Publishing News magazine

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Publishing News magazine

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        Launched in 1979 by founders Fred Newman (Born Manfred Neumann in Austria in 1932. Was editor of the student newspaper 'Cherwell' at Oxford, where he met co-founder Labovitch. His first job was with the Daily Sketch. He went on to work at University of Sussex and Phoebus Partworks, part of the British Printing Corporation, where he was Managing Director. He left in 1979 to form Publishing News) and Clive Labovitch (Born 1932 in Leeds. Attended Oxford where he also worked on 'Cherwell'. He went into business with Michael Heseltine in the 1960s, winning the contract to publish the British Institute of Management magazine and forming Cornmarket Press (later Haymarket Publishing. He split from Heseltine and co-founded Publishing News in 1979 after a failed independent venture. He died in 1994.)

        Newman and Labovitch’s first venture was Skateboard Weekly, formed in 'Harry’s Bar' in Park Lane Hotel’s vacant basement. It was also here that Publishing News was established, and the location lent its name to the paper’s long-standing diarist, 'Harry Barr' (a fictional character who many believed to be real). Publishing News focused on the people of the book trade. Many thought the venture would be short-lived: The Bookseller only ever referred in print to its competitor as 'Skateboard Weekly'.

        Publishing News was a fornightly (later weekly) magazine reporting on all aspects of the book trade. It was commended for giving coverage to the independent sector and self-publishers, and innovations such as daily issues for the London Book Fair, and later the Frankfurt Book Fair. In 1983 the company moved to offices in Museum Street, and in 1990 they launched the first British Book Awards, also known as the 'Nibbies'. The first awards ceremony, held at the Park Lane Hotel, was a sell-out, and the ceremony continued to grow year on year and attract press and television coverage. In 2001 Publishing News launched a website covering news and features relevant to the book trade as a companion to its print magazine, and bought research agency BML (Book Marketing) in 2003.

        The 25th July 2008 of Publishing News was the last. Fred Newman died in November 2008.

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