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: Wed, 23/02/2011 - 09:35 Print on demand, digital and self-publishing are continuing to push up the number of books published in the UK and overseas, according to new output data issued by Nielsen Book. The statistics also reveal that the number of new... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Royal Mail's request to increase the amount it can charge for bulk mail has been slammed as a "shortsighted" move that could cause long-term damage to the magazine business by Barry McIlheney, chief executive of the Professional Publishers Association (PPA). Continue reading at Media Week
[ Media Week | 2011-02-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Tue, 22/02/2011 - 09:08 The International Publishers Association is urgently trying to locate an Iranian publisher on women's issues after she was named in an alleged blacklist of Iranian publishers. The blacklist, reportedly circulated by a chapter... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Mon, 21/02/2011 - 08:47 Michael O'Mara has acquired an anthology about the writers of "Hancock's Half Hour" and "Steptoe and Son", dubbed "the fathers of the British sitcom". Commissioning editor Kate Moore bought world rights with Elly James of... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 18/02/2011 - 08:18 Virago is publishing a new collection of 13 early short stories by Daphne du Maurier, including five discovered by a Cornish bookseller and du Maurier enthusiast. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Fri, 18/02/2011 - 08:15 Publishing staff at Cambridge University Press (CUP) have voted to reject a pay increase of 2%. The proposed pay increase, which CUP has described as reasonable and in line with other pay settlements, has led the Unite union to... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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There may not be a ton of enthusiasm in the publishing world for Apple's new policy for subscription services--particularly when it comes to giving Cupertino a... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2011-02-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Philip Jones Publication Date: Wed, 16/02/2011 - 07:06 Author Margaret Atwood used her Tools of Change keynote speech to warn the industry not to eliminate authors, and make sure they are paid enough to "pay for the cheese sandwiches". read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Tue, 15/02/2011 - 08:53 Publishers' demands for control of pricing in Borders' closing sales are delaying its impending bankruptcy ruling. Reuters reports the retailer is in discussions with liquidators over a plan to close around 20 of its 650... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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By Joe Wilcox, Betanews Somebody call the cops -- eh, antitrust authorities. Apple's subscription plan is here, and it's as bad for many, if not most, publishers as rumored. The first of several key sentences from Apple's press announcement: "Publishers may no longer provide links in their apps... Continue reading at Betanews
[ Betanews | 2011-02-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Thu, 10/02/2011 - 16:00 The National Maritime Museum is looking to publish its "unrivalled" archive of images. The London-based museum has appointed the Creative Rights Agency to pursue publishing opportunities and also seek product licensees for the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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European publishers have added their voice to the chorus of criticism of Apples plans for iPad newspaper subscriptions. Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2011-02-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Eddie and Ozzie awards recognize excellence in magazine and digital editorial and design. The awards draw by far the widest variety of publication typesfrom b-to-b to consumer to association and customand our industry is particularly proud of its creative output. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2011-02-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams and Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Fri, 04/02/2011 - 12:19 The transition to the agency model could be halted as publishers outside of the new terms could wait as much as a year for an Office of Fair Trading investigation into ebook pricing to be completed. The... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Caroline Horn Publication Date: Fri, 04/02/2011 - 09:01 Publishers are being warned to check their Google Books data online as thousands of titles have been mistakenly attributed to publisher BPR. Independent UK publisher Childrens Story Publishers spotted the mistake after its... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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By Joe Wilcox, Betanews Apple's approach to magazine and newspaper subscriptions and third-party ebook sales stink of the kind of practices that got Microsoft into trouble with trustbusters on two continents during the late 1990s and early 2000s. A year ago, publishers embraced iPad as the... Continue reading at Betanews
[ Betanews | 2011-02-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Bloomsbury is to publish the memoir of Mohamed ElBaradei, the leading opponent to Egypt's President Mubarak, two months early as clashes continue between the president's supporters and those demanding regime change in Cairo. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Benedicte Page Picador senior editor Sam Humphreys is to join Profile as publisher for imprint Serpent's Tail, leaving Pan Macmillan after nine years. Former publisher Pete Ayrton now takes the role of editor-at-large. Humphreys, the editor who acquired Emma Donoghue's hit novel... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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On February 15, Open Road Integrated Media will publish the first childrens titles in its author branded program: seven ebooks by Newbery Medal and National Book Award winner Virginia Hamilton, who died in 2002. Among the ebooks on the list are Newbery and NBA winner M.C. Higgins, the Great. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Philip stone Jamie Oliver's Jamie's 30-minute Meals (Michael Joseph) has returned to the summit of the Official UK Top 50 after a three-week hiatus. The bestselling hardback non-fiction book since records began sold 37,407 copies in the seven days to 29th January, up 77%... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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