http://nigelbeale.com Musings on the Book, Literature, Poetry, Literary Criticism, Collecting, Media, Life and the Arts, and Audio Interviews from The Biblio File radio program pertaining to same by a writer, broadcaster, bibliophile. Mon, 16 Feb 2252 05:18:41 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 en hourly 1 Twenty to Forty minute interviews with authors, publishers, booksellers, book experts hosted by Nigel Beale ( www.nigelbeale.com ) Nigel Beale no Nigel Beale notabenebeale@gmail.com notabenebeale@gmail.com (Nigel Beale) Musings on the Book, Literature, Poetry, Literary Criticism, Collecting, Media, Life and the Arts, and Audio Interviews from The Biblio File pertaining to same by a writer, broadcaster, bibliophile. In short, a commonplace book blog: A place to quote, books, author interviews, writers, booksellers, librarians, publishers, collectors, bookstores, used bookstores, rare, http://nigelbeale.com/wp-content/plugins/powerpress/rss_default.jpg http://nigelbeale.com http://nigelbeale.com/2010/02/audio-interview-with-canadian-journalist-robert-fulford-on-reviewing-books/ http://nigelbeale.com/2010/02/audio-interview-with-canadian-journalist-robert-fulford-on-reviewing-books/#comments Wed, 24 Feb 2010 22:43:35 +0000 Nigel Beale http://nigelbeale.com/?p=5879 http://nigelbeale.com/2010/02/audio-interview-with-canadian-journalist-robert-fulford-on-reviewing-books/feed/ 0 book reviewing,book reviews,canadian literature,critics,evaluative criticism,Leonard Cohen,lionel trilling,Literary Criticism,mordicai richler,robert fulford Photo: Nigel Beale. " Robert Fulford is a Toronto author, journalist, broadcaster, and editor. He writes a weekly column for The National Post and is a frequent contributor to Toronto Life, Canadian Art, and CBC radio and television. (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2772/4049741181_f29cff5fd6.jpg)Photo: Nigel Beale. (http://www.flickr.com/photos/nigelbeale/4049741181/) " Robert Fulford is a Toronto author, journalist, broadcaster, and editor. He writes a weekly column for The National Post and is a frequent contributor to Toronto Life, Canadian Art, and CBC radio and television. His books include Best Seat in the House: Memoirs of a Lucky Man (1988), Accidental City: The Transformation of Toronto (1995), and Toronto Discovered (1998)." This is how the man describes himself on his website (http://http://www.robertfulford.com/). I'd only add that I think he is the best of his kind. I sat down with him recently at his home in Toronto to talk about his long, distinguished career as a Canadian critic/journalist, and about evaluative criticism and what matters most in a book. Here’s our conversation: Subscribe to the Biblio File Podcast here Nigel Beale no 42:05 http://nigelbeale.com/2010/02/audio-interview-with-a-l-kennedy-on-how-to-be-funny/ http://nigelbeale.com/2010/02/audio-interview-with-a-l-kennedy-on-how-to-be-funny/#comments Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:20:16 +0000 Nigel Beale http://nigelbeale.com/?p=5708 http://nigelbeale.com/2010/02/audio-interview-with-a-l-kennedy-on-how-to-be-funny/feed/ 0 a.l. kennedy,buster keaton,day,how to be funny,humour,lolita,Nabokov,podcast,stand up comedy,The Biblio File Writer, comedian A. L. Kennedy lives and works in Glasgow and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. In 2003 she was nominated by Granta magazine as one of 20 'Best of Young British Novelists'. Her novel Day (2007), (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2629/4050484996_5fc1f50c47.jpg) Writer, comedian A. L. Kennedy (http://www.a-l-kennedy.co.uk/) lives and works in Glasgow and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. In 2003 she was nominated by Granta magazine as one of 20 'Best of Young British Novelists'. Her novel Day (2007), won the Costa Book of the Year Award. She reviews and contributes to most of the major British newspapers, and has been a judge for both the Booker Prize for Fiction (1996) and The Guardian First Book Award (2001). Her first book, Night Geometry and the Garscadden Trains (1990), a bleak collection of short stories, won several awards including the Mail on Sunday/John Llewellyn Rhys Prize, a Scottish Arts Council Book Award and the Saltire Society Scottish First Book of the Year Award. Other short story collections include Now That You're Back (1994) and Original Bliss (1997), and her novels include: Looking for the Possible Dance (1993); So I Am Glad (1995), winner of the Encore Award, which focuses on child sexual abuse and its consequences in adulthood; and Everything You Need (1999), the story of a middle-aged writer living on a remote island and his attempt to build a relationship with his estranged daughter. We met recently at the International Festival of Authors (http://http://www.readings.org/) in Toronto to talk about humour, the buzz of post-Suicide attempts, living as if you are going to die, self esteem, making other worlds, changing reality, fictional rehearsals, Buster Keaton hats, the physicality of great comic actors, storytelling and investing in lies, Lolita, Nicola Six, Shakespeare, Hamlet, Yann Kott, Benny Hill, Blazing Saddles, freedom and child molestation.  Please listen here: (Subscribe to the Biblio File Podcast here) Nigel Beale no 36:42 http://nigelbeale.com/2010/01/audio-interview-with-marie-korey-librarian-at-the-robertson-davies-library-massey-college-on-collecting-the-history-of-the-book/ http://nigelbeale.com/2010/01/audio-interview-with-marie-korey-librarian-at-the-robertson-davies-library-massey-college-on-collecting-the-history-of-the-book/#comments Thu, 28 Jan 2010 20:38:18 +0000 Nigel Beale http://nigelbeale.com/?p=5653 http://nigelbeale.com/2010/01/audio-interview-with-marie-korey-librarian-at-the-robertson-davies-library-massey-college-on-collecting-the-history-of-the-book/feed/ 0 History of the Book,On Collecting,printing manuals,printing press,robertson davies library A small college cannot hope to have a large library, but if it sets to work along the right lines it may aspire to the possession of a fine one… A book may be a thing of beauty, and an example of a great craft which we must not allow to die. A small college cannot hope to have a large library, but if it sets to work along the right lines it may aspire to the possession of a fine one… A book may be a thing of beauty, and an example of a great craft which we must not allow to die. The means of craft and the aspiration toward beauty live on in our College library. — Robertson Davies, the Founding Master Since its inception in 1963, the Library at Massey College has developed special collections in the History of the Book as well as supporting a working nineteenth-century hand printing shop. (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2756/4050333660_8cbb9382d5.jpg) The holdings of books and manuscripts include material on the history of printing, (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2590/3794966186_7e63c77728_o.jpg) from here. (http://www.bookn3rd.com/?p=626) papermaking, bookbinding, palaeography, calligraphy, type design, book collecting, and bibliography. The examples of book production range from the fifteenth century to the present, with a particular strength in nineteenth century colour printing and publishers' bookbindings represented in the Ruari McLean Collection. The collections also include the papers of Canadian graphic designer Carl Dair. In 1981, the Library was named for the Founding Master (http://schwinger.harvard.edu/%7Eterning/bios/Davies.html) of the College, Robertson Davies, and contains editions and translations of his writings. (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2698/4050484596_6ae417b2d4.jpg) Marie Korey is Librarian at The Robertson Davies Library (http://www.utoronto.ca/massey/library.html), and a scholar of the history of the book. We met recently to talk about collecting books in this field. I assumed the role of a rich (difficult) book collector (easy) with a passion for books about books (very easy) who had retained Marie with the goal of acquiring the best of the best possible books and materials related to the development of the book. Please listen here: Please subscribe to the Biblio File Podcast here p.s. Here is a list of some of the 'essential' books mentioned by Marie: Bury, Richard de (1287-1345) Bishop of Durham, wrote “Philibiblon” which survives in many manuscript copies as well as printed editions.   “Dialogue” on Calligraphy and Printing in the sixteenth century, attributed to Christopher Plantin; this contains one of the earliest descriptions of typefounding. There was a facsimile done, with an English translation by Ray Nash published in 1964 under the title: Calligraphy & Printing in the sixteenthe century. Dialogue attributed to Christopher Plantin.    Moxon, Joseph (1627-91), hydrographer, instrument maker, author and printer. He began publishing his “Mechanick Exercises” in monthly parts in 1677; the second volume, issued in 1683-84, was devoted to printing and type-founding. It is the first comprehensive manual on the subject in any language.   Bosse, Abraham. Traicté des manieres de graver en taille douce. Paris, 1645. Early manual on copperplate engraving.   Senefelder, Alois. A complete course of lithography. London: Printed for R. Ackerman, 1819. Nigel Beale no http://nigelbeale.com/2010/01/audio-interview-with-prof-kevin-gilmartin-on-william-hazlitt/ http://nigelbeale.com/2010/01/audio-interview-with-prof-kevin-gilmartin-on-william-hazlitt/#comments Fri, 15 Jan 2010 13:15:45 +0000 Nigel Beale http://nigelbeale.com/?p=5583 http://nigelbeale.com/2010/01/audio-interview-with-prof-kevin-gilmartin-on-william-hazlitt/feed/ 0 coleridge,edmund burke,french revolution,kevin gilmartin,Literary Criticism,William Hazlitt,wordsworth Kevin Gilmartin is a professor of English at California Institute of Technology, and visiting professor at the Centre for Eighteenth Century Studies at York University in England.  He is the author of Print Politics: The Press and Radical Opposition i... (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2677/4275839473_332e11418c.jpg) Kevin Gilmartin is a professor of English at California Institute of Technology, and visiting professor at the Centre for Eighteenth Century Studies at York University in England.  He is the author of Print Politics: The Press and Radical Opposition in Early Nineteenth-Century England (Cambridge, 1996) and Writing against Revolution: Literary Conservatism in Britain, 1790-1832 (Cambridge, 2007), and the co-editor with James Chandler of Romantic Metropolis: The Urban Scene of British Culture, 1780-1840 (Cambridge, 2005).  His essays have appeared in such journals as Studies in Romanticism, ELH, and The Journal of British Studies, and in several essay collections.  His research interests include Romantic literature, the politics of literary culture, the history of the periodical press and of print culture, and intersections between literary expression and public activism. We talked recently at length about 18th century British essayist/critic William Hazlitt (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Hazlitt).      Nigel Beale no 37:02 http://nigelbeale.com/2010/01/5564/ http://nigelbeale.com/2010/01/5564/#comments Mon, 11 Jan 2010 22:35:28 +0000 Nigel Beale http://nigelbeale.com/2010/01/5564/ http://nigelbeale.com/2010/01/5564/feed/ 1 barbarian press,bytown books,fine press books,horace walpole,On Collecting,private press books,The Biblio File,william blake,william morris Richard Coxford is the proprietor of Bytown Bookshop in Ottawa, Canada. He has been collecting fine/press books for many years. We talk here about their history, and the joys and challenges of hunting them down.   (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2174/2269484691_83e1dd4099.jpg) Richard Coxford is the proprietor of Bytown Bookshop (http://bytownbookshop.ca/) in Ottawa, Canada. He has been collecting fine/press books for many years. We talk here about their history, and the joys and challenges of hunting them down.   Nigel Beale no http://nigelbeale.com/2009/12/audio-interview-with-rare-books-librarian-richard-landon-conducted-by-nigel-beale/ http://nigelbeale.com/2009/12/audio-interview-with-rare-books-librarian-richard-landon-conducted-by-nigel-beale/#comments Thu, 17 Dec 2009 02:50:16 +0000 Nigel Beale http://nigelbeale.com/?p=5414 http://nigelbeale.com/2009/12/audio-interview-with-rare-books-librarian-richard-landon-conducted-by-nigel-beale/feed/ 1 charles darwin,librarian,rare books,richard landon,Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library,university of toronto Richard Landon is Director of the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library and Professor of English. He has taught courses on aspects of the history of the book and bibliography for many years in the University of Toronto's Graduate Department of English and t... (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2493/4050328806_b1bcf02e62.jpg) Richard Landon is Director of the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library and Professor of English. He has taught courses on aspects of the history of the book and bibliography for many years in the University of Toronto's Graduate Department of English and the Faculty of Information. Among his recent publications are Bibliophilia Scholastica Floreat (2005), Ars Medica (2006), ‘Two Collectors: Thomas Grenville and Lord Amherst of Hackney’ in Commonwealth of Books (2007), ‘The Elixir of Life: Richard Garnett, the British Museum Library, and Literary London’ in Literary Cultures and the Material Book (2007), and articles in the History of the Book In Canada (2004-2007). We met recently in his office (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3482/4049740061_434998536e.jpg) to talk about his career, the role of a rare books librarian, the Encyclopédie, changes that have occurred in the market place, collecting as scholarship, Charles Darwin, Galileo, Copernicus, the future of the Thomas Fisher collection, ebooks, books about books, unpublished medieval texts and limitless collecting possibilities. Please listen here:  (Subscribe to the Biblio File Podcast here)   Nigel Beale no http://nigelbeale.com/2009/12/5341/ http://nigelbeale.com/2009/12/5341/#comments Thu, 10 Dec 2009 15:17:16 +0000 Nigel Beale http://nigelbeale.com/2009/12/5341/ http://nigelbeale.com/2009/12/5341/feed/ 1 anne of green gables,depression,extraordinary canadians,jane urquhart,lesbianism,Lucy Maud Montgomery,penguin,penguin books,Prince Edward Island Published in 1908, - Anne of Green Gables is the first in a series of bestselling novels by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery. Although often dark and complex, and at times racy, the 'Anne' novels are today considered by most to be children's books. Published in 1908, (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/99/Montgomery_Anne_of_Green_Gables_cover.jpg) Anne of Green Gables is the first in a series of bestselling novels by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery. Although often dark and complex, and at times racy, the 'Anne' novels are today considered by most to be children's books. Inspired by similar girls' stories of the time, and her own childhood experiences in rural Prince Edward Island, Montgomery's writing has affected generations of women around the world, perhaps none more so than another Canadian, novelist (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2689/4050483772_c92770a680.jpg) Jane Urquhart, who has just written a biography of Lucy Maud as part of  Penguin's (http://www.extraordinarycanadians.com/images/covers/montgomery.jpg) Extraordinary Canadians series. We met recently to talk about the vast disconnect between the work and the woman; depression, lesbianism and gaiety; about place, truth and memory, narrative and culture, confidence and role models.    Please listen here: (Subscribe to the Biblio File Podcast here) Nigel Beale no http://nigelbeale.com/2009/12/audio-interview-with-author-and-copyright-expert-bill-patry-on-orphans-and-pirates/ http://nigelbeale.com/2009/12/audio-interview-with-author-and-copyright-expert-bill-patry-on-orphans-and-pirates/#comments Tue, 08 Dec 2009 21:14:14 +0000 Nigel Beale http://nigelbeale.com/?p=5302 http://nigelbeale.com/2009/12/audio-interview-with-author-and-copyright-expert-bill-patry-on-orphans-and-pirates/feed/ 0 bill patry,book search,copyright debate,copyright law,cory doctorow,Google,google agreement,macaulay,Moral Panics and the Copyright Wars,scanning In 1841 Thomas Babington Macaulay observed that “it is good that authors should be remunerated; and the least exceptionable way of remunerating them is by a monopoly. Yet monopoly is an evil. For the sake of the good we must submit to the evil; but the... In 1841 Thomas Babington Macaulay (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Babington_Macaulay,_1st_Baron_Macaulay) observed that “it is good that authors should be remunerated; and the least exceptionable way of remunerating them is by a monopoly. Yet monopoly is an evil. For the sake of the good we must submit to the evil; but the evil ought not to last a day longer than is necessary for the purpose of securing the good.” In his new book Moral Panics and the Copyright Wars, highly regarded copyright lawyer Bill Patry   (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2771/4031237751_2ffbef9046.jpg) concurs with Macaulay, arguing that 'copyright should last only as long as is necessary to ensure that works that would not have been created but for the incentive of copyright are created.' The book at once demonstrates how copyright is a utilitarian government program--not a property or moral right, and deplores the manner in which debate has deteriorated into a battle between oversimplified metaphors; language which demonizes everyone involved - pirates and orphans alike. This has led to bad business and bad policy decisions. "Unless we recognize that the debates over copyright are debates over business models, says Patry, we will never be able to make the correct business and policy decisions A former copyright counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives, policy adviser to the Register of Copyright, law professor and author of the definitive Patry on Copyright, the man, currently copyright counsel to Google, is a centrist and advocate of balanced copyright laws, and, perhaps most significantly, the owner of a kickin' pair of running shoes (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2611/4170178782_e886354df2.jpg) Moral Panic concludes with a call not for strong or weak copyright laws but more effective ones, designed to maximize the creation of new works and learning, and minimize obstacles which prevent others from accessing and building upon them. Listen here as Patry, speaking as a concerned, informed citizen, not as a Google employee, works his way out from Macaulay's lucidity, a sampling of which I cite to start off our conversation: Subscribe to the Biblio File Podcast here   Nigel Beale no http://nigelbeale.com/2009/12/audio-interview-with-author-activist-cory-doctorow-conducted-by-nigel-beale-on-the-future-of-the-book/ http://nigelbeale.com/2009/12/audio-interview-with-author-activist-cory-doctorow-conducted-by-nigel-beale-on-the-future-of-the-book/#comments Thu, 03 Dec 2009 04:30:50 +0000 Nigel Beale http://nigelbeale.com/?p=5262 http://nigelbeale.com/2009/12/audio-interview-with-author-activist-cory-doctorow-conducted-by-nigel-beale-on-the-future-of-the-book/feed/ 1 bill patry,books,copyright,cory doctorow,ebooks,free downloads   - Copyright activist, speaker, teacher (how about 'speacher'...or 'spreacher'), columnist, science fiction novelist, short story writer, co-editor of  Boing Boing,  and the very manifestation of articulate dynamism,  (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2440/4031990362_560c517698.jpg) Copyright activist, speaker, teacher (how about 'speacher'...or 'spreacher'), columnist, science fiction novelist, short story writer, co-editor of  Boing Boing,  and the very manifestation of articulate dynamism, Cory Doctorow was in town recently to promote his novel Little Brother (free download here), a fast paced, current-day 1984-like polemic calling for teens to subvert security measures, especially those used by governments that claim to "defend my freedom by tearing up the Bill of Rights.” As Austin Grossman puts it in the New York Times: MY favorite thing about “Little Brother” is that every page is charged with an authentic sense of the personal and ethical need for a better relationship to information technology, a visceral sense that one’s continued dignity and independence depend on it: “My technology was working for me, serving me, protecting me. It wasn’t spying on me. This is why I loved technology: if you used it right, it could give you power and privacy...Little Brother argues that unless you’re passably technically literate, you’re not fully in command of those constitutionally guaranteed freedoms — that in fact it’s your patriotic duty as an American to be a little more nerdy." I'm clearly not nerdy enough... incarcerated I am in fact by technological illiteracy...incapacitated too...neither machine I used to record my conversation with Cory worked for the full duration of our encounter...they did however capture enough, thankfully, to provide his engaging take on the future of the book, the seeds of its destruction...and mention of a guy with a lemon up his nose. Please listen here: (For discussion of copyright, please watch this space over the coming days for my interview with the acknowledged giant in the field, Bill Patry). Subscribe to the Biblio File Podcast here      Nigel Beale no http://nigelbeale.com/2009/11/audio-interview-with-author-bruce-bawer-conducted-by-nigel-beale-on-islamism-and-islamophobia/ http://nigelbeale.com/2009/11/audio-interview-with-author-bruce-bawer-conducted-by-nigel-beale-on-islamism-and-islamophobia/#comments Sat, 28 Nov 2009 15:40:55 +0000 Nigel Beale http://nigelbeale.com/?p=5250 http://nigelbeale.com/2009/11/audio-interview-with-author-bruce-bawer-conducted-by-nigel-beale-on-islamism-and-islamophobia/feed/ 0 cartoons,censorship,danish cartoons,equal rights,homophobia,islamism,islamophobe,mohommed,sharia law,threats to democracy,women's rights “Written with an urgency and clarity that makes it hard to stop reading and re-reading it. It should be studied by all who wish to understand the forces at work in the West that make an Islamic ‘House of Peace’ a br... (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2557/4141100218_64b1a9c467.jpg) “Written with an urgency and clarity that makes it hard to stop reading and re-reading it. It should be studied by all who wish to understand the forces at work in the West that make an Islamic ‘House of Peace’ a brewing nightmare.” - Ayaan Hirsi Ali "Bawer is unquestionably correct, and that fact is quite simply terrifying." - Stephen Pollard, New York Times Book Review I talk with Bruce Bawer (http://www.brucebawer.com/biog.htm) here about his most recent book Surrender: Appeasing Islam, Sacrificing Freedom (Doubleday, 2009); about Norway, Sharia laws' intolerance toward women and hatred of gays, the Western media's hypocritical reluctance to criticize Islamism; and the 'Islamophobe' label. I found Bawer to be sincere, passionate and genuinely concerned about the serious threat certain elements in the Islamic world pose to the free expression of ideas. Listen here to his important message:   Nigel Beale no http://nigelbeale.com/2009/11/audio-interview-with-2009-gg-award-winner-kate-pullinger-conducted-by-nigel-beale/ http://nigelbeale.com/2009/11/audio-interview-with-2009-gg-award-winner-kate-pullinger-conducted-by-nigel-beale/#comments Thu, 26 Nov 2009 16:18:55 +0000 Nigel Beale http://nigelbeale.com/?p=5218 http://nigelbeale.com/2009/11/audio-interview-with-2009-gg-award-winner-kate-pullinger-conducted-by-nigel-beale/feed/ 1 canada,canadian literature,fiction,governor general's award for fiction 2009,kate pullinger,kim mcArthur,literary awards,McArthur and Company Publishing,the mistress of nothing (last night at Art Matters) - Kate Pullinger is a novelist who also writes for film and various digital platforms. Born in Cranbrook British Columbia she went to high school on Vancouver Island, dropped out of McGill University, (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2768/4135514167_2ea8a4d362_m.jpg)(last night at Art Matters) Kate Pullinger is a novelist who also writes for film and various digital platforms. Born in Cranbrook British Columbia she went to high school on Vancouver Island, dropped out of McGill University, worked for a year in a copper mine in the Yukon, traveled, and eventually settled in London. Pullinger has written two short story collections; her  novels include When the Monster Dies (1989), Where Does Kissing End? (1992), A Little Stranger and most recently The Mistress of Nothing which has just won Canada's GG Literary Award for best English Fiction (http://www.canadacouncil.ca/prizes/ggla) (to be awarded this evening). She has lectured and taught at, among other institutions: the Battersea Arts Centre, the University of Reading, and Cambridge University, as well as in various prisons. She currently teaches Creative Writing and New Media at De Montfort University, Leicester. The Mistress of Nothing (2009), takes its inspiration from the life of Lucie, Lady Duff Gordon, and is set in nineteenth-century Egypt. I met with Kate yesterday afternoon. Among other things we talk about what it's like to win the GG, class structures, and the future of the book (check out her website here). Please listen here:   Subscribe to the Biblio File Podcast here Nigel Beale no http://nigelbeale.com/2009/11/5199/ http://nigelbeale.com/2009/11/5199/#comments Mon, 23 Nov 2009 22:44:00 +0000 Nigel Beale http://nigelbeale.com/2009/11/5199/ http://nigelbeale.com/2009/11/5199/feed/ 1 Audio Interview,collecting cook books,cook book stores,cook books,food books,foodies,podcast,rabelais book store - Researching 'literary' Portland (Maine) before trekking down there, I came across mention of Rabelais Book shop.  What an interesting concept it's built upon:  the vertical integration of new titles on food, wine, (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2627/3901270921_9e869545d9.jpg) Researching 'literary' Portland (Maine) before trekking down there, I came across mention of Rabelais Book shop (http://rabelaisbooks.blogspot.com/).  What an interesting concept it's built upon:  the vertical integration of new titles on food, wine, gardening and farming with rare out-of-print  books. Patrons therefore inhabit several distinct categories: Book lovers and collectors from around the globe, food lovers and cooks from around the block. Situated in Portland’s East End next door to Hugo’s (chef Rob Evans won the 2009 James Beard award for Best Chef Northeast) and within walking distance of half a dozen other great restaurants, including Bresca, Duckfat and Fore Street, the store, in several short years, has become the go-to place for New England's foodies. Hosting author readings, art exhibits, film showings/dinners and  Slow Food meetings, the shop is a jointly owned by Samantha Hoyt Lindgren, a former photo editor and pastry chef, and her husband Don, an antiquarian book dealer. I met with Don at Hugo's - we thought it would be quieter there than in the store - to talk food and books...listen for the names of titles you might want to start collecting here: Subscribe to the Biblio File Podcast here   Nigel Beale no http://nigelbeale.com/2009/11/audio-interview-with-author-yann-martel-conducted-by-nigel-beale-fiction-and-good-political-leadership/ http://nigelbeale.com/2009/11/audio-interview-with-author-yann-martel-conducted-by-nigel-beale-fiction-and-good-political-leadership/#comments Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:09:56 +0000 Nigel Beale http://nigelbeale.com/?p=5140 http://nigelbeale.com/2009/11/audio-interview-with-author-yann-martel-conducted-by-nigel-beale-fiction-and-good-political-leadership/feed/ 4 Audio Interview,canadian fiction,canadian literature,canadian poetry,canadian politics,conservative government of canada,funding cuts to the arts in canada,life of pi,literary magazines,podcast,prime minister of canada,stephen harper Block head? Listen here as  famed author of Life of Pi and self proclaimed political gadfly Yann Martel 1) Absorbs a barrage of punishing jabs I throw at him over his latest book What is Stephen Harper Reading? (http://www.whatisstephenharperreading.ca/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/photo1-300x459.jpg)Block head? Listen here as  famed author of Life of Pi and self proclaimed political gadfly Yann Martel 1) Absorbs a barrage of punishing jabs I throw at him over his latest book What is Stephen Harper Reading? and 2) Punches back at a Canadian Prime Minister whom he considers to be a visionless, 'fact'-mired, fiction-eschewing ideologue. Subscribe to The Biblio File Podcast here   Nigel Beale no http://nigelbeale.com/2009/11/audio-interview-with-fine-press-owner-larry-thompson-on-the-process-of-letterpress-printing/ http://nigelbeale.com/2009/11/audio-interview-with-fine-press-owner-larry-thompson-on-the-process-of-letterpress-printing/#comments Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:51:16 +0000 Nigel Beale http://nigelbeale.com/?p=5056 http://nigelbeale.com/2009/11/audio-interview-with-fine-press-owner-larry-thompson-on-the-process-of-letterpress-printing/feed/ 1 arts and crafts,AUDIO Book Designers,Audio Interview,book design,book printing,fine presses,greyweathers press,larry thompson,letterpress printing,podcast,printing,printing press Larry Thompson -   - established Greyweathers Press -   - several years ago because of  a "love of beautifully designed type -   -   skillfully arranged on a well-proportioned page." -   - - His original plan was to print letterpress books only, Larry Thompson   (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2522/3815370552_c16e62b6ec.jpg) established Greyweathers Press   (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2589/3814545077_8229162aa8.jpg) several years ago because of  a "love of beautifully designed type   (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3473/3814556153_4f430253f0.jpg)   skillfully arranged on a well-proportioned page."   (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2541/3815357794_7ceab5f8a6.jpg) His original plan was to print letterpress books only, however, as his enterprise evolved Larry became interested in relief block prints and now includes these in his work. Editorial focus is on the literature both of 19th and early 20th century British and American writers   (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2578/3814551833_9c939156e8.jpg)   and young, unpublished writers. All printing and typesetting   (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3549/3815363972_93016b4fc2.jpg)   is done by hand on a Vandercook S-219AB proofing press.   (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2657/3815376834_7aa97bde5e.jpg)   Books are also bound by hand. I met with Larry in his studio in Merrickville, Ontario (about a half hour drive south of Ottawa), to talk about what he does. Listen here as he takes us through the letterpress printing process. Subscribe to The Biblio File Podcast here   Nigel Beale no http://nigelbeale.com/2009/11/audio-interview-with-tom-doherty-publisher-tor-books-conducted-by-nigel-beale/ http://nigelbeale.com/2009/11/audio-interview-with-tom-doherty-publisher-tor-books-conducted-by-nigel-beale/#comments Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:03:12 +0000 Nigel Beale http://nigelbeale.com/?p=4968 http://nigelbeale.com/2009/11/audio-interview-with-tom-doherty-publisher-tor-books-conducted-by-nigel-beale/feed/ 0 AUDIO Publisher Interviews,Beyond the Imperium,fantasy,podcast,publishers,publishing,science fiction,Starship,The Biblio File,tom doherty,tor books After working his way up through the publishing trade during the 1950s and 1960s, Tom Doherty became publisher of Tempo Books in 1972 and later Ace Books. In 1980 he established his own publishing firm Tom Doherty Associates Inc., (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/Tom_Doherty.jpg) After working his way up through the publishing trade during the 1950s and 1960s, Tom Doherty became publisher of Tempo Books in 1972 and later Ace Books. In 1980 he established his own publishing firm Tom Doherty Associates Inc., with the help of several investors including silent partner Richard Gallen (of Dell Emerald Books fame), and with it the Tor Books imprint. Early Tor titles included Norton's Forerunner; Fred Saberhagen's Water of Thought; Poul Anderson's Winners, Starship, Explorations and Guardians of Time; Keith Laumer's The Breaking Earth, Beyond the Imperium, and The House in November; Harry Harrison's Planet of No Return and Planet of the Damned; Roger Zelazny and Fred Saberhagen's Coils; and Steve Barnes and Larry Niven's Belial Honours during the early/mid eighties included The Prometheus Award for The Probability Broach by L. Neil Smith (1982) and the Nebula Award for Best Novel for Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game (1985).  In 1986 Doherty sold his company to St. Martin’s Press and TDA/Tor Books became a division of the larger company. Over time the portion of non-SF "mainstream" titles at Tor grew, to a point where,  by 1993, they made up more than half the list. As a result a new imprint, Forge Books, was established in order to better market these titles. Tom does a much better job of charting the history of his career and these companies than I have here with these written words. Hear and learn how and why he has enjoyed such success in  publishing; you can just tell how much fun he’s had in the business. It’s a joy to listen to him. Subscribe to Nigel Beale's Biblio File Podcast here.       Nigel Beale no