Older generations argue that young people’s insistence on equality in all things – including books – threatens to stifle free speech. But is that always true?I wouldn’t normally air my dirty literary linen in public, but here goes. When I finished writing my novel Putney, about a 13-year-old girl who has a “love affair” in the 1970s with an older man and realises decades later that it was actually abuse, my previous editor at Jonathan Cape chose not to publish it. The reasons emerged this year when he was interviewed in the Spectator. “If Lolita was offered to me today,” Dan Franklin said, “I’d never be able to get it past the acquisition team – a committee of 30-year-olds, who’d say: ‘If you publish this book we will all resign.’” He pointed to #MeToo and social media as fundamental factors: “You can organise outrage at the drop of a hat.”Fortunately, Bloomsbury’s acquisition team – overwhelmingly female and mixed aged – were brave enough to take on Putney, which was described in the Observer as “a Lolita for the era of #MeToo”. Whether there was any truth in his words or not, Franklin’s position reveals how much fear now exists in publishing. Related: Putney by Sofka Zinovieff review – a Lolita for the age of #MeToo ‘It’s only about not being an arsehole,’ my daughter said. ‘That’s not so difficult’ Related: Nabokov's Lolita: the latest thing millennials have apparently ruined Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2019-07-10 10:03:01 UTC ]
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I started querying agents for my memoir, Negative Space, in 2012, after two years of writing and revising. I got a few rounds of passes, including several friendly rejections in which agents said they just didn’t “know how to sell” my book. I heard this refrain enough times that I started... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2021-03-11 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Irish author Edna O’Brien is to be named Commander in the French “Ordre des Arts et Lettres” by the French minister of culture, in recognition of her body of work. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-03-05 01:15:23 UTC ]
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A conservative publisher’s rejected ad for a historical novel led to complaints of cancel culture. Here’s what really happened. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2021-03-04 13:00:00 UTC ]
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Driven by strong backlist sales, unit sales of print books rose 26% last week over the week ended February 29, 2020, at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. It was the largest week-over-week gain compared to 2020 so far this year, helping unit sales finish the first two months of 2021 with a... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-03-04 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Anyone shocked by the cancellation of six Dr. Seuss books hasn’t been paying attention. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2021-03-02 06:26:28 UTC ]
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Surprisingly, despite the heavy toll taken by the COVID-19 pandemic on brick and mortar bookstores (especially independent brick and mortar bookstores) nationwide, US book sales actually increased by 8 percent in 2020. What demographic is responsible for keeping the industry alive and thriving... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-02-23 19:04:39 UTC ]
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Science fiction has often had an inspirational and positive relationship with space endeavors. But the new US Space Force is struggling with a pop culture public relations problem. Continue reading at The Conversation
[ The Conversation | 2021-02-19 13:20:06 UTC ]
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Over the past decade, from somewhere under the radar, Cotswolds-dwelling Kiwi Owen Eastwood has become one of the worlds most in-demand performance coaches. The elite teams and organisations he has worked with include the England football team, the Scotland rugby squad, and the South African... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-02-18 23:26:36 UTC ]
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Big offline channels are forecast to outpace digital media this year, with the exception of print. Continue reading at Media Week
[ Media Week | 2021-02-17 09:42:23 UTC ]
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Hilary Pollack, research manager, Twitter Good storytellers know that context matters. But did you know that applies to your ads as well? We partnered with MAGNA and IPG Media Lab to measure the impact of context, specifically content adjacency and user experience, on ad perception and... Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2021-02-17 02:00:00 UTC ]
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This month's cancellation of Leipziger Buchmesse points to the shifting outlook for major publishing events, professional and public-facing. The post International Book Fairs: Leipzig’s Cancellation Spotlights the Calendar appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-02-16 17:02:19 UTC ]
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National Book Critics Circle board member Charles Finch has retracted his public criticism of author Brandon Taylor, a finalist for this year's John Leonard Prize, after an uproar about racism, bias, and conflict of interest. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-02-04 05:00:00 UTC ]
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CAMP had to shift from brick-and-mortar to a strategy that more directly resembles a digital publisher with a penchant for e-commerce. The post ‘A retail media company’: How CAMP wants its online content to eventually drive customers back to stores appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2021-02-03 05:01:00 UTC ]
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CAMP had to shift from brick-and-mortar to a strategy that more directly resembles a digital publisher with a penchant for e-commerce. The post ‘A retail media company’: How CAMP wants its online content to eventually drive customers back to stores appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2021-02-03 05:01:00 UTC ]
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Kuo-Yu Liang, a veteran comics and pop culture professional, has launched Ku Worldwide, a consultancy offering guidance and industry analysis designed to support firms serving the international pop culture market. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-02-02 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Do you need to cancel your Kindle Unlimited but haven't been able to do so? Here's tips (with screenshots!) on how to cancel Kindle Unlimited. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2021-02-01 11:37:00 UTC ]
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Leipzig Book Fair, the main spring event for the German book industry, has been cancelled for the second year running owing to the pandemic. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-31 21:39:11 UTC ]
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Yesterday, writer and book critic Michael Schaub announced all the finalists for the 2020 National Book Critics Circle Award, which honors the “finest books” published in English during the last year. The thirty finalists were selected across six categories—Autobiography, Biography, Criticism,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-01-25 16:52:22 UTC ]
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Simon & Schuster severed ties with senator after Capitol attackPublisher distributes titles by conservative imprint RegneryThe rightwing Missouri senator Josh Hawley has found a publisher for a book dropped by Simon & Schuster over his role in attempting to overturn the US election on... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2021-01-18 16:02:10 UTC ]
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My assignment was to offer a survey course on the history of English literature in northeast China. I was paired with a young American teacher sponsored by the United Nations who was to teach phonetics and oral expression. We taught six days a week, and every Wednesday afternoon our students... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-01-15 09:49:40 UTC ]
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