Opinion: it is a recession - apologies for being an optimistFriday, 2nd January 2009
It's official. We are all going to hell in a handcart. The Daily Mail says so, BBC News says so, and - most important - Robert Peston says so. From Tiverton to Tobermory,...
read more...
Children's column - crowded JanuaryFriday, 2nd January 2009
January used to be a quiet month for children's books. The conventional deluge, as in all genres, was in the autumn, in the hope of grabbing a share of the Christmas...
read more...
Children's column - the trends of 2008Friday, 19th December 2008
As this is the last column of 2008, here are a few thoughts on trends that were apparent in children's publishing over the year. We have learnt once again that success in...
read more...
Children's column - time for a new solution to age-bandingFriday, 12th December 2008
Since eight organisations, from CILIP to Seven Stories, have added their support to Anne Fine's and Philip Pullman's anti-age-banding campaign , surely it is time to move...
read more...
Opinion: brunch, lunch or a sandwich in the office?Thursday, 11th December 2008
I was much taken with Robert McCrum's recent Observer piece lamenting the demise of the publisher's lunch. Mr McCrum suggested that the heart and soul of any publishing...
read more...
Children's column - Beedle the BardFriday, 5th December 2008
I am disappointed about The Tales of Beedle the Bard . Not about the book, which is clever and entertaining, but about the sales price. I wish the book trade would -...
read more...
Children's column - out of print, not out of mindFriday, 28th November 2008
Rumours (if exaggerated) that Houghton Mifflin was no longer commissioning struck fear into the hearts of authors, illustrators and agents everywhere. And yet though I...
read more...
Children's column - a plethora of pop-upsThursday, 20th November 2008
Among the pop-up books being published for Christmas, Nicolette Jones writes , are the following: Inventions: Pop-Ups from the Drawings of Leonardo da Vinci (Walker); The...
read more...
Children's column - Picture Book is inspiring TVFriday, 14th November 2008
BBC4's series Picture Book , of which the second hour-long programme of three was aired on Wednesday, gives the lie to an old myth about children's books coverage on...
read more...
