Dua Lipa, the people’s critic
The popstar is championing literary culture to a generation for whom reading has become passé.
ByPublishing
Social media was never ethical
As Donald Trump returns to office, Meta will allow more “insulting language” and remove fact-checking. Is anyone really surprised?
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Sarah Jessica Parker is the perfect Booker Prize judge
As an extension of Carrie Bradshaw, she straddles the middle and high brow.
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The triumph of Paddington Inc
How Paddington Bear became one of Britain’s most distinctive international brands.
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The curse of influencer publishing
Why a new Ebury imprint by the social media entrepreneur Steven Bartlett is bad news for books.
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The pain of writing a very personal memoir
Also this week: All change at the Evening Standard, and Rishi Sunak’s karaoke song.
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A travelling tribute to James Baldwin
Also this week: Underdressed in snowy New York, the beauty of book covers, and delighting in London’s diversity.
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Andrew Wylie’s rules for life
America’s most feared literary agent on his friend Salman Rushdie, what Sally Rooney taught him, and how he has thrived…
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The “trauma” of publishing a novel
I once found it risible to hear authors describe the publication process as “traumatising”. Then my first novel came out,…
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A TikTok publishing house is bad news for books
Do we really want our literary landscape to be overrun with romance novels, trashy thrillers and scientifically dubious self-help?
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The ancient Greeks will never be feminists
Publishing is obsessed with bending old male stories into womanly shapes.
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From morality clauses to sensitivity readers: inside UK publishing’s identity crisis
Is the books world in urgent need of change – or simply running scared of Twitter?
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Inside the rise of influencer publishing
Many bestsellers of the last few years originated outside “traditional” publishing houses. But are influencers good for books?
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