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Folio News
Is the future bright for print?
Surveys show continued preference for traditional publishing over e-books
At Folio, we firmly believe there is no replacement for the beauty of a printed book. In the wider world, however, things are viewed differently. Amazon has recently announced that sales of e-books are now outstripping sales of hardback books. So what is the truth behind this apparent shift away from traditional print?
The recent decision by News International to start charging for access to its online news content via The Times and The Sunday Times sparked controversy. Yet, according to a survey reported in The Guardian, an overwhelming 77% of respondents said they would not pay for news online, 29% because they preferred the physical newspaper.
Another survey, reported on CNN, found that reading e-books took longer - and was considered less enjoyable - than reading traditional books, unsurprising when so many people spend their days staring at computer screens. Perhaps printed words offer welcome respite from the constant digital glare. The Mashable internet news blog recorded that 42% of voters in its survey opted for printed books against just 23% preferring e-books. Interestingly, though, there was a sizeable minority of almost 35% that would choose either format. So the e-book is here to stay, although it's safe to say that one of the reasons for its sudden jump in popularity is the recent launch of the Apple iPad.
Perhaps the paperback will eventually be replaced by the e-book, but rest assured, The Folio Society will stay true to the printed word. A recent assessment of Folio books on the Private Library Blog, passionate about the traditional craft of wood-engraving, goes some way to explaining why: 'only a few publishers have continued this noble tradition at a price most book collectors can afford. One of those publishers is The Folio Society' ... Click here to read the blog.
NEW website - Folio illustrations available as fine art prints
You can now order many of our illustrations at www.foliosocietyprints.com
We're delighted to announce the launch of a brand new website - www.foliosocietyprints.com - where you can order illustrations from many of our books, reproduced as high quality fine art prints. Since the very first Folio books were published over 60 years ago, illustrations have formed an integral part of each edition. Prior to the launch of this website, original Folio illustrations have only been available to own as part of our books. At www.foliosocietyprints.com the work of many of our current artists, including Roman Pisarev, Philip Bannister, Anna Bhushan, Peter Bailey and David Rooney, are now available to own, framed to your specifications - they make superb gift ideas or great decorative touches for your home.
Not only can you select the illustrations to be printed at the size you want - there's a handy interactive tool to show the comparative sizes available - but you can also select from a wide range of frames. The framed print will then be delivered directly to your home.
If you'd like to find out more, go to www.foliosocietyprints.com and see if your favourite illustrations are available. Folio prints are only available through this website; it's a range that will continue to grow, so be sure to visit again. This print service is operated by Magnolia Soft, a fine art prints supplier, on behalf of The Folio Society. Any queries you have about the service should be directed to www.foliosocietyprints.com or by telephone (UK only) on 0800 331 7143.
Booker longlist announced
Folio authors and introducers represented among nominees and judges
The longlist for the 2010 Man Booker Prize was announced yesterday. The 13 titles include Parrot and Olivier in America by Peter Carey, who has won the Booker Prize twice before, once for Oscar and Lucinda, published in a Folio edition last year. Helen Dunmore, who introduced the Folio edition of Anna Karenina, is longlisted for The Betrayal.
Andrew Motion, former Poet Laureate and introducer of our recent edition of Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass, is chair of the judges. He said of the longlisted books: ‘Wide-ranging in their geography and their concern, they tell powerful stories which make the familiar strange and cover an enormous range of history and feeling.’ The judging panel includes Frances Wilson, introducer of the Folio editions of Daniel Defoe’s Roxana, The Adventures of Casanova, Henry James’s The Ambassadors and The Wings of the Dove.
The shortlist will be announced on 7 September and the winner will be revealed on Tuesday 12 October.
To read more about the longlisted titles, click here.
New edition of the Aeneid
Limited edition gives a new treatment to classical images
The latest in our series of limited editions of world classics, the Aeneid, has been greeted with great admiration. It is illustrated with details from Roman frescoes, mainly from Pompeii, Herculaneum and Ostia. Most of them date from the 1st century AD, not long after Virgil’s own lifetime, and many depict scenes from the Aeneid itself.
In the case of two of them, one of Aeneas with his father and son and another with Aeneas carrying the armour of the Etruscan king Mezentius, this is the first time they have been reproduced in book form. Each image occupies an entire page, allowing the personalities of the figures depicted to emerge as never before. A copy is now on display in the Members' Room – if you are able to come by and see it for yourself, we recommend you do so. To read more about our limited edition of the Aeneid, click here.
Germinal introduction in The Guardian
Folio commissioned piece by Ruth Scurr published 19 June
The Guardian Review reproduced Ruth Scurr's introduction to the Folio edition of Emile Zola's Germinal on Saturday 19 June. Zola's masterpiece of naturalistic fiction is considered one of the great novels of the 19th century. In her introduction, Ruth Scurr explains how 'psychologically, socially and politically, Germinal was a trailblazing fiction'. In his passionate outcry against injustice and the inhumane working conditions suffered by contemporary miners, Zola exposed the dark side of human nature, yet still believed that out of despair, change could come. She also points out, however, that whilst the novel had political repercussions when it was first published, today we can admire its greatness as 'a parable of the love-hate relationship human beings have to the earth'. Click through to The Guardian site here.
To Kill a Mockingbird turns 50
Celebrations mark the original publication of Harper Lee's classic
Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning classic To Kill a Mockingbird is 50 years old this month. Lee's coming-of-age novel, set against a background of virulent racism in the Deep South, is one of the most influential and popular books of the 20th century. Universally acclaimed from its publication in 1960, the novel was adapted as an Academy Award-winning film starring Gregory Peck in 1962. It has been translated into over 40 languages and sold more than 30 million copies. A 2006 World Book Day poll named it the number one book every adult should read before they die, with the Bible in second place.
Events marking the anniversary have been going on since May, culminating on 11 July with celebrations throughout North America, from an open-air screening of the film version in Toronto to broadcaster Tom Brokaw discussing the book in Bozeman, Montana. Click here to go to a website dedicated to the anniversary events. For members in the UK, the BBC is broadcasting a tribute by actor Dougray Scott, who had one of his first breaks into acting playing Jem in a 1989 stage version. You can listen to it on BBC Radio 2 on Monday 12 July at 10pm. Click here to find out more.
The novel has achieved legendary status, in part because it is the only one Harper Lee has ever written. Today, she resides in the town of her birth, Monroeville, Alabama, living a reclusive life and refusing to speak publicly of the book. The Toronto Star features a fascinating article about the town and its indelible links to the novel (Truman Capote, Lee's great friend, spent holidays with relatives who lived next door to Lee, and was the inspiration for the character of Dill). You can read the full article here.
The Folio edition of To Kill a Mockingbird remains one of our most enduringly popular publications. It is introduced by author Albert French and features evocative illustrations by Aafke Brouwer. You can read more about it here.
Congratulations to Sue Bradbury, OBE
Former Editor-in-Chief named in Queen's Birthday Honours List
Sue Bradbury has been honoured with the Order of the British Empire in this year's Birthday Honours List for services to the publishing industry. Sue retired last year from her position of Editor-in-Chief. Chairman of The Folio Society, Lord Robert Gavron, has described her contribution to Folio as 'incalculable':
'For almost three decades Sue ran the Editorial department, being responsible for the choice of books we published. However, she did more than that: when our first, primitive computer system broke down it was Sue who stayed up all night making sure our members did not suffer. When Folio people had personal problems they took them to Sue. In any area of disagreement Sue was always the peacemaker.
'She has become highly respected in literary and publishing circles, being Honorary Secretary in the Society of Bookmen. Sue is extraordinarily well read, and her ability to criticise and edit a text is legendary. Her qualities of intellect, sensitivity and modesty have made her a well-loved figure in the world of books.
'Sue has been a wonderful ambassador for The Folio Society, attending conferences, festivals and literary events of all kinds, sitting on panels, making speeches and generally spreading the word. The Folio Society would not be the flourishing organisation it is today without Sue's exceptional contribution over the years.'
Sue herself was characteristically modest about her honour, saying, 'Without The Folio Society and its members - many of whom have offered advice, support and the odd slap on the wrist to keep me up to the mark over my long career - it would never have happened. So in a way this is for Folio and its members, not for me.'
Barbara Kingsolver wins Orange prize for The Lacuna
Unexpected victory for American author
Last week, the American novelist Barbara Kingsolver won the Orange prize for fiction. The £30,000 prize, presented by The Duchess of Cornwall, was awarded for The Lacuna, her first novel since 2000. It beat the favourite Wolf Hall, Hilary Mantel’s Booker Prize-winning bestseller, and A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore. The Lacuna is written in the form of letters, diaries and transcripts, and follows the life of fictional American author Harrison Shepherd from 1929 to the 1950s. Jonathan Ruppin of Foyles Bookshop said, ‘It's a daunting read, which fans of her hugely popular novel The Poisonwood Bible won't all take to, but it rewards patient reading.’ In the Guardian newspaper, Folio publisher Catherine Taylor discusses the mixed critical reaction to the judges’ verdict.
Lionel Shriver, author of the Orange prize-winning We Need to Talk About Kevin, was voted the most popular Orange prize-winner of all time by members of the public. This week, she thanked Orange for this recognition but criticised the multiple awards given by Orange, which now include a prize for first published writers, saying that, ‘The more prizes you give, the more meaningless they become.’
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