Publisher of great 20th-century writers and thinkers who lifted the lid on the business of booksIn March 1990, the publishing world was stunned by news of André Schiffrin's controversial resignation from the position he had held for the previous 29 years as editor-in-chief of Pantheon Books. Most of his senior editorial team resigned alongside him and a letter of protest was signed by more than 300 eminent authors, including Arthur Miller, William Styron and Kurt Vonnegut. The New Yorkers among them mounted a demonstration outside (the parent company) Random House's headquarters and EL Doctorow used the National Book Critics Circle annual dinner as a platform to express his outrage. The episode ignited a debate about the tension between the political and commercial role of publishing that continues to this day.During his time at Pantheon, André, who has died aged 78, published some of the great writers and thinkers of the second half of the 20th century while sticking to a consistently leftwing agenda. Eric Hobsbawm, EP Thompson, Edward Said, Anita Brookner, RD Laing, Michel Foucault, Noam Chomsky, Art Spiegelman and Marguerite Duras were in his stable, along with Studs Terkel, the idea for whose bestselling oral histories André came up with after listening to Terkel's radio shows. As independent publishers began to be acquired by global conglomerates and phrases such as "fiscal responsibility" were bandied about, André categorically refused to cut his cloth, his list or... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2013-12-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
Independent publishers have taken the majority of spots on the 15-strong longlist for the Jerwood Fiction Uncovered Prize 2015. The prize celebrates great British fiction and each year awards a group of eight writers with £5,000 each. This is the first time the prize has made public a... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A new publishing model has launched, offering authors a 50% share of revenue on book sales. Lightning Books, the fiction imprint of the newly created Eyestorm Media, operates a co-publishing model. It was founded by Eye Books owner Dan Hiscocks, a former director of the Independent Publishers’... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-04-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The readiness of juries to defend public interest journalism is good news. But the press should be more transparent about payments to sources for storiesThe case of the Sun journalists charged with paying public officials for information has been a troubling one in many respects. It is, we... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-03-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The CEO of Australia's Hardie Grant Publishing urges independent publishers to embrace “transformational solutions” to stay profitable in the years to come. The post How Independent Publishers Can Stay Profitable appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-03-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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An increasingly ”sympathetic” Waterstones, a more agreeable Amazon, direct-to-consumer sales and the mining of niche markets have given independent publishers a boost ahead of the sector’s annual gathering at the Independent Publishers Guild (IPG) Conference, held on 4th–6th March. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-02-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Independent publishers have come out on top in the shortlist for the 2015 Folio Prize for Fiction, with Faber and Granta getting three books each on the list. Faber’s three titles are All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews, about sisters, suicide and how to carry on after grief; Family Life by... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-02-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A flurry of new independent publishers with small lists and new approaches to author relationships has launched in recent months. Hannah MacDonald, formerly of HarperCollins, has founded September Publishing, which publishes its first four titles across spring and summer. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In response to the Charlie Hebdo attacl, the International Alliance of Independent Publishers has issued a statement of support for freedom of expression The post International Alliance of Independent Publishers on Charlie Hebdo appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-01-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Fall of Language in the Age of English, by the Japanese novelist and scholar Minae Mizumura, has all the ingredients of a rage-read. Indeed, when it was published in Japan in 2008, it infuriated commentators, who dismissed Mizumura as “reactionary,” “jingoistic,” or “elitist” and swarmed... Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2015-01-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This week, Rolling Stone editor Jann Wenner asked the Columbia Journalism School to review Sabrina Rubin Erdely’s story about a gang rape at the University of Virginia. As it became clear that the story’s central incident—a gang rape of a freshman at a fraternity—did not happen as Rolling Stone... Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2014-12-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The International Alliance of Independent Publishers will be holding their International Assembly in Cape Town this year from September 17-21. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-07-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Independent publishers And Other Stories and Penned in the Margins have been included for the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-07-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Report about Met detective sergeant Gary Flood claimed there were strong grounds to believe he was dishonest and corruptA police officer has been awarded £60,000 in damages in a high court judgment against the Times over an article which claimed that there were strong grounds to believe he was... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2013-12-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publisher of great 20th-century writers and thinkers who lifted the lid on the business of booksIn March 1990, the publishing world was stunned by news of André Schiffrin's controversial resignation from the position he had held for the previous 29 years as editor-in-chief of Pantheon Books.... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2013-12-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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After Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos bought the Washington Post with his spare pocket change earlier this year, I took a look at the growth of the digital publishing industry here in the Seattle area. Booktrope, a digital publishing startup based here in Seattle, was one of the companies I chatted with... Continue reading at Silicon Valley Business Journal
[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2013-11-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Independent publishers are exploring digital opportunities to boost trade in a tough climate for... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-08-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Staff at independent publishers have seen increases in pay and benefits over the last three years... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-04-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Aziz Isham did not intend to get into retailing. Instead, ReKiosk, the online storefront he cofounded that started up last week—it currently offers only music and books—came out of conversations he had been having with independent publishers. All of them, he said, expressed frustration over the... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-09-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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