Book cover clichés: have you spotted recurrent designs?

Certain themes and stories seem to be packaged with a particular aesthetic. Have you spotted this trend? Share your examplesWhy is it that books about Africa always look the same? A recent article on the blog Africa is a Country demonstrated that "the covers of most novels 'about Africa' seem to have been designed by someone whose principal idea of the continent comes from The Lion King" - reducing it, no matter the subject, geographical area or writer, to an acacia tree and a sunset. This followed a Twitterstorm triggered by a tweet from SimonMStevens:Like so many (wildly varying) writers on Africa, Adichie gets the acacia tree sunset treatment... (@AfricasaCountry) pic.twitter.com/zMQtirfrQ9.@SimonMStevens @AfricasaCountry See also soulful-black-woman-with-colourful-smudges e.g. UK pb eds of Adichie's bks. pic.twitter.com/bt7kUcaP06There is a peculiar phenomenon in English-language publishing in Southeast Asia: a ubiquitous genre perhaps best thought of as Asian sleaze. It spans fiction and non-fiction, but the cover generally features a partially clothed woman with long black hair, either in silhouette, or viewed from behind. The title is usually something along the lines of Bangkok Velvet. The author is always a white man. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2014-06-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #english-language publishing #southeast asia #white man

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To Kill a Mockingbird sequel Harper Collins most pre-ordered book

Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee to be released in July, 55 years after publication of Pulitzer Prize winning bookHarper Lee’s eagerly anticipated To Kill a Mockingbird sequel, Go Set a Watchman, has become the most pre-ordered book in publisher Harper Collins’ history.Robert Thomson, chief... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-06-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #pre-ordered book #harper lee #eagerly anticipated #mockingbird sequel #robert thomson #important book


Books About Women Rarely Win Top Prizes

After analyzing 15 years' worth of top literary prize winners, Nicola Griffith notes that books about women rarely win. The post Books About Women Rarely Win Top Prizes appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-06-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Citing Book Trade Growth, Dark Horse Promotes Nine

With sales up 30% over the last three years, the indie comics publisher has announced a slate of promotions intended to prepare the house for further expansion. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-06-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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New Fifty Shades book due this month

E L James is to release a new version of Fifty Shades of Grey – told from the point of view of Christian Grey. Titled Grey: Fifty Shades of Grey as told by Christian, the book will be published on June 18th – the same day as the fictional character’s birthday. The author announced the news to... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-06-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #christian grey #fifty shades #fictional character #author announced #details announced


Books about women less likely to win prizes, study finds

Study of six major awards in the last 15 years shows male subjects the predominant focus of winning novels• How well do you know fiction’s female protagonists - quizAnalysis of the last 15 years of winners of six major literary awards by the critically acclaimed author Nicola Griffith has found... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-06-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #study finds #win prizes #major awards #man booker


New Fifty Shades of Grey Book Coming

E.L. James announced that she will release a new version of 'Fifty Shades of Grey,' but this time written from the perspective of Christian Grey. 'Grey: Fifty Shades of Grey as Told by Christian' will be released by Vintage on June 18 (the character’s birthday). Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-06-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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ASUS announces Transformer Book T100HA Windows 10 tablet, and $299 Chromebook competitor

With Windows 10 becoming available to consumers as early as July 29, manufacturers are rushing to announce their first products powered by Microsoft's upcoming operating system. Lenovo unveiled its business-oriented ThinkPad 10 slate last week, and now it is ASUS' turn to join the Windows 10... Continue reading at Betanews

[ Betanews | 2015-06-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BookCon 2015: Julianne Moore and Brian Selznick: From Screen-to-Page and Page-to-Screen: Star Power in Children’s Book

Actress Julianne Moore and award-winning writer and illustrator Brian Selznick have more in common than writing books for children. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Capstone acquires Oliver picture book

Capstone has acquired a picture book by Carmen Oliver, author and founder of book agency The Booking Biz. Bears Make the Best Reading Buddies was created to encourage literacy and is about a little girl called Adelaide and her reading buddy, Bear. In the story, Adelaide has to persuade her... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-05-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #picture book #book agency #encourage literacy #erzsi deak #publish simultaneously


PW Picks: Books of the Week, June 1, 2015

This week: Judy Blume's first novel for adults in 17 years, Stephen King's latest, and the absolutely incredible story of Stalin's daughter. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book Deals: Week of June 1, 2015

Yumi Sakugawa sells an illustrated life and design book to St. Martin's at auction and more in this week's notable book deals. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Quiet First Quarter for Books-A-Million

Revenue at Books-A-Million fell 1.9% in the first quarter ended May 2, 2015 compared to last year’s first period. Net loss at the chain was cut to $5.3 million, from $5.6 million. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bury This Book In The Ground And It Will Magically Come Back As A Tree

This children's book not only teaches about ecology, it practices it.Despite the rise of ebooks, most children's books are still made from trees. One new picture book is designed as a simple reminder of that fact: When kids finish reading a story about an adventure in the rainforest, they can... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2015-05-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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‘Fault in Our Stars’ Was the Bestselling E-book of 2014

John Green’s "The Fault in Our Stars" was the top-selling ebook in 2014, according to data just released by PubTrack Digital, a unit of Nielsen BookScan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #john green #top-selling ebook #pubtrack digital #nielsen bookscan


BEA 2015:WNDB Advocates for Diverse Books

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BEA 2015: Editors Buzz About Middle Grade Books

Editors gathered at BEA Friday morning to share their favorite middle-grade books for fall. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Roundup: Religion Book News from Across the Web, May 28, 2015

John M. Templeton Jr. dies; Thomas Merton remembered; the legacy of Richard John Neuhaus. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BEA 2015: Coach House Books

Along a downtown Toronto laneway (back alley) named after Canadian poet bpNichol, an eight-line poem is carved into the concrete that leads you to Coach House Books, an independent publisher founded 50 years ago by artist Stan Bevington. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Nicholls claims bestseller charts top spot

Narrowly denied the top spot in the previous week’s charts, David Nicholls has bounced back to claim pole position in UK Official Top 50 with his seventh overall number one. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-05-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Where’s Waldo the Reader? Book Discovery Tactics from IDPF

Executives from Goodreads, HarperCollins, and Penguin Random House shared book discovery tactics in the age of overload at BEA's IDPF conference on Tuesday. The post Where’s Waldo the Reader? Book Discovery Tactics from IDPF appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-05-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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