From cancelled books to ‘review bombing’, it might seem as though the website can make or break a career. But how influential is it really?Something dramatic happens on a social media platform every day. On Goodreads, the anachronistically designed website for logging, rating (out of five) and reviewing books, the dramas are more amusing, and they occasionally even draw attention from areas beyond the site’s supposedly book-loving users. The most recent featured Cait Corrain, the fantasy author who set up an elaborate network of fake accounts to post positive reviews of her own forthcoming book as well as negative reviews of authors she felt were her competitors. When citizen journalists uncovered her plot in December 2023, her book was cancelled, and she lost her agent and a future book deal.A juicy, postmodern story of self-sabotage, or a sad one about the intersection of the internet and mental health. Regardless, its stakes are relatively low: publicly harassing one’s colleagues is a sackable offence anyway, and it’s hard to find someone who really cares about the vicissitudes of the young adult literature world who isn’t part of the subculture. I’m not; I’m a professional critic, and an author of a literary novel. I’m a snob. I care about my book, and the authors I feel are my competitors. And while Goodreads has been around since 2007, its significance to the broader literary world remains steadfastly confusing. Does it sell books? Does it make and break careers?... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2024-02-17 09:00:10 UTC ]
An odyssey through the landscapes of winter became a meditation on mental health and the human condition for writer Horatio Clare. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-09-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Atlantic Books has signed The Natural Health Service by political journalist Isabel Hardman. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-03-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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An East London bookshop's decision to put a sign in its window highlighting it is "proud" to sell books by authors from so-called "sh*thole" countries, in reference to a remark allegedly made by US president Donald Trump, has been met with a "phenomenal" response from the trade and customers. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-01-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Penguin Random House and Hachette titles dominate the World Book Night 2018 list, which this year has a spotlight on mental health. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-12-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The writer discovered that his ‘perfect novella’ was all in his mind. It’s a story that is somehow fitting for the times in which we liveIt’s been a busy few days in the literary world, what with the release of this year’s Man Booker shortlist following the recent longlist announcement for its... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2017-09-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The winner of the Book of the Year at the British Book Awards, Sarah Perry’s The Essex Serpent has taken the literary world by storm. The author discusses her ascent with Alice O’Keeffe. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-06-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The downloadable audio site for indie bookstores, Libro.fm, sets opening date; a new Georgia bookstore will sell books by the pound; a Nevada shop announces plans to close; and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-02-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Daphne Merkin’s new book, This Close to Happy: A Reckoning With Depression, is at once an exploration of her own mental health and a memoir of her experiences growing up in an Orthodox Jewish family with a complicated, domineering mother. “My mother was only nice to me when I was sick,” Merkin... Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2017-02-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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What's done to help sell standard books, but not to help sell books in translation? In a telling interview, Chad Post talks about differences in marketing. The post ‘Ghettoizing the Translations’: Chad Post on Marketing Books in Translation appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2017-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A Washington, D.C. store preps for a holiday expansion; a Texas bookstore owner makes a comeback; Canadian stores get the okay to sell books and booze; and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-11-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Film-maker Taika Waititi and Prime Minister John Key are among a dozen Kiwis who have shared their insights into mental health in a book published by Onslow College students. Continue reading at Stuff
[ Stuff | 2016-08-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The director of comic book film Suicide Squad shrugs off its bad reviews, saying he made the supervillain ensemble movie "for the fans". Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2016-08-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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New app provides a social platform for talking about, sharing, and reviewing books. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-06-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Millennial women who grew up reading JK Rowling’s wizard series are driving sales in other genres as they reach their 20s and 30s, according to recent researchThe women switched on to books by Harry Potter are shaping the literary world, according to new research, boosting the market in... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2016-03-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Orion is publishing the darkly comic sketches of a 22-year-old illustrator exploring struggles with mental health, following a five-way auction. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-02-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Most publishers and authors used their booth presence at the North American International Toy Fair to sell books and sidelines, though a growing number were also on the hunt for new licensing deals. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-02-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Host of the Project says outrage at ‘neo-masculinist’ Daryush Valizadeh should be channelled into something positive, rather than fuelling his public profileWaleed Aly has called for a social media blackout on Daryush Valizadeh, the leader of “neo-masculinist” group Return of the Kings who... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2016-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishing Perspectives' Erin L. Cox looks back at 2015 in publishing and highlights three significant moments that sparked conversation in the literary world. The post 3 Key Publishing Moments of 2015, the Year of Provocative Thinking appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-12-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Stephen Fry will voice two classic detective stories exclusively for Audible. Fry, who voiced all seven of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books, will voice The Coin of Dionysius and The Game Played in the Dark by Ernest Bramah, which features the blind detective Max Carrados who was first... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-12-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hodder & Stoughton has acquired A Beginner’s Guide to Losing Your Mind by Emily Reynolds, to be published under the Yelllow Kite imprint in 2017. Assistant editor Maddy Price acquired UK and commonwealth rights in a pre-emptive deal from Robyn Drury at Diane Banks Associates. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-10-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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