World Book Day: Remembering Richard Scarry’s Storybook Dictionary
For World Book Day, copywriter Paul remembers an old favourite and wonders: Can the books we love when little influence the career paths we take? SCARRY PROSPECTS? From kisses to records to foreign holidays, we’re supposed to remember our firsts. I can’t claim to remember the first book I ever had, but the first I can remember was […]
How stories make the world go round
If you pay attention, you can observe how the stories we tell each other eventually generate change and disruption for the better, says Lou Hamilton.
AM at 10: The Accuracy Matters origin story
This year Accuracy Matters is celebrating its first decade in business. So how did we get here? Rachel Nixon shares the origin story of the company.
2021: a year of new beginnings
The calendar tells me it’s the end of December but I still can’t quite believe it: 2021 has buzzed past in a blur.
A dream proofreading job
My childhood home had a very strange collection of VHS tapes. A lot of westerns, some musicals and a rag-tag selection of films recorded off the telly – remember recording films off the telly? – were available to us. They were the perfect babysitters and no one really seemed to mind about too much screen time in the 80s.
The truth about working with highly sensitive material
The clampdown came following an overheard conversation in an Italian restaurant, south of the river in Lambeth, London. Someone had mentioned that they were working on a public inquiry. Nothing about the contents was revealed – but the fact that this report was being worked on in an office building not far from the restaurant was clear from what was overheard.
Bringing history to life with English Heritage
I’ve always been fond of a historic house and garden (the children less so) but if there’s outdoor space then we might all be happy. Plus, when we get to visit a ruin or house maintained by English Heritage, then I get to see the great work we do for them in situ.
The Strange Tale of the Dictionary, the Professor and the Madman
I’ve been obsessed with dictionaries since I was small. Stuck for something to read? Flick (or click if we’re talking about this century) through the dictionary for half an hour.
When maps set traps: red herrings in reference texts
I don’t know about anyone else, but rainy childhood afternoons often found me gazing at OS (Ordnance Survey) maps. I would giddily trace paths across dramatically close-bunched contour lines depicting hills and gorges, or along meandering lines drawn far apart to show wide, gentle valleys.
Mistakes, I’ve Made a Few
Apparently, I think too fast. At least, that’s the flattering explanation Quora offered for my tendency – shared, I’m pleased to say with millions of others – to miss out the occasional word as we type.
