The editor who turned down John Kennedy Toole might seem myopic in hindsight, but some of his questions about the novel remain hard to answerHumility is something you learn quickly as an editor. If you have the good fortune to find and publish excellent novels, you are sure to miss plenty of fine work. As a co-founder and editor at independent press Galley Beggar, I wake up in sweats with the certain knowledge that somewhere in my email inbox lies a stone cold classic. Perhaps I won’t even find the time to read it, let alone mistakenly turn it down. I’ve had to refuse perfectly good books in the past and will do it again. The hard truth is that you can’t publish everything – and that every publisher is human and correspondingly flawed. But at least I can console myself that I haven’t yet said no to a Pulitzer winner like A Confederacy of Dunces. I am yet to attain the unenviable fame of Robert Gottlieb, marked by history as the man who didn’t publish John Kennedy Toole’s cult masterpiece.There is another problem: that with all its wonderfulness, the book – even better plotted (and still better plottable) – does not have a reason; it’s a brilliant exercise in invention, but unlike CATCH [22] and MOTHER’S KISSES and V and the others, it isn’t really about anything. And that’s something no one can do anything about. Related: John Kennedy Toole's A Confederacy of Dunces is June's reading group book Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2017-06-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Philip Jones Publication Date: Thu, 12/05/2011 - 15:36 Publishers need to diversify and compete head-on with other media in order to deflect the 'one-screen' effect of tablet devices, a panel discussion at the World e-Reading Congress declared. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Thu, 12/05/2011 - 15:34 Random House UK's switch to the agency model this week could lead other publishers to follow suit, despite the Office of Fair Trading investigating ebook pricing. The publisher's switch on Tuesday meant it has around... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Wed, 11/05/2011 - 10:46 Publishers selling direct to readers, printers folding and more agents becoming publishers are some of the implications of digital, claims former Borders chairman Luke Johnson. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Caroline Horn Publication Date: Wed, 11/05/2011 - 07:25 Authors and illustrators with technology skills will have an "undoubted advantage" in the emerging digital market, said Puffin as the winner of its inaugural Digital Prize was announced. The winner, announced on Tuesday 10th... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Barbara Casassus Publication Date: Wed, 11/05/2011 - 08:11 French publishers Albin Michel, Flammarion and Gallimard are suing Google for having scanned 9,797 books without prior permission for its Google Book Search programme, a publishing source told The Bookseller. Lawyers for... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Tue, 10/05/2011 - 12:22 The Ed Victor Literary Agency, one of the most powerful agencies in London, has launched its own ebook and print on demand venture, focusing initially on putting back into circulation out of print books or those on which... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Tue, 10/05/2011 - 16:07 Publishers should avoid locking themselves into any long term strategy, technology or partnerships in their digital publishing because they cannot accurately predict the next two years' developments, today's World eReading... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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And the winner of this years Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre is... the Drama Book Shop, an independent New York City bookstore dating to 1917, 30 years older than the Tony Awards. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-05-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In starting Bookish.com, Simon & Schuster, Penguin Group USA and Hachette Book Group hope to provide one-stop shopping for books and information about authors. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2011-05-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Three big publishers and AOL are set to launch Bookish, a "new digital platform for readers". Hachette Book Group, Penguin Group, and CBS' Simon & Schuster are backing the new site, which is supposed to launch this summer; AOL will promote the property and handle ad sales. A press release... Continue reading at AllThingsD
[ AllThingsD | 2011-05-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Paul Jowdy, formerly vice president and publisher at Conde Nasts Details and Details.com, is now vice president and publisher of Every Day with Rachael Ray. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2011-05-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 06/05/2011 - 16:25 William Heinemann is to publish a prequel to Mario Puzo's The Godfather series, written by author Ed Falco and based on an unproduced screenplay by Puzo. Publisher Jason Arthur bought UK and Commonwealth rights (excluding... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Turkish newspaper publisher Turkuvaz Medya Group whose titles include the daily Sabah are now benefiting from an upgrade to their Harland Simon press control systems. Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2011-05-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon.com Inc. is expanding its fast-growing publishing business with a new line of romance books, its latest quest for original content to distinguish its print and digital bookselling services. Continue reading at AllThingsD
[ AllThingsD | 2011-05-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Thu, 05/05/2011 - 15:22 New imprint Notting Hill Editions launches today (5th May), with the aim of revitalising essay publishing. Essays by George Perec, Roland Barthes, Lavinia Greenlaw and Jonathan Keates, accompanied by introductions by the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Thu, 05/05/2011 - 09:35 Culture minister Ed Vaizey has suggested the results of the Hargreaves intellectual property review should not be feared by publishers, giving the earliest indication that the review takes into account industry concerns.... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publication Date: Wed, 04/05/2011 - 09:00 Alison Starling is to join Octopus Publishing Group as publisher. Starling was publishing director at Ryland, Peters & Small for 12 years, commissioning titles such as The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook. She joins OPG on 9th May and will commission... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Wed, 04/05/2011 - 09:10 Lonely Planet is launching a range of children's books called Not-for-Parents, and says that it sees children's publishing as a "good route" to grow the business. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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American Business Medias annual meeting this year took a single theme approach, focusing on the opportunity for b-to-b publishers to offer marketing services. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2011-05-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Tue, 03/05/2011 - 08:25 Educational publisher Evans Publishing has filed a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) after saying the school and library market has faced an "extremely tough 18 months". The 103-year-old company, which trades under the name... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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