Staff publishing success

14 November 2011

The Liverpool Playhouse at 100

Ros Merkin, Reader in Drama, launched a new book Liverpool Playhouse: A Theatre and its City, celebrating the centenary of the theatre on Friday 11 November, joined by some of the well known actors who have made the Playhouse one of the most vibrant British theatres over the years.

The book, published by The Liverpool Playhouse and Liverpool University Press, draws on the Playhouse's rich archival resources and contains new interviews with key actors and directors.

Those present included the accomplished stage and screen actress and classically-trained singer, LJMU Honorary Fellow Patricia Routledge. Voted by viewers as Britain's all-time favourite actress in the BBC 60th anniversary awards, her roles have also involved playing the unforgettable Hyacinth Bucket and the indomitable Hetty Wainthropp.

For further information about the book, please contact Liverpool University Press Tel: 0151 794 2233 Email: lup@liv.ac.uk  www.liverpool-unipress.co.uk

Songs from Violet City

Dave Jackson, Senior Lecturer and Programme Leader for MA Screenwriting, book of song lyrics, Songs from Violet City, was published this October by Headland Publications. It includes lyrics from his recent solo album, Cathedral Mountain, and selected lyrics, written for his previous bands accompanied by a 15 track compilation CD of songs by Dave Jackson, Dead Cowboys, Dust, Benny Profane and The Room.

The book launch and gig will be on 17 November at the Static Gallery (admission is free).

Broadcasting in the 21st Century

Richard Rudin, Senior Lecturer in Journalism, who has a background in broadcasting as a producer, presenter and manager, argues in his new book Broadcasting in the 21st Century (Palgrave Macmillan), that the decline in viewing to TV news and current affairs over the last 30 years means that we are less-informed about public affairs than any generation since the late 19th century. He warns that changes in broadcasting and the way audiences use broadcast services may endanger democracy.  The book uses numerous case studies and interviews to demonstrate how broadcasting is changing in the age of convergence and digitisation but finds that in many ways audiences are using radio and TV in much the same as they have always done. Radio has perfectly adapted to the online age but Richard also shows how that medium could face a 'slow death.

The book explores Reality Television, various recent scandals, including those involving Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand; coverage of the BNP and of other contentious political issues and examines the negative and positive effects of the continued power of broadcasting, including the claim that coverage of mass murders can lead to 'copycat' killings. Issues of truth and trust in broadcasting and broadcasters form a key section of the book. It also features many international case studies and comparisons and ends with a plea for the continuance of public service broadcasting - serving neither the state nor commercial interests. 

New editions

Professor Chris Frost, Head of Journalism, has been a journalist, editor and journalism educator for more than 40 years.

A new third edition of his book Journalism Ethics and Regulation (Pearson Educational) was published earlier this year and a second edition of Designing for Newspapers and Magazines (Routledge) will be in print this November.

Designing for Newspapers and Magazines has been described as a hugely beneficial introduction to students and professionals in print media and design. It offers guidance on how to produce attractive publications and how to tailor them to their target audience using colour, text placement, typography and images. The book examines a broad range of local and national publications including The Sun, The Daily Mirror and Glamour magazine and explains the reasoning that underpins their design choice.

Professor Frost is chair of the National Union of Journalist’s Ethics Council and a National Council member of the Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom. He also sits on the NUJ’s Professional Training Committee. He is now treasurer of the Association for Journalism Education, an executive board member of the Institute of Communication Ethics and sits on the editorial board of Ethical Space. He is a co-editor of Journalism Education.

He has written several books on journalism, has been published widely in academic journals and regularly writes magazine and newspaper articles on journalism ethics, regulation and law as well as broadcasting. He has spoken at conferences or worked as a consultant in much of Eastern Europe, Asia and South Africa.

The Cinema of Michael Haneke: Europe Utopia

Dr David Sorfa, Programme Leader of Film Studies, will see his co-edited volume on the Austrian director Michael Haneke published this December by Columbia University Press's imprint Wallflower. Michael Haneke is one of the most important directors working in Europe today, with films such as Funny Games (1997), Code Unknown (2000), and Hidden (2005) interrogating modern ethical dilemmas with forensic clarity and merciless insight.

Further information: http://cup.columbia.edu/book/978-1-906660-30-7/the-cinema-of-michael-haneke

Nothing but the hours

Keith Marley, Senior Lecturer in Film Studies and Media Professional Studies, has recently had a DVD published, by a peer reviewed academic publishing label - Huddersfield Contemporary Records. This work was made in collaboration with Geoffrey Cox from The University of Huddersfield.
CeReNeM is proud to announce the publication of Nothing but the hours (HCRDVD04), a portrait DVD of the work of composer and film maker Geoffrey Cox, performed by Philip Thomas (piano) and with documentary films made in collaboration with Keith Marley.

Further information   http://www.hud.ac.uk/cerenem/news/headline,26776,en.php


Human Kinetics

Head of Drama Llew Llewellyn, has published two essays in a new book Critical Essays in Applied Sport Psychology- ed Gilbourne and Anderson published in Human Kinetics 2011, a collaboration and a cross over between qualitative sports science inquiry and drama.

Greek cinema: Texts, Histories, Identities, edited by Lydia Papadimitriou and Yannis Tzioumakis

Covering the silent era to the present, this wide ranging collection of essays examines Greek cinema as an aesthetic, cultural, and political phenomenon. Using a range of methodological tools, the authors investigate the ever-shifting forms and meanings at work within Greece’s national cinema and locate it within the booming interdisciplinary study of European cinema at large. Designed for undergraduate courses in film studies, this well-researched volume fills a substantial gap in the market for critical works on Greek cinema in English.

Further information: http://www.intellectbooks.co.uk/books/view-Book,id=4820/

Dr Lydia Papadimitriou is senior lecturer in Film Studies at Liverpool John Moores University and author of The Greek Film Musical: A Critical and Cultural History (http://www.ljmu.ac.uk/LSS/115166.htm). Dr Yannis Tzioumakis is a lecturer in Media and Communication at the University of Liverpool and the author of American Independent Cinema: An Introduction.  The book will be launched at King’s College London on 25 January 2012.