Writing prizes are on the increase. “Last week, Kirkus Reviews launched an annual competition for unpublished first novels and short-story collections with the winner receiving a book contract with the prestigious publisher Little, Brown. In May, two arts groups in the United Kingdom announced the New Writing Ventures Awards that, each year, will distribute $104,000 in prize money to unpublished authors. Some $9.8 million in prize money was awarded last year in the U.S., U.K. and Canada, an increase of more than $900,000 from the previous year.”
Tag: 07.11.05
Public Broadcasting’s Next Battle (Round 2)
“Today’s Senate subcommittee hearing takes up the question of how much money to give CPB, an agency set up in the 1960s to funnel federal dollars to public TV and radio stations and theoretically act as a shield between politics and programming. Last month, a House subcommittee tried to strip $100 million from the 2006 budget and revoke its entire $400 million grant by 2008. The full House restored the cuts after howls of protest from supporters who brought Clifford the Big Red Dog and other beloved characters from PBS kids’ shows to the Capitol.”
Classical Spectacular Worldwide
Promoter Raymond Gubbay has made a fortune with his “Classical Spectacular” productions. Now his empire is spreaqding to Australia. “The formula is simple. Take the world’s most popular classical pieces – from Nessun Dorma to the Swan Lake Finale, Blue Danube Waltz and the Can Can theme. Engage a 90-piece symphony orchestra, 100-piece choir, military band and soloists to perform them. Package it with synchronised lasers, lights and fireworks. Put them on stage in an arena packed with 10,000 people, and your bank manager will be popping champagne and whistling the 1812 Overture.”
Canadians Listening Less To Radio
“The report says that Canadians spend 90 fewer minutes per week tuning in to their favourite stations compared to a decade ago. It found that the average person spends 19.5 hours a week listening to the radio. Despite the overall decline, people are listening to the radio more in their cars and at work. In 1995, people spent 56 per cent of their listening time at home; that number has now fallen to 49 per cent.”