A charming French novel about an old-school publisher trying to get to grips with the digital ageAt more than one point in this novel I found myself asking: could this be any more French? Early on we meet a character described thus: “She used to be incredibly good-looking and now at thirtysomething she is creditably handsome.” Sorry? What the narrator, an ageing male publisher, looks like, or how creditably or uncreditably good-looking he is, we don’t find out. Another woman leaves the room “in a wiggle of buttock” – I dropped my annotating pencil when I read that line. “Artichokes require a degree of elegance” – there’s another drop of essence of Gallic for you.But there is more to Dear Reader, and what kept me going was that one of the subjects exercising our narrator is the issue of electronic readers – Kindles or, as our hero Robert Dubois has it, the “dear reader” of the title. This book is an elegy for a dying world: that of the printed book and, that death’s darker corollary, the reader who is still interested in, or has the attention span for, the long-form narrative. (I always thought these things were arranged better in France, with no Net Book Agreement and tax breaks for bookshops, but apparently not.) In the world of Dear Reader, there has been a general collapse of cultural understanding: the interns point out to Dubois the remarkable coincidence that the publishing house they have landed in has the same name as him. Meanwhile, Dubois cannot quite get to... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2014-12-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Go Set a Watchman': "The question of Atticus's racism is one of the most important and critical elements in this novel..." wrote HarperCollins, the new book's publisher. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-07-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Harper Lee's second novel isn't set for publication until July 14, but readers are getting a sneak preview of the first chapter Friday. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-07-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ken White, former manager of San Francisco’s Books Inc., has launched Query Books, a publishing company focusing on republishing significant LGBT books. The post New Publisher Query Books Focuses on Lost LGBT Classics appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-07-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Describe your role. Creating and managing marketing campaigns for new releases and ensuring that as many people as possible hear about and are completely enthused by the fantastic books Flying Eye are producing, through press reviews, events, advertising and online channels. What do you like... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Canongate has acquired a children’s book by Matt Haig about the early life of Father Christmas. Set in 18th-century Finland, A Boy Called Christmas is about elves, reindeer, a kidnapping, and an 11-year-old boy called Nikolas who isn't afraid to believe in magic. It will be illustrated... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Leopold Blue, a coming-of-age story set in South Africa, wins the 2015 Branford Boase Award for an outstanding debut children's novel. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2015-07-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This week: one of the best novels of the year, and Ta-Nehisi Coates's unforgettable new book. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Not everyone writing their first book is under 40. The prizewinning novelist has helped to form a group called Prime Writers, designed to change expectationsA few months before my first novel was published, it seemed that everywhere I looked people were writing about young debut authors. And... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-07-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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We asked our readers how the controversy surrounding the publication of Harper Lee's 'Go Set A Watchman' affected their decision to read it or not. Here's what they said... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Launches adventure travel service with trips curated by editors. The post Down East Magazine Will Book Your Next Maine Adventure appeared first on Folio:. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2015-07-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Jonathan Baumbach, father of Noah, sells short story collection to Dzanc; Hachette gets Sen. Barbara Boxer’s memoir; a book on bioelectronics goes to Norton; and more in this week's notable book deals. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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As long as they pay publishers every time a book is read, ebook subscription services are more successful the less people read. The post Netflix-Like Book Services Would Be Happy if You Read Less appeared first on WIRED. Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2015-07-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Authors Guild is asking bestselling authors to push back against the industry's reigning 25% ebook royalty rate "on behalf of all authors, as well as themselves.” Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Despite the hype around blockbuster movies, indie publishers like Baby Tattoo, Top Cow and Top Shelf, manage to launch graphic novels of all kinds at Comic-Con International. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Describe your role. I work as development editor and am fortunate to be a part of a wonderful team on the adult list. Our work is collaborative by nature, but there is a huge emphasis on project management and overseeing projects from research through to completion. What do you like best... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Progressive Christian books struggle; new research on faith fiction; a religion author skips it for the summer. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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After a downturn in fiction sales, Abingdon is closing its fiction program and broadening its Christian Living line. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The bestselling author of 'Wild,' Cheryl Strayed, has closed a deal with Knopf to publish a book of collected quotes. 'Brave Enough' is set for October 27, and will feature 100 of the author's most popular pearls of wisdom. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Paula Hawkins’s novel has now been top of the UK hardback book chart for 20 weeks, outlasting even Dan Brown’s Lost Symbol• How Paula Hawkins wrote ‘the new Gone Girl’A record set six years ago by Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol was broken this week by Paula Hawkins’s dark thriller The Girl on the... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A Swedish romance set to make American publishing history, and a Spanish coming-of-age novel by the co-author of a popular crime series are among the titles heating up the global market this week. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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