A British jury found in favor of author Constance Briscoe and her publisher Hodder & Stoughton in the odd case in which her mother Carmen Briscoe-Mitchell claimed the book UGLY was “a piece of fiction.” Briscoe said, “I can quite understand why my family went into collective denial but whilst child abuse may be committed behind closed doors it should never be swept under the carpet.” But the Guardian suggests that this will mark the permanent decline of the “misery memoir,” which has flourished in the UK even as it has faded in the US and elsewhere. “Despite Briscoe’s victory […]
International News
Woolworth's Halts Trading
In the UK, trading in Woolworths’ shares was suspended this morning at the company’s request, as they are on the verge of bankruptcy and deep in negotiations for a rescue. They said in a statement that they are in talks to sell the BBC Woolworths’ 40 percent share of their 2entertain joint venture, which produces and distributes BBC shows on DVD. There are reports of agreement for a sale of that unit for 100 million pounds, but the Times says “the sale of the DVD business hinges on talks over the rest of the business.” The chain is still in […]
Woolworths on the Edge
In the UK, Woolworth’s–which has been headed for bankruptcy over the past two months–is now perched right on the edge. “Unless a deal is agreed in the next few days the entire Woolworths group looks poised to collapse into administration – putting 30,000 jobs at risk,” the Sunday Times writes. They add, “City sources say that Woolworths is fast running out of cash amid torrid trading conditions on the high street. It is thought that the company only has sufficient funds to last until about the middle of next month.” The banks hold the controlling cards in negotiations, according to […]
European Library Site Closes as Quickly as It Opened
After a busier-than-expected first day, the EU’s Europeana web site closed back down for scaling. The home page says they will be return “in a more robust version as soon as possible. We will be back by mid-December.” Their development/preview site is still online at http://dev.europeana.eu/.
Europe Launches Digital Library
The European Commission has launched their Europeana project, meant to provide a collection of digitized cultural resources from across Europe. But the NYT notes that “more than half of its two million items will come from just one of the 27 countries in the European Union: France…. Only 1 percent of the content has information about Germany, 1.4 percent about Spain and only 10 percent about Britain.” The site draws on the archives of over 1,000 museums, libraries and archives, presenting books, paintings, maps, videos, and newspapers, all free of copyright restrictions. The EU’s goal is to present 10 million […]
UK Sales Down Over 4 Percent
Even as holiday sales volume picks up in the UK, as compared to last year sales are consistently down 4 percent or more. According to Nielsen Bookscan figures, total expenditures for the four weeks ending November 15 were down 4.1 percent, while unit sales declined 4.5 percent. For the recent week by itself, total spending dropped 3.9 percent compared to last year.Bookseller