Read this week's magazine will be stepping down from her position at the end of the year due to personal reasons She will remain as an advisor to the board Prior to joining Quarto, Goff had been at the Hachette UK division for 21 years before leaving in April 2020. Goff moved to Quarto as CEO in January 2022 Quarto's largest shareholder who was serving as interim CEO He will once again take over as interim CEO Nov 1 and will remain in that post until a successor to Goff is found she led a full corporate rebrand project and introduced several new imprints to the group with pre-tax profits slumping from $6.6 million to $2.6 million over the same period About half of the publisher's annual sales are from the U.S Among the reasons Quarto executives cited for going private was that it would result in costs savings while also leading to administrative efficiencies You are viewing your 1 free article this month The Quarto Group has appointed Karine Marko as managing director stepping up from her role as group foreign rights director She will take up the position from 1st January 2025 Marko will be responsible for leading all Quarto’s divisions Her new role follows the departure of CEO Alison Goff who is stepping down for personal reasons at the end of the month Lau said: "Karine has a deep understanding of Quarto’s people business acumen and dynamic leadership make her an exceptional choice for the role of managing director of Quarto UK." Marko said: "Quarto is a unique publishing company strength in trade publishing and B2B give it substantial ideation power while its structure allows it to be bold and responsive It is a privilege to lead Quarto UK to the next level of creativity and innovation I look forward to working with everyone at Quarto to reach even more readers for our authors illustrators and numerous creative partners." In parallel, Peter Marley, currently publisher for Frances Lincoln Children’s Books and Ivy Kids Eco has been promoted to associate group publishing director Marley will take up his new role on 1st January 2025 and will report to Marko A new publisher for Frances Lincoln Children’s Books and Ivy Kids Eco will be appointed in the new year When I was a kid I used to sneak out of bed at night to look at a painting in one of my mother’s art history books: St I was growing up in a conservative Christian home; Satan was of great interest to me The Devil in the painting was an emaciated green lizard with curled fangs and sheep’s horns He stood upright on delicate cloven-hooved feet His spinal column was a clustered row of craggy oyster shells ending in a flipped-up tail; on either side of the tail Beneath the tail was an open mouth with painted-red lips I couldn’t get enough of looking at that painting It was only a matter of time before the Devil would wend his way into my own work. My new novel, Two-Step Devil features an enigmatic devil character who materializes inside a backwoods cabin to torment (and perhaps befriend) a man known as The Prophet This devil wears cowboy boots and a bolo tie—and he’s got a giant theological bone to pick is a not-even-close to exhaustive list of literary devils who were an influence as I drafted the novel and any biblical references—only because I’ve assumed these texts as givens Mechthild of Magdeburg, The Flowing Light of the Godhead Little is known about the German mystic Mechthild who experienced her first vision of the Holy Spirit at the age of twelve In her 20s she joined a Beguine community at Magdeburg; she later went blind and became increasingly vocal in her criticism of the corruptions within the church she moved to a protected Cistercian nunnery at Helfta As scatological and sexually raunchy as anything Dante would come up with more than half a century later*: “[Lucifer] grabs the proud one and thrusts him under his tail and says: I have not sunk so deep that I shall not lord it over you.” “All the sodomites pass down his throat and live in his belly “Those who were unchaste together on earth have to lie bound in like manner before Lucifer; but if such a one comes there alone Inherent in these visions is Dante’s notion of contrapasso or eternal punishments suited to the sins themselves openly critical of the religious establishment—was a pioneering voice in imaginative Devil literature was an inspiration to me but can I just remind everyone that to get out of Hell Dante and Virgil have to climb down Satan’s body until they reach his they’re able pass from one hemisphere to the other it’s unclear—as Earth’s gravitational center…let’s just say the image stuck with me and reared its head (ha) as I was drafting Two-Step William Blake, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell I studied the British Romantics in graduate school and Blake’s “Marriage” is the poem—philosophical rant For me there’s a particular delight in Blake’s inversion of familiar biblical texts such as the “Proverbs of Hell,” in which pride and lust and wrath are the glory and bounty and wisdom of God “Sooner murder an infant in its cradle than nurse unacted desires” is a Proverb that gets at the poem’s core: Desire is the ultimate good Blake’s “Voice of the Devil” argues against the Platonic separation of body and soul: “Man has no body distinct from his Soul; for that call’d Body is a portion of Soul discern’d by the five senses.” My Two-Step likewise insists upon the unity of mind/soul and matter: “Consciousness Nathaniel Hawthorne, “Young Goodman Brown” the Puritan Goodman Brown leaves his young wife Faith at home and sets out alone to meet up with a gentleman “in grave and decent attire” who walks with staff shaped like a black snake They head into the woods to attend a secret festival Brown suffers an attack of conscience and turns back; on the way home he begins to see pious members of his community—including Faith!—heading in the opposite direction Goodman and Faith end up bearing witness to an infernal worship service preaches from a pulpit situated between burning trees His sermon reveals the truth: everyone outwardly pious and god-fearing is “Now are ye undeceived,” the Devil says Though the festival may only have been a dream and for the rest of his life believes that everyone is a hypocrite The idea that goodness and evil are linked—perhaps even depend upon one another—is part of Two-Step’s worldview Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov Dostoyevsky’s Grand Inquisitor is one of the best-known devil’s advocates in all of literature But I have always been enchanted by the “Russian gentleman of a particular kind” who shows up later in the novel when Ivan is suffering an attack of brain fever Yet closer inspection reveals that his style is a tad outdated His scarf-like necktie is the kind “worn by people who aim at being stylish”; his checked trousers are “of excellent cut but too light in color and too tight for present fashion.” In brief “there was every appearance of gentility on straitened means.” presents his case: he has been much maligned perhaps in the form of “some merchant’s wife weighing two hundred fifty pounds….My ideal is to go to church and offer a candle in simple-hearted faith….” he is the indispensable minus—without his adversarial presence humanity would be one long boring church service “holy but tedious.” Ivan first denies his existence (“It is I myself speaking not you”) and then grows impatient with him (“fib more intelligently or I won’t listen”) He finally hurls a cup of tea at him—as Luther flung his inkwell Mikael Bulgakov, The Master and Margarita This one comes close to the top of my list of strangest novels of all time the Devil—called Woland—materializes in Moscow He’s dressed in a grey suit and carries a stick “with a black knob shaped like a poodle’s head” (an allusion to Goethe’s Faust in which Mephistopheles first appears as a black poodle) In his wake are a naked woman/vampire with red hair named Hella; a giant cat named Behemoth; and two disfigured henchmen Woland registers himself as an “artiste” and seeks out Margarita so he can help her find her beloved master a writer who has gone mad after failing to publish his novel everything is inverted: Jesus isn’t the savior but a man called Yeshua; Woland himself is truthteller and hero echoing Blake and Dostoyevsky in his argument that “the prince of this world” is the reason its opposite can exist the devil’s gospel—”the writer tells lies in order to say something true,” Boris Fishman writes it wasn’t published until twenty-seven years after Bulgakov’s death C.S. Lewis, Perelandra  The Screwtape Letters is one of Lewis’s most widely-read works Cambridge philologist Ransom travels via space capsule to an unfallen planet or the Un-Man—and the smile on his face after he tortures and kills an innocent animal is one of the most terrifying descriptions of pure evil I’ve ever read: it ignored it to the point of annihilation Ransom perceived that he had never before seen anything but half-hearted and uneasy attempts at evil The extremity of its evil had passed beyond all struggle into some state which bore a horrible similarity to innocence Joyce Carol Oates, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” Fifteen-year-old Connie—as vain and selfish as any spoiled adolescent—is home alone It’s Sunday afternoon and her family has gone to a picnic A car with the name ARNOLD FRIEND painted on its side pulls up to the house Arnold Friend (“An old friend,” our high school teacher was quick to point out) walks up to the locked screen door He wears tall boots that don’t fit quite right; his steps appear unsteady as if his feet don’t reach the bottoms of the boots Arnold Friend somehow knows everything about Connie that he’ll be gentle with her the first time “I’ll hold you so tight you won’t think you have to try to get away or pretend anything because you’ll know you can’t And I’ll come inside you where it’s all secret and you’ll give in to me and you’ll love me.” stepping through the screen door and out into the land that “she had never seen before and did not recognize except to know that she was going to it.” “Didn’t you see me put my sign in the air when you walked by?” Arnold Friend asks her at one point My Prophet imagines defeating Satan by carving a giant X in the air; later in the novel Two-Step (who also wears boots) is forced to make the sign Rabih Alameddine, The Angel of History in the waiting room of a psychiatric hospital Yemeni-born Jacob is visited by Satan and Death is aptly named for the biblical character who wrestles with an angel Satan is on the side of life and energy (like Blake’s voice of the Devil) He urges Jacob to remember the events of his life urging Jacob to give in to the bliss of forgetting Like the gentleman visitor in Ivan’s nightmare Alameddine’s Satan makes a case for his own essential role in human history: “and Satan said… I am no creature of mere light the blood in the veins of the world is lit up by my flame you are the child at the end of the diving board afraid to jump.” Who are your favorite devils in literature Two-Step Devil by Jamie Quatro is available via Grove Press Created by Grove Atlantic and Electric Literature Masthead About Sign Up For Our Newsletters How to Pitch Lit Hub Privacy Policy Support Lit Hub - Become A Member Lit Hub has always brought you the best of the book world for free—no paywall you'll keep independent book coverage alive and thriving Ancestry.anc-1{fill:#9cbe30;}.anc-2{fill:#54524f;} American Cruise Lines.st0{fill:#ffffff;}.st1{fill:#E9172B;}.st2{fill:#0D4991} 2025 Tour — See where ROADSHOW is headed! When rare books expert Devon Eastland discovered a tattered old copy of Shakespeare's King Lear in Vermont in 2022 what happened after the show was no tragedy APPRAISER (voiceover): It was later in the afternoon and the guest started taking the books out unimportant looking book that was also browned with a bad title page GUEST: I brought a book that was part of a collection that my grandfather amassed and it's just been coming down through the family But this is one that I thought was-was more interesting; it's a-- an edition of William Shakespeare's King Lear I first remember the-the books in my grandfather's house he had a shelf about two feet long of old books APPRAISER: What you brought is the third quarto edition of King Lear by William Shakespeare I found that the last copy of the 1655 Jane Bell quarto So then I looked it up in a bibliography to see how many copies there are in libraries APPRAISER: There are definitely plays that there are 50 copies from the same period I would conservatively say $10,000 to $15,000 GUEST (voiceover): That was certainly more than we had ever expected My wife and I went home and we talked about this And it was our conclusion that that was such a rare book that it shouldn't be sitting on our dining room shelf that it should be part of a collection or part of a library or part of a museum or something like that I contacted Devon and told her what we wanted to do and she said that the best way to do that would be to put it up for auction in an auction that specialized in ancient books Swann Galleries and we watched the auction AUCTIONEER: I can open the bidding on this one at......$10,000 GUEST: It wasn't very exciting at the beginning GUEST: At that point I started rooting for it it was just these two phones and it went for $46,000 So the person who bought it ended up paying $57,500 GUEST: I was just absolutely flabbergasted Nev-never could have anticipated that at all APPRAISER: I would have been thrilled just to have had that first experience in Vermont But it makes it really special to have been able to contribute something to the book and to its journey along the way So it's definitely my favorite appraisal and my favorite object that I've Revisit remarkable ROADSHOW finds whose stories didn’t stop even after we yelled "Cut!" 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Our Appraiser Index also contains a complete list of active ROADSHOW appraisers and their contact details and biographies Your subscription request for the ANTIQUES ROADSHOW "Extras" newsletter has been received Funding for ANTIQUES ROADSHOW is provided by Ancestry and American Cruise Lines Additional funding is provided by public television viewers ANTIQUES ROADSHOW is a trademark of the BBC and is produced for PBS by GBH under license from BBC PBS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization GRAMMY®-winning record label Quarto Valley Records is proud to announce their latest signing, David Starr Starr’s new record promises to captivate listeners with his soulful vocals and inventive takes on classic blues covers Starr blends his deep-rooted blues heritage with a fresh Americana approach playing drums in clubs by age 14 and learning the emotive power of the 12-bar blues he established a strong foundation in rock and blues honing his craft through various bands and experiences A significant period in Aspen led Starr to Colorado where the acoustic guitar became a centerpiece of his songwriting process Starr emerged as a respected figure in the Americana genre collaborating with notable artists such as John Oates Despite leaning into folk with his lyrics and finger-picking style resulting in songs on each record that harkened back to his early influences The consistent success of those blues-inspired tracks featured on Spotify’s “Got Blues” playlist and celebrated by critics ultimately sparked the idea for Must Be Blue “Maybe it has to do with the timeless themes of love and loss the way people can't help but tap their feet when they hear it playing blues-influenced songs always centers me in a way that no other music does This album is my version of a blues record what you might call 'Bluesicana'—the grooves and electrics are there I am excited and honored to have found a home at Quarto Valley Records to properly introduce it to the world.” expressed his enthusiasm: “We’re delighted to welcome David Starr to the Quarto Valley Records family David’s artistry and dedication to his craft resonate deeply with the authentic voices in music that QVR strives to promote We’re very much looking forward to working together to take his music to a broader audience.” Must Be Blue is slated for release in 2025 “Hole In The Page,” set to drop on January 24th For more information on David Starr, visit: www.DavidStarrMusic.com Progressive jam giants Umphrey's McGee‘s return to Las Vegas for the seventh installment of the massively popular UMBowl production was marked once again by a stand-out tour closing dual evening extravaganza where all stops were pulled out and the power given directly to the fans, for better or for worse. Privacy Policy In Feature Articles by Porter AndersonJune 21 A new book from Quarto, ‘Yes, Boys Can!’ publishes in October based on ‘HEAL’ professions: health Details from Chris King’s illustrations for 15 of the 50 HEAL professionals featured in the forthcoming Quarto book By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson Senior acquiring editor Jonathan Simcosky at the Quarto Publishing Group‘s Quarry Books was in development with the imprint’s She Can STEM: 50 Trailblazing Women in Science From Ancient History to Today by Liz Lee Heinecke which was released earlier this year (Quarry Simcosky was working on proposing a second book The title at that point might have been He Can HEAL a book that—like She Can STEM—might empower boys to think of professions more often considered by women The phrase He Can HEAL comes from Reeves’ Of Boys and Men In Of Boys and Men‘s eleventh chapter Reeves  introduces one of his book’s key concepts to readers with an anecdote that seems to be remembered by almost any reader of the book you ask today: “Cameron was about 6 when I was driving him home after seeing the doctor,” Reeves writes ‘I didn’t know that men could be doctors.’ I was perplexed for a moment Then I realized that the two or three doctors he had previously encountered happened to have been women which was not odd given that more than half of the primary care doctors in the UK are female Having encountered only women working as doctors it was reasonable for him to wonder if men could do that job “I reassured him that men could indeed be doctors,” Reeves writes of course.’ The elementary school our sons attended had an all-female staff so it also took a while to convince them that men could also be teachers.” is not an editor to look past a good challenge and a nearby expert Juravich is an Ohio-based educator who was named National Elementary Art Teacher of the Year by the National Art Education Association Inspiring Stories of Men Who Changed the World with the West Yorkshire-based illustrator Chris King With She Can STEM now on the market, Yes, Boys Can! is scheduled for a release on October 22. Frankfurt trade visitors will find it at the Quarto stand at Frankfurter Buchmesse The contents pages of Quarto/Quarry’s ‘Yes Boys Can!’ feature the book’s profiles of 50 men in HEAL professions (health from historic figures like Walt Whitman (nurse and poet) to Booker T Washington (teacher) to contemporary luminaries including Tom Daley (springboard diver and knitter) and Preston Dyer (social worker) In the introduction to his new book, Yes, Boys Can!—now available for pre-order— Reeves repeats his anecdote about his son Cameron’s surprise at meeting a male doctor Women were not even allowed to be doctors for most of human history For women to be the only doctors in Cameron’s world shows how relatively quickly and overwhelmingly stereotypes can be overcome … There are no rules about what jobs men can do This book is about the sorts of jobs that are sometimes wrongly seen as jobs for women but are just as much for men.” The urgency of 0vercoming stereotypes for many men and society is something Reeves recognized and began quantifying while researching Of Boys and Men committed Reeves’ most compelling traits is his grasp of rigorous research and its importance when advocating changes that some don’t want to consider Having studied a kind of labor exchange underway amid the exhilarating rise of so many young women’s accomplishments and so many young men’s depression and difficulties he could easily parse the “win-win-win” of helping young men understand the importance of looking at the “HEAL” professions given the decline in traditional male occupations it is imperative that men look to these sectors for jobs diversifying these professions would also help to meet their growing demand for labor it would make it more likely that boys and men could find male providers of these services So getting men into HEAL occupations would be good for men and good for clients—a win-win-win.” An amazing amount of progress has been made by Reeves and his team since the autumn 2022 publication of Of Boys and Men. Reeves not only has founded the American Institute for Boys and Men, but as he announced on May 28 he has been chosen by philanthropist Melinda French Gates to receive one of the 12 US$20 million grants she’s providing as grant-making funds to “people whose work I admire to distribute as he or she sees fit.” a center for masculinities and social justice And Reeves’ work has attracted a faster and warmer reception than many might have expected not least because he’s insistent that supporting and nourishing boys and men doesn’t mean abandoning women’s ongoing need for progress At last check, the translation rights  Of Boys and Men had sold its translation rights sold (Vanessa Kerr at Toby Mundy’s Aevitas agency in London) into: Much of what Reeves is getting at—and trying to raise the alarm about—was recently encapsulated as the news of Gates’ grant brought new interest to his work “Of course there remain many gender gaps where women and girls remain at a disadvantage there are also gender gaps where boys and men have now fallen behind especially if they are Black or from a lower-income background “What should advocates for gender equality make of these facts the standard response has been to ignore them on the grounds that gender equality is exclusively a women’s issue Excluding boys and men also makes it easier for reactionary voices to claim that gender equality is in conflict with the interests of boys and men “The much better response is to expand the reach of gender equality to include the issues of boys and men The point is not that young women do not have problems Two things can be true at the same time.” Jonathan Simcosky at Quarto beams when he talks about seeing the profiles of the 50 Yes Simcosky points to the Quarto culture as being a good one for this book’s development “The Quarto culture is very open to what’s new and what’s next and to publishing emerging voices for niche audiences,” he says “I think it was a little surprising” for some on the staff “that it was about boys It’s not something that we’re used to hearing about the presentation made sense” in a house that focuses on content for readers of many interests and activities there can be healthy skepticism around this and any project “whenever we publish something that’s on the leading edge There hasn’t been a lot done in this space and so this was mainly about wanting to make sure that we’re doing it the right way.” Simcosky points out that Reeves in his leadership “does a really good job of always talking about how supporting boys and men doesn’t take anything away from girls and women who are still struggling in their own ways “So I think it’s like entering a new phase of civilization We have to learn from our past and imagine a new future And maybe paying some attention to boys is the next frontier for gender equity.” that both genders need support and intelligent care—and particularly pleased that it’s worked out for Quarry Books to publish both She Can STEM and Yes breaks into a smile: “I’m proud to bring it into the world I think it’s going to be a good one.” Update: On June 22, the day after our publication of this story, ‘The New York Times’ ran Claire Cain Miller’s article Boys are Struggling. Male Kindergarten Teachers Are Here to Help in which  Richard Reeves is quoted and it’s revealed that “only around 3 percent of kindergarten teachers are men.” In it “I really worry that the very idea of educational success is becoming increasingly female-coded.” If boys are “seeing education as not for them,” he said ‘Yes, Boys Can!’ is now available for pre-order wherever you like to get books online, and more about it is at Quarto’s site here More from Publishing Perspectives on nonfiction is here, Chri and more on independent publishing is here Porter Anderson has been named International Trade Press Journalist of the Year in London Book Fair's International Excellence Awards He is Editor-in-Chief of Publishing Perspectives He formerly was Associate Editor for The FutureBook at London's The Bookseller Anderson was for more than a decade a senior producer and anchor with CNN.com which now is owned and operated by Jane Friedman Sign in or register below for free to unlock 2 articles each month and receive personalised newsletters to your inbox.ORHelp support our journalism and subscribe with unlimited access.Subscribe from less than £3.50 Broadway Off-Broadway Off-Off Broadway Cabaret Dance Opera Classical Music Nashville Minneapolis / St. Paul Connecticut Atlanta Chicago Los Angeles WEST END UK Regional Canada Australia / New Zealand Europe Asia Latin America Africa / Middle East TV/Movies Music "Hole in the Page," is set to drop on January 24 giving fans a preview of Starr's innovative yet nostalgic sound "Playing blues-influenced songs always centers me in a way that no other music does," Starr shared, describing the grounding force of the blues in his life and work. The project promises to be a unique blend of heart and edge, inviting listeners to experience blues through Starr's lens-a sound both deeply personal and undeniably universal. With Must Be Blue, Starr is poised to make waves in the blues world, infusing the genre with his own soulful spin. As he joins the prestigious Quarto Valley Records lineup, Starr's journey back to his roots reminds us all of the enduring power of the blues-and why David Starr is an artist to watch. Singer-songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Joshua Karpeh aka Cautious Clay will embark on an international tour later this year in support of his upcoming album, The Hours: Morning. Songwriting duo and revered live performers, Royel Otis, have announced a new tour. The “meet me in the car tour” will see the guys play venues and select music festivals across North America including Governors Ball Music Festival (New York, NY), Bonnaroo (Manchester, TN) Lollapalooza (Chicago, IL) and Outside Lands (San Francisco, CA) and more. British band James will return to North America this fall for their first full headline tour in more than 15 years, performing their beloved 1993 album Laid in its entirety for the first time ever. Ingrid Andress, Billy Gilman, Tiera Kennedy, and Runaway June will now take the stage for the tenth anniversary of the Concert for Love & Acceptance. The show is set to take place on Monday, June 2, 2025, at 7:30 PM at Category 10—formerly the Wildhorse Saloon. function closestickysocial(){document.getElementById("foxsocial").style.display="none";}@media(max-width:1024px){.most-popular,.video-row{display:block;margin-top:25px}}Videos and exclusive discounts on tickets to your favorite shows © 2025 - Copyright Wisdom Digital Media, all rights reserved. Privacy Policy UPPER SADDLE RIVER — The borough will celebrate its 130th anniversary with the revival of its Upper Saddle River Day on Sept community spirit and local history is being undertaken by the nonprofit USR Cares with proceeds to help the Upper Saddle River Volunteer Ambulance Corps buy a new ambulance and USR Cares started an Oktoberfest in 2017," USR Cares President Louisa Quarto said "This year the mayor asked that we host a USR Day instead." Mayor Arman Fardanesh promoted the event to "celebrate Upper Saddle River's robust history." "This will showcase our community organizations and give back to those who contribute so much to our residents," the mayor said CROSSROADS CHANGE Mahwah amends Sheraton Crossroads property development plan. See what's changed will conclude with a family-friendly movie at 6:30 p.m Former President Barack Obama has been listening to fado this summer He recently revealed his list of top summer picks which includes Portuguese fado singer Carminho and superstars like Billie Eilish and Beyoncé I wanted to share some songs that I’ve been listening to lately – and it wouldn’t be my playlist if it didn’t include an eclectic mix I hope you find something new to listen to!” shared Obama on the X social media platform Carminho said she was “very happy” that her song “O Quarto” is part of Obama’s summer playlist “It is with great joy that I see the song 'O Quarto' mentioned in former President Barack Obama's prestigious summer playlist which includes his fvorite songs of recent times,” Carminho said in a statement “Being the first Portuguese on Barack Obama's summer playlist made me very happy The full version of ‘Quarto’ was featured in the movie ‘Poor Things,’ starring Emma Stone and Mark Ruffalo two Golden Globes and five British Academy Film Awards Carminho makes a brief appearance in the film playing the Portuguese guitar in “O quarto,” in a scene with actress Emma Stone Barack Obama has been sharing his lists of favorite songs and books for years helping increase the exposure of artists who are more unknown to some audiences Quarto’s Frances Lincoln Children’s Books imprint revealed the winner of its second annual Children’s Librarian Prize given in recognition of “children’s or teen librarians in North America who champion diversity and inclusion in their collections and communities.” The 2024 recipient is Tracey Wong a school media specialist at White Plains High School in White Plains publisher of Frances Lincoln Children’s Books Wong’s years of hard work in her community and in her library show that she is a true champion of diversity and inclusivity and her dedication to ensuring free access to books is the epitome of what the prize represents Wong through this prize and showcase her important work.” The Frances Lincoln Children’s Librarian Prize was established in 2023 as a part of the 40th anniversary celebration of the children’s book imprint Movies in theaters Movies at Home Florence Pugh Movies and Shows (Thunderbolts) What to Watch: In Theaters and On Streaming Weekend Box Office: Thunderbolts* Secures $76 Million Debut New Movies and Shows streaming in May: What to Watch on Netflix Watch The Room Next Door with a subscription on Netflix Anchored by a pair of terrific performances swathed in vivid colors Spanish auteur Pedro Almodóvar's English-language feature debut attests to his universal fluency in provocative filmmaking Quarto Group has officially left the London Stock Exchange’s main markets, and all its common shares have been canceled. The U.K.–based publisher began the process in late 2023, explaining that being a publicly-listed company has become too costly and burdensome The plan was overwhelmingly approved by shareholders in December To accommodate shareholders who would rather cash out their shares than see them transferred to the private company Quarto has moved head with a plan to buy back a limited number of shares through a tender offer Quarto will buy back 11,276,774 common shares at a purchase price of £1.50 per share making the value of the offer just under £17 million Quarto noted that it has almost 41 million shares outstanding but said that two of its biggest shareholders Lion Rock Group and Andrea Giunti Lombardo had agreed not to participate in the offer the tender offer will expire on February 15 Among the reasons Quarto executives cited for delisting its share was that it will result in costs savings and administrative and transactional efficiencies while also giving the company the flexibility to close future acquisitions more quickly We have the address for the funeral home & the family on file If you're not happy with your card we'll send a replacement or refund your money Information on COVID-19 Funeral Assistance through FEMA \u003ca href=\"/resources/funeral-assistance\"\u003eRead More\u003c/a\u003e Quarto created this Life Tributes page to make it easy to share your memories © 2025 John Vincent Scalia Home for Funerals Inc. Made with love by funeralOne Portuguese singer and songwriter Carminho has released “O quarto (fado Menor),” the full version of the song she performs live in a scene with Emma Stone in Poor Things The scene depicts Carminho singing the fado and playing the Portuguese guitar to a mesmerized Bella Baxter which also stars Willem Dafoe and Mark Ruffalo and has been nominated for seven Golden Globe Awards You can watch the video for the track here and just received seven Golden Globe nominations this week among them best motion picture (musical or comedy) and original score At the New York City premiere of Poor Things on December 6, Carminho and Emma Stone surprised the director, cast, and celebrity guests at the after party for the event with a reenactment of the scene. Carminho sang the fado with no microphone or amplification while accompanying herself on the Portuguese guitar. You can watch some of that performance and see photos from the event here “When I received the invitation to sing in the film I could never have imagined this incredible experience in this wonderful and impressive work of art," Carminho says "What a pride to take fado and the Portuguese language to such a special place sharing these moments with a unique director and a fabulous team This participation was born of an invitation from Yorgos to make an appearance singing fado which has lyrics written by me for a traditional composition and which is in dialogue with the atemporal aspect of the film." Carminho’s most recent Latin Grammy–nominated album, Portuguesa was released in August 2023 in the United States on Nonesuch Records around the same time that she performed one of her own compositions for the Pope in Lisbon She was also a guest in the most recent tours of Coldplay and Caetano Veloso in Portugal The North American release of Portuguesa was followed by an extensive tour of United States and Canada in October Another tour of North America is being planned in the fall of next year Rhiannon Giddens reunites with her former Carolina Chocolate Drops bandmate Justin Robinson on What Did the Blackbird Say to the Crow Produced by Giddens and Joseph "joebass" DeJarnette the album features Giddens on banjo and Robinson on fiddle playing 18 of their favorite North Carolina tunes legendary North Carolina Piedmont musician Joe Thompson; one is from another musical hero Giddens and Robinson recorded outdoors at Thompson’s and Baker’s North Carolina homes as well as the former plantation Mill Prong House You can watch eight performance videos from the album here Guitarist/composer Mary Halvorson's new album features eight new compositions by Halvorson the improvisatory band featured on her critically praised albums Amaryllis and Cloudward: Patricia Brennan (vibraphone) Saxophonists Immanuel Wilkins and Brian Settles join the ensemble on five tunes and Halvorson adds Pocket Piano synthesizer overdubs on a number of tracks Halvorson and Amaryllis will tour the US in September You can get tickets and watch the video for the album track "Carved From" here Try a different filter or a new search keyword “When well utilized, Portuguese can be very efficient for expressing emo’s spectrum of emotions,” says Luis Bernardo, drummer and co-vocalist of rising Brazilian trio Um Quarto (¼). On their cathartic debut De Nossas Vidas the Rio de Janeiro natives untangle the heartstrings deep within their chests The slacker-rock riffs of “Mergulha” frame an urgent tale of empathy and perseverance while the jittery “Férias” unspools anxieties about an uncertain future over buzzing guitars and crashing drums the monumental wall of sound of “Um Novo Par de Pulmões” (“A New Pair of Lungs”) acts as the record’s emotional apex booming with harmonized wails and a mantra-like reminder to keep breathing despite heaviness in the air “I was raised in Florida so I actually write a lot in English,” says Bernardo, notably on parallel emo-folk project milk & honey “but Portuguese is a very emotional language that captures love and anguish beautifully we focused on the people around us and a sense of saudade so it’s an intense record with a warm sound.” the internet remains integral to the story “The Brazilian emo scene lives on the internet,” muses Theo Ladany In most DIY scenes you befriend other bands playing together at shows constantly sharing music with each other.” Their earnest songwriting and bare-knuckle DIY ethos shines on cuts “Azia” and “Toddyinho,” the latter referencing a brand of chocolate milk they often drink after rehearsal who guided the sessions that would give the album its playful Bouncy lead single “Ficologia” ruminates on exuberant days spent with friends and subsequent post-party depression while the noisier “Gragoatá” ponders an inability to express those feelings to plan another rad hang-out session Ecstatic album closer “Toddynho 2 (O Retorno do Mate)” might be the purest snapshot of Um Quarto (¼)’s serendipitous friendship a symbolic toasting of chocolate milk boxes and yerba mate gourds heralding the end of social distancing and a new era of collective musical joy you immediately become best friends,” adds Ladany honing in on Um Quarto (¼)’s spiritual essence “The way we met—showing up to talk about music in a stranger’s bedroom—is very indicative of how friendships are made in Brazil but most of all about the people we choose to spend our time with.” Sandra Ann Quarto-Rushon, age 33, of Bear, DE, went home to be with the Lord Thursday, December 4, 2008 after a lengthy illness. Sandra was a very family oriented person who loved her children. She had a great sense of humor and enjoyed telling... View Obituary & Service Information The family of Sandra Ann Quarto-Rushon created this Life Tributes page to make it easy to share your memories You can reach us 24/7/365 at (302) 731-5459 Copyright © 2025 Strano & Feeley Family Funeral Home and Crematory made it have sixteen different pieces and four ways to win but your opponent picked your pieces for you Quarto is a two player abstract game by Blaise Muller that takes Tic Tac Toe to the next level The goal of the game is to get four pieces in a row with at least one characteristic in common Each piece has four different characteristics: height Well the final element of the game is that your opponent chooses your piece for you each turn Quarto has that classic game look and feel that would make it right at home at a coffee shop table or sitting out on a side table in your living room The board is weighty and the pieces are all wooden It also includes a (not very nice) cloth bag to hold all of the pieces if you did want to have this sitting on a table ready to play rather than in the traditional board game box but I really dislike a small abstract game like this taking up the real-estate of a full size game on my shelf Pitting yourself against the mind of one other person within a game that isn’t overburdened by rules and systems is truly why I love board games and why I chose to review Quarto probably isn’t enough to pull most people in Having the players choose pieces for their opponent to play is what makes the game so interesting That seemingly simple decision takes the strategy to a whole new level but how can you account for what another person is thinking Can you bait them into setting you up for the win Did you see there were already three short pieces in a row when you handed them that short piece just now Did you notice that you just gave them a light colored piece so they can’t complete a row of dark pieces they’ve been working on but it was also the last square piece and now they just won with a row of squares that you had meant to set up for yourself That exact scenario actually happened to me it gets increasingly harder to keep track of all of the possibilities in the sea of different shape and size and color pieces Quarto is simple but with great depth and choosing your opponent’s piece lets you feel clever until you mess it up or they outsmart you While it wouldn’t be my first recommendation in the genre it’s a solid entry and fun for a few quick rounds Quarto is an enjoyable entry in the two player abstract genre The inclusion of the “I choose your piece” mechanic is a clever twist and provides that bit of head scratching strategy that makes these types of games so fun One of the longest running independent gaming news "Following the economic challenges faced towards the end of 2022 and into 2023 this is steady set of results following on from the growth in 2022,” chief executive Alison Goff said in a statement “Whilst revenue and profits were down year on year the results achieved are in line with our expectations for the seasonally weaker first half of the year.” due in part to the sale of Smart Lab and the closing of Quarto Distribution Services with trade sales and custom down 7% and 44% The drop in custom sales is due to the timing of orders and Quarto said it expects the business to recover during the second half of 2023 led by Nascar 75 Years and Kawaii Tarot Coloring Book which includes all results outside of the U.S, had a 6% sales decline in the first half of the year had $9.1 million in net cash on hand in June compared to debt of $5.6 million a year ago The company attributed the improvement to strong sales in 2022 Goff was circumspect about prospects for the second half of the year which she believes will continue to be challenging however: "I am confident with inflation past its recent peak and supply chain issues now easing we have the right plans in place to capture all potential opportunities We are confident that these plans will enable us to navigate through these uncertain times.” Blog dedicated to show reviews of Broadway and nationwide Community Theater Blog also discusses theatre water cooler topics and stories from personal theatre experience NY - There comes a point when you start working on a negative review where you wonder what the point of it all is but the scale of the performance was such that it feels vindictive to rip it to shreds It feels like I would be laying in to a High School production an enthusiastic bunch of people who’s lack of skill is not a result of poor intention I suppose that’s the one of the few redeeming factors of Bad Quarto’s production of ‘Hamlet - Quarto 1’ But there’s not much else besides that to commend it In the review that follows I will make a few postures towards kindness I will also say that I considered not writing a review about this show But if you are going to market yourself as a professional theatre company and invite critics there is a ‘Simpsons’ episode where they do the whole thing in ten minutes ‘Hamlet - Quarto 1’ is essentially the first draft and the famous speeches are all slightly awry It’s not too far off the final cut we’re all averse with but I’ll admit there’s a certain thrill to hearing “To be or not to be ay that’s the point” instead of the more familiar line Bad Quarto staging the unfinished product is an interesting decision There really isn’t much to the presentation beyond a mild academic curiosity (which is difficult to appreciate without the original text to hand) I understand the concept and see how it could work Everything about this show felt weightless and rushed poorly rehearsed acoustic set that preceded the show to the largely imagination-less performances There isn’t anything to commend this production There’s no style or mise-en-scène beyond a ramshackle “this is what we found in a cupboard” look The fluorescent light strips kill any attempt at atmosphere None of the high-stakes emotion that flows through ‘Hamlet’s veins is present save Beatriz Browne descent in to madness as Ofelia (the name is spelled differently in Quarto 1) Seeing her strumming her strangeness out on a guitar was rather touching but it was the only real moment in a mirthless I’ve seen better imitations at life from Tamagotchis I’m not just getting down on small-scale productions of Shakespeare Read back through my past reviews and you’ll find me saying some very nice things about ‘Hamlet Isn’t Dead’ ‘Rogue and Peasant Players' and ‘For Love and Duty’ You can do good Shakespeare on a shoestring budget Choosing to do the Quarto 1 version of ‘Hamlet’ is interesting Without some stylistic flair to create the idea of comparison essentially you are just performing a shorter The only reason to pay money to see this show is if you have a friend in the cast Because if you have to sit through this life-less two-and-a-half hour vasectomy that has all the appeal of scuba-diving in expired milk you had better be getting sympathy fellatio out of it at a later date Bad Quarto’s ‘Hamlet’ will play at Studios 353 (353 W New York) from March 26h through April 10th Tickets start at $20 and are available here: badquartohamlet.bpt.me This review was written by Thomas Burns Scully BAFTA US and other smaller organizations too numerous to mention His writing has been performed on three continents He is generally considered to be the thrifty person’s Renaissance man.  Follow him on Facebook (as Thomas Burns Scully) Powered by Squarespace Fund joined Quarto in 1999 as president and CEO of subsidiary Rockport Publishers before going on to head the company's U.S. division. He was appointed group COO in 2016, and joined the board as an executive director in 2018. Upon Fund’s retirement in December 2021 he remained on the board as a non-executive director Fund’s career in publishing began at Simon & Schuster which he joined as a business manager in 1984 He later joined HarperCollins San Francisco in 1990 “Ken will be hugely missed by his publishing colleagues and Quarto family His leadership and friendship were invaluable to me and so many others at Quarto over his 24 years at the company," said Winnie Danenbarger "We are all still reeling from this tragic news He leaves behind an incredible legacy that will live on for years to come.” Group CEO Alison Goff added: “Ken was a huge part of the Quarto family for many years and will be greatly missed by all those who worked with him.” The world’s leading publication for data science Highly-technical articles in science and engineering rely on extensive data analysis — this can affect reproducibility Python-based notebooks have long provided the capability of merging the article narrative the computational code powering the analysis and the summary plots into a reproducible report Quarto is a recent addition to the python ecosystem and provides a streamlined publication procedure the notebook text sources (narrative and code) are transformed into a polished publication-ready article in a variety of formats: the classic PDF following journal template or a dynamic HTML page enabling the reader to interact with the data tables and plots We provide here a walk-through of its capabilities using a hypothetical data-analysis article The capabilities are similar to nbconvert and jupyter-book NOTE. A longer HTML version of this article, generated with Quarto, is available on the author’s blog It contains the complete analysis and the underlying code enabling the readers to engage with the tables and plots – a major advantage of using Quarto Technical writing is critical for engineers and scientists to communicate their idea, design, analysis and conclusions. The analysis is typically data and computational intensive. For transparency and reproducibility, the computer code generating the summary tables and plots should be shared along with the narrative. Python-based Jupyter notebooks have long provided the capability of merging the narrative and the summary plots into an executable report Another step is needed to format the report for formal publication for scholarly articles ("papers") additional elements are needed such as numbered figures These are not available as part of the standard notebooks In addition to the classical PDF scholarly article it can also generate modern and dynamic HTML pages which enable the reader to engage with the data tables and plots to develop his/her own insight Quarto handles not just the final formatting but also the execution of the analysis code generating the tables and plots on the fly This is done with just one command quarto render the complete article can be re-executed in a matter of seconds during the article drafting This is also helpful for the independent verification by peers The article and the analysis therein can also be "forked" to start a new branch of analysis by changing the assumptions or data Even within the Python ecosystem, there are similar tools to Quarto. As usual with Python, there are multiple ways to realize a task. For notebook publication, nbconvert and jupyterbook are established alternatives and generate also publication-quality outputs The key differentiator is the built-in features for scholarly writing. Quarto generates publication-quality articles in various scientific journal templates with minimal configuration. See this link for the growing list of supported journal Jupyter notebooks can be represented in a variety of related plain text formats (see Jupytext for the full list) These file format defines the syntax for the narrative text (based on the most popular plain text format: Markdown) Quarto uses its own Markdown flavor (*.qmd) which provides extensions for scholarly writing The workhorse is then the text editor. Given the universality of the plain text format, any editor can be used – you can keep using your favorite ones. This link provides tips for configuring any editor with Quarto and enjoying automatic live rendering in a side window The figure below illustrates the workflow. The narrative part is text-edited in Markdown with the python code mixed inside python code cells The support data would often be in the form of a text file (CSV) All source elements are then editable from the text editor The polished article (or book or website) is rendered automatically on the side when the source changes bibliography) apart from the support diagrams are entered in plain text This paradigm is referred to as "docs as code" and is increasingly popular beyond its home ground in software engineering When the sources file are shared with the readers the resulting article paper is then "executable" A formal definition of an executable article is given in (Lasser 2020) [definition] executable article/paper: scientific paper enabling the reader to reproduce each and every step in to arrive at paper conclusions Note that the emphasis is on the final polished tables and plots not just the interim visuals found in the supplementary materials These are separated from the final tables and plots and don’t show the exact steps to reproduce the final plots and tables supporting the conclusions To get started, install Quarto as per the instructions and check the tutorial Start drafting your article in a file article.qmd and other metadata to make the article citeable The metadata is added in the article front-matter as YAML key-value pair license and some HTML and PDF formatting options then one starts writing the text and coding the code cell Here is a bare-bones article.qmd to get started The real power of Quarto (and the underlying Jupyter notebooks) is the ability to combine narrative text with executable code to recompute on the fly and display tables and plots For the sake of exercising the Quarto workflow in a dummy analysis, we are interested in shortlisting cars with high mileage and high power. In the long HTML version we show how Quarto regenerates the tables and plots on the fly The tables and plots are even interactive in the generated HTML page The interactive features of plots include tooltips … The tables can also be made lively with filtering sorting … A large data table with hundreds of records can also be displayed thanks to the table scrolling feature These interactive features favor self-exploration by the readers The PDF is fully citeable and become a permanent part of the scientific record with its own unique DOI The first page of each output is shown below Again such results are also possible with nbconvert and jupyter-book Quarto shines with the relative ease of configuration which lowers the barrier to adoption for the "docs as code" paradigm Overall, Quarto is a battery-included publications tool chain, generating high-quality modern scholarly articles with just one command and minimal configuration. It is a solid alternative to nbconvert and jupyter-book, worth considering for technical writers contemplating a move to the "docs as code" paradigm. This paradigm is not for everyone (see this article for the challenges) Close, Gael. 2021. "Signal Chain Analysis in Python: A Case Study for Hardware Engineers." https://towardsdatascience.com/signal-chain-analysis-in-python-84513fcf7db2 Lasser, Jana. 2020. "Creating an Executable Paper Is a Journey Through Open Science." Communications Physics 3 (1): 1–5. https://www.nature.com/articles/s42005-020-00403-4 Step-by-step code guide to building a Convolutional Neural Network Here’s how to use Autoencoders to detect signals with anomalies in a few lines of… Solving the resource constrained project scheduling problem (RCPSP) with D-Wave’s hybrid constrained quadratic model (CQM) An illustrated guide on essential machine learning concepts Derivation and practical examples of this powerful concept Columns on TDS are carefully curated collections of posts on a particular idea or category… The world’s leading publication for data science In News by Porter AndersonJanuary 12 By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson Spanning a wide range of nonfiction topical categories, The Quarto Group‘s new consolidation of its UK adult trade imprints gathers all publishing from Aurum Press and Quintessence under one single entity called White Lion Publishing the company’s materials for the press say the mandate of the umbrella imprint is “to help readers understand and enjoy the world around them through expert writing “As you move from room to room around your home and then out into the world beyond White Lion Publishing has a beautiful book to suit your interests and aspirations.” the topical groupings brought together under White Lion comprise: Books published under the new brand are to begin appearing in September and White Lion is to be led by group publisher Richard Green we have been conducting a full review of our UK-based trade imprints in the context of a challenging market.” “will feed on our 40 years’ experience while breaking down silos and embracing new ways of communicating with our target readers.” And Quarto chief Marcus Leaver also is quoted “We constantly strive to keep our portfolio dynamic to ensure that we remain relevant to our readers and customers “This is a very exciting opportunity for Richard and his entire team to create rich intellectual property and find innovative ways to thrive in the modern publishing environment and we have no doubt they will be successful in this new challenge.” Tags: Consolidation, Marcus Leaver, Nonfiction, Quarto, United Kingdom The Quarto Group has appointed Viviane Basset and Dannie Price to its UK campaigns and marketing team By Mona Tabbara2023-11-16T10:55:00+00:00 The newly promoted head of sales at London and Los Angeles-based Cornerstone Films talks about her love of Billy Wilder and why her favourite film festival is Toronto As the London-based head of sales at Cornerstone Films Italy-born Carla Quarto di Palo has played a pivotal role in the growth of the company since it was launched by Alison Thompson and Mark Gooder in 2015 joining after stints at HanWay Films and Focus Features She attended AFM earlier this month with a slate that included Euros Lyn’s supernatural black comedy The Radleys and BFI London Film Festival premiere Starve Acre the second feature from Apostasy director Daniel Kokotajlo What is your office like?We work some days from the office and some days from home We have a lovely warm space in Bermondsey Street I like to focus on contracting stuff; when we’re in the office we talk about general strategies and planning Who do you look up to in the industry and why?Alison [Thompson] I started as a junior [at Focus Features] and she was heading the company I started looking at friends in the industry who became successful and ran businesses on their own — generally women who have succeeded What was your favourite film growing up?The first film I saw in the cinema was E.T The Extra-Terrestrial — my grandmother took me Stories with fantastic elements appealed to me I always say I’m in the film industry because of him What are you most proud of professionally?I am proud of having seen this company being born and grow into what it is now having films in the major festivals and the success we’ve had What is the biggest professional mistake of your career?It’s not a mistake but one regret is coming to the world of film later in my life I was pursuing a career in music — I have a diploma in sound engineering and I wanted to produce music there were no university [opportunities] in Milan that were centred on cinema Which is your favourite film festival to visit?Toronto — I love the people there so obviously I love going to Venice as well What do you think film sales will look like five years from now?I don’t think it will change massively There are always challenges — we’ve been disrupted by Covid and now there are mergers of big companies and the [Hollywood] strikes I think the only thing that will change is new windows and new technologies bringing new opportunities There’s probably going to be more production companies and sales companies merging — everyone is trying to merge to compete with the bigger players The independents are being smart and want to continue their business [and face] the challenges so in five years’ time there will be more mini-studios What new technologies do you see impacting the industry?We now have a whole list of windows we’re exploiting in terms of where we license rights for our content — we’re watching movies in cinema and who would direct?I don’t think I look like any actress but I very much like Saoirse Ronan — I saw her recently in Foe and loved it there are two directors for two versions of my life — one directed by Cameron Crowe and one by Wes Anderson EXCLUSIVE: Film shoots in Dublin and Dundalk this summer Company’s latest foray into genre will open theatrically on October 10 The updating list includes titles’ sales agents and key deals The Barcelona producer’s credits include Carlos Marqués-Marcet’s They Will Be Dust Warner Bros./Legendary video game smash passed $720m at the global box office through April 20 Screen International is the essential resource for the international film industry access to the Screen International archive and supplements including Stars of Tomorrow and World of Locations Site powered by Webvision Cloud The recent Steam version has me remembering why it’s worth playing Late last month a digital version of Quarto showed up Steam and I’m much more enamored by it than I thought I was An abstract game designed by a Swiss mathematician almost 30 years ago Quarto is a simple and lovely game that requires you to really think but occasionally feels more like a puzzle than a game This digital adaptation from Games-Up and Asmodee Digital is faithful to the spirit of Quarto and gives you one thing I didn’t know I wanted: The ability to play by myself you could play Quarto with stuff you find around your house It’s played on a 4x4 grid with 16 pieces each of which is a unique combination of four traits—tall or short The first person to place four in a row with a common attribute wins The twist you might not expect is that each turn your opponent You’re constantly setting up delicate balances and thinking a move ahead to set up a situation where your opponent can’t help but hand you a winning move You’re also trying not to set up a situation where your opponent has a winning move you can’t see coming or where you can’t help but hand them a win It’s a game with a serious less is more design philosophy and like Chess it’s not a game you want to binge play for hours on end but it’s a wonderful way to kill time and after a few rounds you can see why it has remained popular in board gaming circles for a quarter century what’s great about this digital version is that it implements lots of new ways people have found to play Quarto over the years—and trust me there are a lot of victory variants and quirky rules limitations out there This series of challenges and puzzles is really satisfying for one reason: You can do them by yourself It’s not always easy to get someone else to try a new abstract game or to find an opponent as skilled as yourself What I was pleasantly surprised by in this adaptation was the AI it’s a real course in how to be good at Quarto and generally crushes your hopes in dreams over and over—beating it is the kind of brain burning strategy puzzle that I love.  You can also play it in hot seat, with multiplayer marked as ‘coming soon’ by the developer. Quarto is $6.99 right here on Steam.  Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team. ContributorJon Bolding is a games writer and critic with an extensive background in strategy games he can be found playing every tabletop game under the sun Sign in or register below for free to unlock 2 articles each month and receive personalised newsletters to your inbox.ORHelp support our journalism and subscribe with unlimited access.Subscribe from less than £3.50, and you'll receive: Send help right to the people and causes you care about Your donation is protected by the GoFundMe Giving Guarantee Quarto Publishing Group USA has acquired Harvard Common Press (HCP) an independent publisher primarily focused on cooking and childcare In Feature Articles by Porter AndersonApril 14, 2016 which features the work of illustrators Hanane Kai The new Kalimat Quarto venture will start not with children’s literarture but with cookbooks By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson From our good friend Charlotte Eyre at The Bookseller on Wednesday (April 13), we had news of Quarto imprints making up more than half the 14 titles shortlisted for this year’s English 4+11 Picture Book Awards Now, we can announce that the United Arab Emirates’ Sharjah-based Kalimat Group has entered a joint venture with the Quarto Group, for Arab language books. In an exclusive interview with Publishing Perspectives, Kalimat founding CEO Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi talked about the company’s new range, with the introduction of adult fiction. “Our new joint venture with Quarto is a fantastic opportunity Quarto’s chief executive) in Frankfurt last year “We went to their stand in Frankfurt and spent a couple of hours going through their books ‘What could we add in Kalimat that would supplement our list So we’re going to be launching cookbooks with them.” Bodour stresses that a warm and forthright personal relationship has a lot to do with her confidence in the deal and the Quarto partnership is our first as we go into new markets It’s important to really like the partner you’re working with to trust the partner you’re working with.” In a prepared statement the two companies have announced that imprints from around Quarto’s publishing businesses will supply titles to the joint venture which will publish and distribute them in Arabic throughout the Middle East and North Africa from early 2017 The new joint venture is to publish under the “Kalimat Quarto” imprint starting in cookery — a new category of publishing for Kalimat Group which many of us have known best so far for children’s books are anticipated as the collaboration matures “Quarto and Kalimat see great scope for developing the market for illustrated non-fiction in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as well as the larger Arabic-speaking world The category is currently dominated by English language imports – excluding a significant potential readership as English proficiency in the Arabic speaking world is still low.” “This partnership represents an exciting opportunity for Kalimat Group to expand its offerings in a new segment of publishing “Kalimat Group has led the illustrated book field in other categories with its offerings garnering a number of prestigious international awards “We are delighted to be able to bring the group’s talents in narrative illustration to a new line in book publishing and intend to build upon our incipient relationship with Quarto to take our organisation to new heights.” the first publishing house in the UAE dedicated solely to publishing and distributing high quality Arabic children’s books targeting children up to 16 years old and is dedicated to publishing printed books and smart applications that offer a modern integrated education system in the Arabic language Kalimat was named Best Children’s Publisher of the Year in Asia at Bologna Book Fair 2016 Horouf’s response to Arabic educational needs includes a playful forward-tilted approach meant to build and develop students’ capacities The latest additions of Kalimat are “Rewayat,” specialized in chapter books targeting adults and young adults and “Maktaba,” the literary café that offers a unique environment to promote a passion for reading and the Horouf imprint was established in 2013 Quarto CEO Marcus Leaver is quoted as saying: “Our stated intention to develop our business internationally sees a further iteration in the Arabic-speaking world “A partnership with such a pioneering publisher as Kalimat Group and the launch of Kalimat Quarto is exciting and raises the bar yet again for further partnerships in other territories.” The Quarto Group (LSE: QRT) is the leading global illustrated non-fiction book publisher and distribution group Quarto has some 400 employees in five distinct but complementary businesses – Quarto International Co-editions Group; Quarto Publishing Group USA; Quarto Publishing Group UK; Books & Gifts Direct Bodour is speaking in Berlin at Publishers Forum, April 28 and 29, in a conversation with #PF16 director Ruediger Wischenbart. If you weren’t with us at London Book Fair to pick it up, download a copy of our Publishing Perspectives Spring 2016 Magazine here free of charge as a PDF In All’s Rights With the Book World we look at a raft of issues facing publishers and their associates this season and at many trends and players in the field And we have coverage of Bodour’s comments to the International Publishers Association 31st Congress in London, as well as her recently announced “1,001 Titles” initiative in Arabic literature