the End. — The Guardian
Blog
Millennia-Old Stone Circle In Scotland Turns Out To Be About 24 Years Old
“The ‘recumbent stone circle’ in … Aberdeenshire, was reported by the site’s current [owner] with unusual features including its small diameter and proportionately small stones. Historic Environment Scotland … celebrated it as an authentic discovery and continued their research until being contacted by the former owner who said they had built the stone circle in the mid-1990s.” — Yahoo! (Press Association UK)
Arts Council England’s Guide For Arts Orgs To A No-Deal Brexit
The new document warns that arts organisations must “evaluate the impact of goods or items being delayed at borders and consider ways to minimise reliance on these routes.” Any organization that received EU financial support should “consider its reliance on commercial or philanthropic income through visitor numbers, donations or corporate hire.” — The Art Newspaper
How German Theatre Has Embraced Refugees
In 2015, when Angela Merkel announced that Germany would accept the refugees streaming in from the Mideast, she said “Wir schaffen das” (“We can do this”). “What is less well-known,” writes Julia Grime, “is that German theatre, arguably a more directly socio-political beast than most UK theatre, welcomed the million-plus refugees with open-armed, practical help, connecting them with local communities and playing a key role in easing their acceptance into German society.” — Arts Professional
Poet Charles Bernstein Wins $165K Bollingen Prize
“Established in 1948 and awarded every two years, the Bollingen Prize is administered by … Yale University’s Beinecke Library and brings a cash award of $165,000. The prize recognizes either the best poetry book of the previous two years or a poet’s lifetime achievement.” With Bernstein, a professor at Penn, it’s “something of both.” — The Philadelphia Inquirer
How To Fight Fake News?
Alan Rusbridger: “My experience is that readers are surprised when journalists can say, “Can you help me? Here’s my article. Is it right? Could it be improved? What’s missing here? What should I write about next?” These are such collaborative and open questions. Rare are the examples where journalists behave like that. But [when they do], readers fall over themselves to get involved, and that leads to trust. I think it leads to better reporting.” – Vox
Can Journalism Survive (As Recognizable Journalism)?
Jill Lepore: “There’s no shortage of amazing journalists at work, clear-eyed and courageous, broad-minded and brilliant, and no end of fascinating innovation in matters of form, especially in visual storytelling. Still, journalism, as a field, is as addled as an addict, gaunt, wasted, and twitchy, its pockets as empty as its nights are sleepless. It’s faster than it used to be, so fast. It’s also edgier, and needier, and angrier. It wants and it wants and it wants. But what does it need?” – The New Yorker
How Are You Going To Pay For Things You Want To Use?
Increasingly it comes down to one of three things: Money, data or attention. “Money is the cleanest transaction and usually, but not always, comes with a few strings attached. Data is at the other end of the spectrum, a resource that is harvested with our technical permission but rarely granted by us fully willingly, as the choice is often a trade-off between not sharing data and not getting access to content and services. The weaponisation of consumer data by the likes of Cambridge Analytica only intensifies the mistrust. Finally, attention, the currency that we all expend whether behind paywalls or on ad supported destinations. With the Attention Economy now at peak, attention is becoming fought for with ever fiercer intensity.” – Music Industry Blog
Researchers: Binge-Watching Popular Streaming Shows Can Warp Your World View
“Viewers who spend more time consuming commonly binge-watched online original programming are more likely to see others in the world as mean, and less likely to perceive them as altruistic,” write Boston University researchers Sarah Krongard and Mina Tsay-Vogel.
UK’s Oldest Ballerina (Age 81) Gets A Standing Ovation
When Barbara Peters was awarded her Grade seven last year the Royal Academy of Dance told her she was the oldest ballet dancer in the UK. Peters recently received the top Grade eight award from the Royal Academy of Dance with a pass rate of 73 per cent, with no concession made for her age. – The Independent (UK)