Every now and then I encounter people who can’t suspend disbelief. They ask how I can write about ‘such terrible things’Feeling unappreciated is your lot as a writer. Few readers; no readers. Scathing reviews; no reviews. Publishers saying, “Don’t call us, we’ll call you” or not taking a punt on your second book because the first sold poorly. The fat American and English imports on display at the front of many bookshops, a tiny Australian section in the back corner. Beverley Farmer finding her short-story collection Milk shelved with books on nursing mothers; me finding my novel The Stencil Man shelved in Art and Craft.Most of these indignities occur while you’re still at your desk. They multiply once you appear in public. Elizabeth Jolley, signing books at a department store in Perth, was scrutinised by a beady-eyed woman who eventually approached and asked, “How much is the table?” A bookseller stuck the first page of a US thriller under my nose and said, “Once you can learn to write as good as this …” Related: Harold Bloom’s defence of western greats blinded him to other cultures | Kenan Malik If I say, 'Worse things happen in real life than I invent, just read a newspaper,' I learn they don’t read newspapers Related: Peter Handke's Nobel prize that dishonours the victims of genocide | Ed Vuilliamy Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2019-11-03 17:00:27 UTC ]
Klara and the Sun, the first novel by Kazuo Ishiguro since he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2017, will be published by Faber & Faber on 2nd March 2021. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-16 08:35:46 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Kazuo Ishiguro has sold a new novel, which marks his first since winning the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2017. 'Klara and the Sun,' narrated by "an Artificial Friend with outstanding observational qualities," is set for March 2021, Knopf said. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-06-16 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
"Eager" customers have "welcomed" the opening of bookstores in Ireland this week, The Bookseller has heard. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-10 05:57:23 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Serpent's Tail has acquired former "Great British Bake Off" contestant Ruby Tandoh’s new cookbook, Cook as You Are: Recipes for Real Life, Hungry Cooks and Messy Kitchens. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-09 15:36:40 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Frontline booksellers are the first people customers see when they set foot in bookstores across America, and are among the most vulnerable workers in the publishing industry. This is what their world looks like now. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-06-05 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
It’s never too early to learn that racism is wrong and we should be doing something about it. These books will help show our kids how, writes publisher and bookseller Aimée FeloneDo the work: Layla F Saad’s anti-racist reading list The weight of the world seems heavier than ever right now. The... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-06-04 07:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
On the 1st of June, the day thousands of pupils returned to school as part of the government’s plan to end lockdown, I received a call from my manager. As a bookseller with Blackwell’s, I had been glad when we shut our doors in March to protect the health of our staff and customers. I imagined... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-04 02:42:56 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Cultural Cross Sections Elena Poniatowska In this column that originally appeared in La Jornada, Elena Poniatowska considers the role of editors and talks with Diego Rabasa, founder of publisher Sexto Piso. Already precarious, the pandemic lockdown has... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2020-06-03 21:05:48 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Pandemic Dispatches Elena Poniatowska In this column that originally appeared in La Jornada, Elena Poniatowska considers the role of editors and talks with Diego Rabasa, founder of publisher Sexto Piso. Already precarious, the pandemic lockdown has made... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2020-06-03 21:05:48 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Last August, I wrote about the Book Industry Charitable Foundation, or “Binc,” a Michigan-based non-profit created to support booksellers who have fallen on hard times. If a bookseller winds up in the hospital or a bookstore has a flood, Binc can step in and pay their bills, no questions asked... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-05-29 08:48:18 UTC ]
More news stories like this
New York Times best-selling author Samantha Irby may have become a household name (in certain households, anyway) following the massive success of her 2017 essay collection, We Are Never Meeting in Real Life, but I fell in love with her hilariously funny and shamelessly honest work on her blog,... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2020-05-22 11:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
A survey of indie presses shows that 60% fear they could be out of business by the autumn, writes Galley Beggar Press cofounder Sam JordisonOver the past few years, the success of independent publishers such as Fitzcarraldo, And Other Stories, Bluemooose and Influx Press has been something to... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-05-15 06:00:32 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Survey shows 60% expect the impact of the pandemic may put them out of business, prompting calls for concerted helpMore than half of the UK’s small publishers fear they could be out of business by the autumn as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, according to research by the Bookseller, which... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-05-07 15:02:20 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The Bookseller will begin this week to republish its May and June previews showcasing titles that have been rescheduled, as a result of the lockdown, as well as those that are still being published during those months. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-04 16:17:03 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The Bookseller and writer development charity Spread the Word have launched a survey of small independent presses to assess the financial pressures they are under as a result of the coronavirus lockdown. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-04 09:12:42 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Amazon has been revealed as the mystery donor which pledged £250,000 to a fundraising drive to help booksellers impacted by the coronavirus crisis. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-23 04:37:57 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The Bookseller is to launch a series of weekly Twitter conversations with the authors shortlisted for this year's British Book Awards. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-22 18:15:25 UTC ]
More news stories like this
An hour’s drive away from my sleepy college town, there is a magical place. It is the place my friends and I would run away to whenever we were having a rough go of it, or quite frankly, whenever we just didn’t feel like going to class. (If any of my professors are reading this… […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-04-17 19:16:30 UTC ]
More news stories like this
A surge in online sales at Powell's Books in Portland, Ore., has allowed the bookseller to rehire 49 previously laid off union employees, ILWU Local 5 has confirmed. They are now working alongside more than 50 people in management to fulfill orders. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-03-30 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
At the coronavirus outbreak reshapes our industry, The Bookseller is inviting staff members from across the book trade to share their experiences of working during the coronavirus outbreak. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-24 12:47:26 UTC ]
More news stories like this