Novelist Eleanor Catton and her editor Max Porter's alliance shows how much more than wielding a blade goes into this relationshipHenry James called editing "the butchers' trade". But he also said, "I glory in the piling up of complications of every sort," so you can see how the old anglophile and his editors may have crossed horns.However, if we're honest, wouldn't we, the reader, prefer to chew over a well-honed slice of literature than wade through fatty hunks of unedited, flabby prose? Isn't the editor's first loyalty to the reader, and not the author? Isn't it better to wield the knife than to club out something that the cow might approve of?This weekend, as part of the New Zealand festival, The Luminaries author and winner of the Man Booker prize, Eleanor Catton, discussed deletion, deadlines and several other facets of the writer-editor relationship with her British editor Max Porter. If this sounds a little like sitting down with your ex-husband to publicly discuss why he always disliked your sense of humour, then think again; the modern editor is, according to Porter, "part proofreader, part therapist, part in-house champion and, increasingly, there to put a marketisation on the written word." This was less meat cleavers at dawn, more gentle emails about getting off Twitter.With 391,000 books being self-published in the US in 2012 alone, the old 20th-century model of the creative editor is, according to Porter, "an endangered species". While Porter described his... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2014-03-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Big Green Bookshop in Wood Green, London, is to have its own "writer in residence... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-04-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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While 2011 saw fewer announcements of layoffs and buyouts in the newspaper industry than previous years, attrition continued quietly and relentlessly, with the nation’s biggest newspaper publishers trimming their combined work forces by 7.2 ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2012-04-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Two thirds of UK online publishers are planning to increase the number of digital roles "on the back of product growth expectations", the Association of Online Publishers reported today, compared to 55 per cent which saw growth in 2011. Acco ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2012-03-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Edinburgh International Book Festival and the British Council are launching the Edinburgh... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-03-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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English PEN has welcomed the government's announcement of a new visa for visiting writers and... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In the past few years everything about the book business has changed, and with it the role of the rep, or district manager, as many are now known. In part that’s a reflection of how ordering has changed, especially with the increasing adoption of Edelweiss, the interactive publishers’ catalogue... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-02-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Mecom is set to announce that it is to cut more than 10% of the workforce at its flagship Dutch newspaper publishing business, in excess of 300 jobs, as part of a plan to digitally restructure its business and save €70m (£59m). Tom ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2012-02-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Former children's laureate Anne Fine has condemned plans to cut Durham library services,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A group of writers in India have set up a petition calling for the lifting of the country's... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sources from Amazon's supply chain in the Far East indicated to DigiTimes that Kindle Fire orders with original device manufacturers are expected to be just 3 million units this quarter. That's half the 6 million units Amazon reportedly shipp ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2012-01-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Eight female novelists have made the Waterstones 11 2012 selection, with three novels each from... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Atlantic Media Company names Kevin Delaney as editor-in-chief of its still untitled digital global business brand. Delaney brings over a decade of experience at The Wall Street Journal to this developing role. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2012-01-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Capitol Weekly will stop producing a print edition as of Thursday. The publication devoted to California government said on its website that it will continue posting stories online. Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2012-01-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Booksellers Association has pledged to write to the chief executives of all 390 local... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Fnac, the leading French cultural products chain, will lay off 510 of its 17,000 staff and may... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A series of funding cuts to libraries in Somerset has been halted, after the High Court found... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Simon & Schuster has appointed Claire Hey as senior commissioning editor for fiction,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The debut novel by “Newsnight” economics editor Paul Mason has been acquired by No... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A group of Chinese writers has filed a lawsuit against Apple, alleging that the company's App Store sells pirated versions of the authors' works. Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2012-01-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Penguin Children's Group has created the role of acquisitions manager for its media and... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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