Wednesday 22 April 2009

Times Higher

The Times Higher Education Supplement recently ran a review of Intellect's. 'Bringing Down the House: The Crisis in Britain's Regional Theatres' by Olivia Turnbull.

Here is an excerpt from the review:
'Olivia Turnbull's book demonstrates admirable scholarly detachment and rigour on every page, where the temptation to grind a polemical axe might have been impossible for many writers to resist.

Turnbull has written a painstakingly meticulous survey of the political and cultural war zone that is theatre funding. She points an accusatory finger at the Thatcher Government, which presided over the closure of more than a quarter of British regional theatres in just under 20 years. She justifies this by logical argument validated by convincing evidence and statistics.

This level-headed approach is the wisest for an author to take to dismantle and expose all that lies between the makers of theatre and the controllers of the purse strings. It has the advantage of acknowledging the complexity of the situation while avoiding any accusation of political bias.

The author draws on archival reports and reviews, budgets, documented panel discussions and minutes of meetings. This is hardly riveting material on which to base a book, and in itself is not likely to produce a rollercoaster ride of a read.

However, Turnbull's genius lies in her ability to track the underlying shifts in culture and taste that structure the apparent objectivity of these facts and figures.

The resulting book is a cultural barometer that shows most vividly how attitudes to the arts change in accordance with cycles of financial boom and bust.'


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Monday 6 April 2009

CALL FOR PAPERS

International Conference

** CINEMA AND LANDSCAPE **

University of Sheffield
United Kingdom
April 16-18, 2010

Following the publication of a major new edited book in Winter 2009, Cinema and Landscape (Intellect, 2009), featuring essays by notable film scholars from around the world, an international conference is to be held on the subject of cinema and landscape.

The conference will be hosted at the University of Sheffield, April 16-18 2010, with the aim of exploring the intersection between Film, Film Culture, Landscape, Place and Geography.

Proposals** (a 150 word abstract) are very welcome for:

- Single Papers (1 person x 20 minutes + 10 minutes questions) or
- Panels (3 persons x 20 minutes + 30 minutes questions)

Topics could include: landscapes of national cinemas; aesthetics, landscape and film; place, identity and the role of film; geo-political film-scapes; film directors and landscapes; new readings in film geography; landscape and film form; travel, journeys and filmic landscapes . . . And more!

The intention is to build on current discussions with the aim of producing further research and publications in this field.

Proposals can be sent to: conference@cinemalandscape.co.uk

First Call Closing Date: July 1st 2009

**Proposers are encouraged to submit as early as possible**

The conference organisers, Professor Graeme Harper FRGS & Dr Jonathan Rayner, also very much welcome queries and suggestions to the address above.

For further information visit: www.cinemalandscape.co.uk

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Book Publishing Assistant vacancy

Intellect is an independent academic publisher of books and journals, focusing on areas of creative practice & popular culture. We have a vacancy for a Book Publishing Assistant to work within our books team.

Duties will include:
∝ Primarily book project management, including editorial, production and marketing
∝ Liaising with authors, editors, printers and distributors
∝ Copywriting and assisting with production of promotional material for books
∝ Supervising production and distribution of e-books
∝ Coordinating royalties
∝ Attendance at conferences and trade shows
As part of a small team, there will be some other areas of work to which you may be asked to contribute.

The successful candidate will either have a postgraduate degree in publishing, or have at least two years experience in the publishing industry. Excellent organisational and communication skills, initiative and ability to manage and prioritize multiple responsibilities are important in this role. Good computer skills required; experience with Macs and Adobe & Office packages a bonus. Starting salary of £14K plus optional employer contribution of up to 8% for pension scheme.
Please apply with a full CV and covering letter at the earliest convenience to Sam King sam@intellectbooks.com.
Deadline 28th May. Interviews will be held at Intellect offices in Bristol on 4th and 5th June.

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Journals Publishing Assistant vacancy

Journals Publishing Assistant
Intellect is an independent academic publisher of books and journals, specialising in the arts and humanities. We have a vacancy for a Journals Publishing Assistant.

Main Duties:
• Project management of a portfolio of journals including editorial, production and marketing
• Liaising with editors, copy-editors, printers and distributors
• Contributing to the growth of the journals portfolio, and to the development of business and marketing strategies

Qualifications
• The ideal candidate will either have a postgraduate degree in publishing, or at least two years experience in the publishing industry

Key Skills
• Excellent time management and multi-tasking skills
• Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills
• Ability to work on one’s own as efficiently as within a team

Starting salary of £14K, plus optional employer contribution of up to 8% for pension scheme.
Please apply with a full CV and covering letter to Intellect’s Journals Manager, Ravi Butalia: ravi@intellectbooks.com. The deadline for applications is 30th April 2009. Interviews will be held on 7th and 8th May. Candidates for interview will be notified by 1st May. If you do not hear from us after 1st May, your application did not make the short list. Due to the high number of applications we generally receive, we regret not being in a position to inform everyone in writing.

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