Category Archives: Professionals
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Annual Educational Conference 2019
Engaging Teens
Life skill
Listening Georgia
Final Pathway presentation
Final Pathway presentation
Give me Five
Skillful 2nd Edition
Optimise
Pearson Education
Using Technologies in Class
Language School Education
Higher Education
Empower
Cambridge Science
Must-reads of 2019: the best new books of the year
Voyage into the planet’s past and future with Robert Macfarlane, return to Gilead in Margaret Atwood’s explosive follow-up to The Handmaid’s Tale and celebrate the 70th anniversary of the dystopian classic Nineteen Eighty-Four. These are the books and literary moments to look out for in 2019.
January Book releases
Non-fiction
Pig Wrestling by Pete Lindsay & Mark Bawden (3rd Jan). How can the story of an imaginary pig and a kindly barrista help solve any problem? Based on the authors’ work with the world’s elite sports and business performers, Pig Wrestling gives us the tools to create change whenever and wherever we need it.
The Energy Plan by James Collins (10th Jan). In our increasingly busy and connected lives, having energy is a superpower. Learn how to fuel your body for your life. Power through the 3pm slump, feel more productive, sleep well and lose unwanted weight.
Happy Ever After by Paul Dolan (17th Jan). Free yourself from the myth of living the perfect life as Paul Dolan, bestselling author of Happiness By Design, returns to show us how we can find our own routes to happiness this new year.
The Boy Who Followed His Father into Auschwitz by Jeremy Dronfield (24th Jan). When Gustav Kleinmann and his son were seized by the Nazis in 1939, it was the start of an unimaginable ordeal. Through the horrors, there was one constant that kept them going: the love between father and son. A remarkable story of hope, family and survival.
The Joy of Work by Bruce Daisley (24th Jan). From the creator of hit podcast Eat Sleep Work Repeat comes a revolutionary re-envisioning of how to enjoy your job.
Chernobyl by Serhii Plokhy (31st Jan). Winner of the Baillie Gifford prize, historian Serhii Plokhy draws on recently opened archives to recreate the events of the night of April 26th 1986. A moment by moment account of the heroes, perpetrators and victims of a tragedy.
Withdrawn Traces: Searching for the truth about Richey Edwards by Sara Hawys Roberts and Leon Noakes (31st Jan). On 1 February 1995, Richey Edwards, guitarist of the Manic Street Preachers, went missing at the age of 27. The book was written at the request of Richey’s sister, Rachel, and with access to all his diaries, essays, school reports and letters.
A Short History of Brexit by Kevin O’Rourke (31st Jan). After all the debates, manoeuvrings, recriminations and exaltations, Brexit is upon us. A Short History of Brexit rises above the usual fray of discussions to provide fresh perspectives and understanding of the most momentous political and economic change in Britain and the EU for decades.
Fiction
Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen McManus (10th Jan, PB). Two dead homecoming queens. Five years later, is the killer back? A new YA book by the bestselling author of One of us is Lying.
My Name is Anna by Lizzy Barber (10th Jan). Two women – desperate to unlock the truth. How far will they go to lay the past to rest? From the winner of the Daily Mail crime writing competition comes an enthralling debut thriller about a young woman’s quest to uncover her identity.
The Chestnut Man by Soren SveistrupI (10th Jan). Introducing the nail-biting debut thriller from the award-winning creator of global TV sensation The Killing.
Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield (17th Jan). An exquisitely crafted multi-layered mystery brimming with folklore, suspense and romance, as well as with the urgent scientific curiosity of the Darwinian age, Once Upon a River is as richly atmospheric as Setterfield’s bestseller The Thirteenth Tale.
Watching You by Lisa Jewell (24th Jan, PB). A gripping psychological suspense from the number one bestselling author of Then She Was Gone, as what begins as an innocent crush develops into a dangerous infatuation.
Children’s
The Whispers by Greg Howard (17th Jan). Before she disappeared, Riley’s mother used to tell him stories about the Whispers, mysterious creatures with the power to grant wishes. Riley wishes for lots of things. He wishes his secret crush Dylan liked him back. He wishes the bumbling detective would stop asking awkward questions. But most of all he wishes his mother would come home…
New year, new opportunities
We have a new name and identity: English Book Education
“If you do not create change, change will create you.” ~ University of Oxford
We are often resistant to change, and we don’t realize that change itself is constant.
Even if you resist or avoid it, it will enter your life just the same. When you initiate the change yourself, it’s pretty easy to adapt to it, since it’s a wanted one.
In general, when looking back, we realize that all the good things in our life are the results of changes that occurred in the past.
Benefits of Change:
- Personal growth
We grow and learn new things every time something changes. We discover new insights about different aspects of our life. We learn lessons even from changes that did not lead us to where we wanted to be.
- Flexibility
Frequent changes make us easily adapt to new situations, new environments, and new people. As a result, we do not freak out when something unexpectedly shifts.
- Improvements
We need to do things differently to make that happen. Without change, there’d be no improvements.
- The Snowball effect
Often we give up because we cannot accomplish the difficult task of making a huge and immediate change. That is when small changes become extremely valuable. One shift at a time, small changes will eventually lead you to the desired big one.
- Strength
Not all changes lead us to pleasant periods of life. Unfortunately, we do not live in fairy tale and sad things happen, too. Overcoming the tough period will make us stronger.
- Progress
Changes trigger progress. Things move forward and develop because of them.
- Opportunities
One never knows what each change may bring. When you turn from your usual path there will be plenty of different opportunities waiting for you. Changes will bring new choices for happiness and fulfilment.
- New beginnings
Each change is a turning page. It is about closing one chapter and opening another one. Changes bring new beginnings and excitement to life.
Toefl Family of Assessments
The TOEFL® Primary™ tests are assessments from ETS that help you shape young students’ English-language instruction in a way you never could before. Based on the rich heritage of the TOEFL® test and best practices in English-language testing, the TOEFL Primary tests are designed for students ages 8+ and measure the English communication skills that provide a foundation for students’ future success.
Setting a strong foundation for your students early makes all the difference. Having an accurate understanding of their English-language skills can help you guide them to reach their full potential.
Intended for students ages 11+, the TOEFL Junior® tests are an objective, reliable measure of your students’ English communication skills that can help you pinpoint your students’ strengths and challenges.
Bring the global standard in English-language assessment to your classroom with the TOEFL ITP® Assessment Series. Based on the long-standing heritage and expertise of the TOEFL® test, the TOEFL ITP tests allow you to measure and evaluate your students’ English-language skills with confidence.
TrailBlazers Awards
The Trailblazer Awards have returned for their second year, aiming to showcase publishing professionals in their 20s who have made significant contributions to the industry.
The five winners were announced in early February. They are Anna Russo, sales executive at Hodder Education; Caroline Tatam, platform marketing executive at Cambridge University Press; Claire O’Neill, business affairs manager at Audible’ Zeljka Marosevic, co-publisher at Daunt Books Publishing; and Heather McDais, publisher at 404 INK and Scot Lit Fest.
“The trailblazers nominated for tonight’s award represent the absolute best of [an] appreciation for the old ways, combined with a relentless and imaginative quest for new skills”, said Max Porter in his keynote speech.
The winners boast a series of impressive achievements. Anna Russo took on a new list in the Caribbean. “She showed energy, vision and professionalism in managing bookshop, school and Ministry of Education sales”, said Robert Sulley, group international director at Hodder Education, in his nomination. Caroline Tatam was the top-ranking graduate out of 500 applicants in CUP’s 2012 intake, while Claire O’Neill works at Audible to develop groundbreaking audiobooks. Heather McDaid is the co-founder of literary publisher and magazine 404 ink, and finally Zeljka Marosevic has previously worked for 4th Estate and launched Melville House UK.
Source: “Blazing the publishing trail”, Jasmin Kirkbride, London Show Daily, P.31
General Data Protection Regulation
In recent years, data protection has become an increasingly contentious issue. More and more companies are concerned about privacy. It will be even more of an issue when General Data Protection Regulation kicks in. The GDPR was agreed to last year after four years of negotiations. It will have a huge impact on the legal landscape both in the EU and outside, as entities outside the EU that target or monitor people in the EU will be subject to the new laws. Fines for noncompliance are at €20 million, which represents 4% of global annual turnover.
The intent of the new laws is clear. Personal data should be taken as seriously as laws on competition and antitrust. All publishers, big or small, will end up being affected. Print-on-paper-only book houses will still have to make some adjustments, while tech-savvy houses with a social media presence will need to make a lot of adjustments. From updating the terms of all sub-contractor contracts to holding a written record of what data is held at a publishing house, there’s a lot of work to be done.
Source: “Keep calm and carry on processing”, Duncan Calow, London Show Daily, P.14
Governor Generals Awards
In 2016, Canadian literature celebrated an important milestone: the Governor General’s Literary Awards turned 80 years old. Lori Knoll, head of the prize, in an interview for Publishing Perspectives, says that “it’s not such an easy task to comment on Canadian literature without using the GG Prize as a reference.”
She also adds that “there’s been an increased interest in and recognition for works by and about indigenous peoples. Also, there’s the GG Prize’s recognition for young creators…There’s also been an increase in the number of Canadian works in translation both in English-to-French and French-to-English.”
Finally, she elaborated on the Governor General’s awards. “Founded in 1939, the Governor General’s Literary Awards have a total value of $450,000. The Canada Council for the Arts has funded, administered, and promoted the awards since 1959…Our GG Prize winners are chosen by peer assessment committees per category, per language-seven in English and seven in French.”
Source: “Governor General’s Awards: 80 Years of Canadian Literature”, Carla Douglas, Publishing Perspective, Spring 2017, p.12
Audio Book Sales Growing Fast
Audiobooks have become the fastest growing segment of the trade book publishing market. According to the latest numbers from the US-based Audio Publishers Association (APA), audiobooks made $1.77 billion in sales in North America in 2015, up by ⅕ from 2014. “And that’s just in North America”, adds Michele Cobb, executive director of the APA. “Worldwide, audiobooks are continuing to grow, too. It’s an exciting time to be in our industry.”
Though audiobooks have been around for a long time, recent technological advances have made them far more popular than ever before. “In 1987 you could only put so much material onto each record or onto each cassette or onto each CD,” says Cobb. “In a digital world, the file can be as large as you want, so you don’t need to worry about abridging any of the materials. You can carry an entire book with you. You have access to a larger amount of materials in a very easy-to-use format.”
In response to high demand, audiobook production is on the up. Available titles grew from 7, 00 in 2011 to more than 35, 00 in 2015, according to the APA, and there’s now a wide choice of books instead of just bestsellers.
Source: “Audiobooks make noise”, Christopher Kenneally, London Show Daily, P.26
5 facts about W. Somerset Maugham
“The essence of the beautiful is unity in variety” W.Somerset Maugham
- The British novelist William Somerset Maugham (1874-1965), one of the most popular writers in English in the 20th century, is noted for his clarity of style and skill in storytelling.
- Born on January 25, 1874, in Paris, France, Somerset Maugham studied medicine for a time before turning to writing, eventually releasing well-known works likeOf Human Bondage, Cakes and Ale and The Razor’s Edge. A successful London playwright as well as an essayist and short-story writer, Maugham also faced critiques for his cynicism and harsh portrayals.
- Wanting to write, he obtained his uncle’s permission to go to Heidelberg for a time. He chose the profession of medicine and spent 6 years in training at a London hospital. A year as an intern in the Lambeth slums followed, but he never practiced. For 10 years he wrote and lived in poverty in Paris.
- The titles of some of Maugham’s early novels were familiar to a whole generation of readers.
- Though his work was popular, he had a great many enemies because of his apparently malicious portraits of living people (for example, the characters based on Thomas Hardy and Hugh Walpole inCakes and Ale) and because his view of humanity seemed to be one of contempt or of patronizing tolerance.