First novel inspired by CIA's Doctor Zhivago plan nets $2m book deal

Lara Prescott’s We Were Never Here recounts how the CIA used Boris Pasternak’s novel as a propaganda tool during the cold warLast month, Lara Prescott was preparing to graduate from her three-year creative writing fellowship at the University of Texas. Two weeks later, she is sitting on book deals worth at least $2m (£1.5m), after publishers on both sides of the Atlantic battled to get their hands on her first novel.Prescott’s We Were Never Here tells the story of how the CIA smuggled copies of Boris Pasternak’s classic novel Doctor Zhivago into Russia during the cold war in an attempt to seed unrest. Drawing from the voices of Pasternak’s mistress and muse Olga, as well the women of the CIA typing pool involved in the mission, the novel provoked a fierce bidding war when it was submitted by Prescott’s agent last month. Related: Printing money: 10 of the richest book deals of all time Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2018-06-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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London Book Fair 2011: Going Global

In 2009, the number of self-published books released in the US exceeded the number of new titles from conventional publishers for the first time in history. Now, a similar pattern is emerging overseas. Until recently, costly transatlantic shipping, different trim sizes and business models, and... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-04-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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London Book Fair 2011: An Evolutionary Phase

This year's London Book Fair is taking place at a time of unique change. The shift from the printed word to the downloaded text is accelerating; chains and standalone bookstores are closing down around the world; and the very future of the book "entity" is being challenged by commentators and... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-04-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Plans revealed for WBN 2012, Kingsford to head

Written By: Charlotte Williams and Graeme Neill Publication Date: Mon, 11/04/2011 - 08:30 World Book Night organisers have unveiled future plans for the event, which is scheduled to take place on 23rd April 2012. Foyles marketing manager Julia Kingsford has been appointed WBN chief executive.... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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London Book Fair 2011: What's Cooking In Content Services?

E-books, mobile apps and e-learning modules are hot. That's the conclusion from a quick survey of 18 content services vendors operating in India. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-04-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Barnes & Noble Moves Forward With Plans To Allow Android Apps on Nook [Mobilized]

The bookseller is proceeding with plans to open its own Android app store for the Nook Color, announcing new tools for developers and promising they will get a 70 percent cut of revenue. The first apps and store are due out with a major update to the Nook software due out this spring. Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2011-04-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Quadrille buys book by Royal cakemaker Cairns

Publication Date: Fri, 08/04/2011 - 10:49 Quadrille has acquired a baking title by Fiona Cairns, who is to make the wedding cake for Prince William and Kate Middleton’s impending nuptials. Editorial director Anne Furniss acquired world rights to The Birthday Cake Book from agent Heather Holden... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Trade looks to "packed" London Book Fair

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 08/04/2011 - 08:48 A record number of exhibitors are set to showcase at the London International Book Fair next week, as one publishing m.d. reported a "bouncy and optimistic" mood ahead of the three-day event and digital conference. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Eason unveils turnaround plans

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Fri, 08/04/2011 - 08:40 Irish union Siptu has said it would “completely oppose” any compulsory redundancies enforced by bookselling chain Eason, as m.d Conor Whelan outlines turnaround plans for the retailer. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishers gloomy on Borders' turnaround plan

Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Thu, 07/04/2011 - 09:05 US publishers have dismissed Borders' recovery plan, which includes revamped stores and increased online sales, as unrealistic and are increasingly gloomy about its future. The New York Times reports Borders senior... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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London Book Fair: ones to watch, part II

Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Thu, 07/04/2011 - 16:04 read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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MCA reveals pre-LBF deals

Written By: Graeme Neill and Katie Allen Publication Date: Wed, 06/04/2011 - 14:50 A Freddie Mercury biography and a six-figure deal signed following a trans-Atlantic auction are among the pre London Book Fair deals agented by Mulcahy Conway Associates. The agency said it anticipated a busy... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Arts Council defends Poetry Book Society cuts

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Mon, 04/04/2011 - 09:16 The Arts Council has defended its funding cut to the Poetry Book Society (PBS), claiming its "reach and distribution was not as wide or effective as other applicants'". In a letter to the Times, Antonia Byatt, director of... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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On Rights and Book-Scouting

Translations account for about 12% of all titles published in Russia in 2010. Here, as in other corners of the world, American and British blockbusters are translated and almost guaranteed top slots on the bestseller list. Names like J.K. Rowling, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Agatha Christie,... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-04-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Cooking the Books with Cara Eisenpress and Phoebe Lapine

With their food blog aimed at 20-something cooks, college cooking website, and forthcoming book, In the Small Kitchen: 100 Recipes from Our Year of Cooking in the Real World (Morrow, May), Cara Eisenpress and Phoebe Lapine might seem a lot older than their (combined) 51 years. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-04-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Media Cache: Playing Catch-Up in E-Books

Outside the United States, the digital book business is still in its infancy and has problems to resolve before taking off. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2011-04-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Room top pick in spring TV Book Club

Written By: Katie Allen Publication Date: Mon, 04/04/2011 - 08:51 Emma Donoghue's Room (Picador) has added another accolade to its Man Booker shortlisting and Orange-longlisting after receiving the vote of "TV Book Club" viewers as their favourite spring read of the 10 titles. The second most... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Dynamic Russian Book Market

Talk about transformation. In a span of 20 years, the Russian book market has made a 180-degree shift, from state-owned publishing and distribution to privately held (except for a few exceptions) and increasingly client driven. Every component of its book market was created overnight, after... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-04-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Lessons from Powell's Books

Just one week before Borders filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, Powell's Books in Portland, Ore., laid off 31 employees, or 7% of its workforce, a move that followed downsizing the staff through attrition in 2010. While the situation at Powell's is not dire, unlike that of the nation's... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-04-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Alex and Aki's Ideas in Food: A new book brings technological cuisine within reach of the everyday cook.

As you may have heard, the cookbook sensation of the season, if not the decade, is Modernist Cuisine, a six-volume magnum opus on contemporary cooking principles that will set you back roughly $500. Self-published by Nathan Myhrvold—the genius founder of Microsoft's research division,... Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2011-04-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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London Book Fair: ones to watch

Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Fri, 01/04/2011 - 11:26 Aitken Alexander is reporting strong interest in Grace McLeen's The Land of Decoration, sold last month to Chatto in the UK, Holt in the United States, HarperCollins in Canada and into 10 languages to date. It is about a... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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