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 ]
News tagged with:
#electronic readers
#attention span
#tax breaks
Books illuminating the lives of gay sportsmen have been honoured at the Cross British Sports Book Awards, with Gareth Thomas' Proud and a biography of John Curry both picking up prizes. Proud, the memoir of Welsh rugby international Gareth Thomas [pictured], published by Ebury, was named... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-06-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#gareth thomas
This week: a candidate for the Great American Internet Novel, a dead body in a chimney, and reimagining Custer's death. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-06-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#dead body
Ali Smith wins the £30,000 Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction for her time-shifting novel How to be Both. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2015-06-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Lev Grossman, 'Time' magazine's book critic, was an informed and enthusiastic moderator for the May 29th BEA panel on animal fantasy in children's books. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-06-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#lev grossman
#book critic
The independent presses Hawthorne Books and Dzanc Books have merged with Hawthorne becoming a Dzanc imprint. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-06-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#dzanc books
#FiftyShades: 'Fifty Shades of Grey' writer E.L. James recently announced she's releasing a new version of 'Fifty Shades of Grey' that will be told from character Christian's point of view. Some authors choose to focus on different characters for new books, while others opt for all-new... Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-06-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#fifty shades
#time period
Manchester University Press (MUP) has acquired 58 titles in politics and sociology which had been scheduled to appear with Bloomsbury. Earlier this year, Bloomsbury Academic announced it would no longer be commissioning books in the fields of politics, international relations or sociology as it... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-06-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#commissioning books
#international relations
#social sciences
Guardian Faber has signed a book looking back at the pictures of Observer photographer Jane Bown, who died last year. Jane Bown: A Lifetime of Looking, will collect more than 200 black and white and colour images from Bown's career, putting her portraits of people such as the Queen and Samuel... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-06-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#guardian faber
#samuel beckett
A new report from Nesta, The Literary Platform, and Douban Read highlights opportunities for international publishers in the Chinese book market. The post Using Social Media to Understand the Chinese Book Market appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-06-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#literary platform
#international publishers
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 ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#post books
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
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
The German Book Office New York is hiring an assistant to the director. This position offers the opportunity to learn about international book publishing. The post Job Opening: Assistant to the Director of the German Book Office New York appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-06-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#york appeared
#job opening
#position offers
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 ]
More news stories like this |
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 ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#fifty shades
#james announced
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
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 ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#closest competitor
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 ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#julianne moore
#brian selznick
#star power
#award-winning writer
#writing books
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
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 ]
More news stories like this |