News & Notes – 2/25/2017

February 25, 2017 News & Notes 4

News & Notes is a weekly Saturday post featuring book- and publishing-related news, links to interesting articles and opinion pieces, and other cool stuff

Book News

 

Literary Losses

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Dick Bruna, the artist and author of the Miffy series of books for small children, died February 16, 2017, at the age of 89. Bruna was born and lived most of his life in Utrecht, the Netherlands. The first Miffy book (in Dutch, Nijntje) was published in the Netherlands 1955, and in Great Britain in 1963, when the the translator changed the rabbit’s name to Miffy because it was easier for English readers to pronounce. Bruna would eventually publish a total of 124 books. His 32 Miffy books are beloved throughout the world and have been translated into more than 50 languages. The character spawned an extensive line of merchandise, including toys, stationery, night lights, educational games, and even socks.

Obituaries: The Guardian; NPRPublishers Weekly

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Worth Reading

 

For Writers & Bloggers

 

Awesome Lists

 

Bookish Quote

 

Freelance illustrator Simini Blocker designed 12 book-quote posters for a yearly planner for the Uppercase YA book box subscription. This one is for April. (Courtesy of Simini Blocker’s Tumblr.)

That’s it for this week!

4 Responses to “News & Notes – 2/25/2017”

  1. Berls

    So interesting about the changes to the dictionary! I knew they updated based on usage, but I’m surprised that words from just a couple years have made it in already! I always assumed it took longer.

    Thanks for the mention 🙂

    And I LOVE the book quote art!! I may need to grab that planner! Happy Saturday 🙂
    Berls recently posted…Bunny and the Bear | #Mytbrl #coyer #2017hw reviewMy Profile

    • Lark_Bookwyrm

      Now that dictionaries are mainly online/electronic, they can update much more quickly. But I think they still wait to see if a word has enough usage and traction before adding it.

      You’re welcome! And I wish one could buy the planner—I’d be on it in a heartbeat—but you have to subscribe to Uppercase book boxes, and I think it’s an add-on now. So I guess I’ll keep going with my trusty bullet journal.

  2. Stephanie

    Some especially fascinating links this week! I particularly enjoyed the articles about translating a North Korean fiction book and sensitivity readers. Translating fiction seems like it would be such an incredible challenge to begin with and then adding to that a layer of unknowability and no communication with the author to parse meaning plus political implications. It’s fascinating!
    Stephanie recently posted…Saturday in the Garden | 70 Degrees and SnowingMy Profile