Category: publishing

Christopher Hitchens Snubbed By Orwell Prize

“Hitchens has been described as the heir to Orwell, but never won the £3,000 prize which seeks to reward the art of political writing. It was widely whispered among critics that Hitchens, who died aged 62 in December after a long battle with cancer, would likely receive posthumous recognition this year.” But his final book, Arguably, did not make this year’s shortlist.

UK Science Fiction Writers Ask To Be Matched Up With Scientists

“A group of six major British science fiction authors including Alastair Reynolds, Ken MacLeod and Geoff Ryman are calling urgently for closer collaboration between the arts and the sciences,” including a body like the US National Academy of Sciences’ Science and Entertainment Exchange, which connects scientists with fiction projects that need expertise.

Those Critics That Panned Leaves Of Grass And The Waste Land? They Had A Valuable Point

“The critics (like the poets themselves) were creatures of their day, and subject to the prejudices of the day. … Such contemporary insight is important not just for its punctuality. The reviews expose how the poets failed the time – or how their time failed the poets. Only by knowing how critics resisted the work can we see what the poetry put in danger.”

Proselytizing For Books On Monday’s World Book Night

“To the cynics, World Book Night must seem like windmill-tilting. After all, aren’t books meant to be going the way of Ceefax, or good manners? Well, no, they’re not. Polls show that reading has been rising in popularity for decades; literary festivals such as Hay are attracting huge crowds; and even if sales of paperbacks are falling, those of eBooks are shooting up. The real challenge is not to save books, but to widen the circle of those who love them.”