HarperCollins imprint Farshore has made the groundbreaking announcement they will no longer be using punctuation in their books or communications This momentous move is based on unique new data gathered by their senior researcher Dr Lucas Matthews
Here at Farshore we put consumer insight at the heart of all we do Dr Lucas Matthews latest pioneering research convinced us that as a forward thinking publisher we should remove punctuation from our books and communications Cally Poplak Executive Publisher of Farshore said of the decision
Sharing his innovative findings with Book Brunch Dr Lucas Matthews a senior researcher at Farshore said the usage of punctuation had seen a sharp decline since the turn of the century Through my research I have observed the dramatic change in punctuation habits amongst the younger generation which I attribute to the rise of online communication methods 74% of young people will start a new message to signify a new sentence instead of using a full stop And its not just full stops that are being neglected Speech marks are becoming almost obsolete in the face of voice notes As a Childrens Publisher Farshores punctuation needs to change to reflect that of its audience
The move by Farshore to abandon punctuation in their books is certainly groundbreaking and one sure to send shockwaves amongst the publishing industry When questioned on potential criticism from trade colleagues Cally Poplak responded At first glance it might seem revolutionary but the final chapter of Ulysses the seminal work by James Joyce consists of 24048 words yet only 2 full stops and 1 comma And in 2018 we saw Sally Rooney win Waterstones Book of the Year for her novel Normal People which did away with speech marks
It was renowned author Cormac McCarthy who in an interview with Oprah said I mean if you write properly you shouldnt have to punctuate It looks as though Dr Lucas Matthews findings will be putting this to the test
When asked on plans for his next research project Dr Lucas Matthews expressed an interest in studying the rising use of emojis in written communications 😊
To hear a full account of Dr Lucas Matthews findings please tune in to a video hosted on Farshores Twitter account at 1200pm today
Join in the conversation online using #DropTheFullStop
