Christian Lorentzen talks to the legendary editor in an extract from a forthcoming issue of the Paris ReviewIt’s the custom for editors to keep a low profile and to underplay any changes they may make to an author’s manuscript. Gordon Lish is a different animal. Not since Maxwell Perkins has an editor been so famous – or notorious – as a sculptor of other people’s prose. As fiction editor of Esquire from 1969 to 1977, then as an editor at Knopf and of the Quarterly until 1995, Lish worked closely with many of the most daring writers of the past 50 years, including Raymond Carver, Don DeLillo, Barry Hannah and Joy Williams. In an interview with the Paris Review in 2004, Hannah said: “Gordon Lish was a genius editor. A deep friend and mentor. He taught me how to write short stories. He would cross out everything so there’d be like three lines left, and he would be right.”His collaborations have not always ended amicably. His editorial relationship with Carver ceased after three books. When Lish donated his papers to the Lilly Library at Indiana University Bloomington, they indeed showed that he had drastically cut, and often rewritten, some of Carver’s best-loved stories. For the Collected Stories, published in 2009, Carver’s widow, Tess Gallagher, printed some of them in both edited and unedited versions. The critical reaction was divided. In the New York Times book review, Stephen King described the effect on one story as “a total rewrite … a cheat”; in the New York... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2015-12-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Prime minister gave News Corp boss full rundown of scheme before he announced policy to party roomTony Abbott gave Rupert Murdoch a full rundown on his planned paid parental leave scheme before announcing the policy in 2010, in a marked contrast with his decision not to consult the party room, a... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-07-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Washington, D.C.—During the 38th annual Specialized Information Publisher’s Association (SIPA) Conference, the discussion often boiled down to one unsavory fact: “Ink doesn’t get the attention of the Inc.” Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2014-06-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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World Book Night U.S., an ambitious nonprofit campaign to promote reading throughout the country, is reporting stronger-than-ever media attention for its just-finished April 2014 push. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Barnes & Noble as disclosed some modifications to its agreement with Microsoft that will give B&N the option to not develop additional Nook Window apps. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-03-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Allison Pataki, daughter of former New York State Gov. George E. Pataki, grew up gazing across the Hudson River at West Point Academy and hearing about the life of Benedict Arnold, the most notorious turncoat in American history. But when Pataki uncovered a forgotten romantic triangle and the... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-02-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Tributes have been paid to novelist Elizabeth Jane Howard, who has died aged 90. Howard, who... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-01-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The industry is supposedly embracing a digital future, but too scant attention is too often paid to the basics of organising ebooksThe bright hopes of digital publishing are gathered in London for the latest FutureBook conference and the future looks, well, familiar. As the new boss of... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2013-11-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A recipe for butterbeer, a beverage beloved by 'Harry Potter' characters,' is making the rounds and fans say you can order one at Starbucks locations. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-11-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In the UK, authors are paid by the government when their physical books are borrowed (around 6p per loan), but digital titles are not yet a part of that agreement. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-06-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hobby titles are proving to be fertile ground for video. Kalmbach Publishing's Model Railroader is the latest to expand its offerings, launching a paid video subscription site to its compliment the 79-year-old brand. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2013-06-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Stephen King said his new novel, 'Joyland,' will be released in paper format only. 'Let people ... go to an actual bookstore,' said King. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-05-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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29th Street Publishing sees no reason why selling subscriptions shouldn’t be as easy as blogging. At a time when print magazines such as Newsweek and tablet publications like The Daily are shuttering, the team at 29th Street Publishing is betting on the future of magazines for iPad and... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2012-12-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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iDevice owners in New Zealand and 17 Latin American countries are no longer restricted to a diet composed of free content when it comes to their respective iBookstores. A quick search of the storefronts will reveal virtual shelves stocked with paid-content that haven't yet found their way to the... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2012-10-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In an effort to gain subscribers, Fortune has relaunched its iPad app with a mix of free and paid content. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2012-09-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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At least one entrepreneur sells positive book reviews to Amazon authors. How an apparently unreliable customer-review system might finally eat itself. Continue reading at The Atlantic
[ The Atlantic | 2012-08-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The World Cities Cultural Report reports that Tokyo has a staggering number of bookstores while Paris made it to number one for the most libraries. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-08-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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So you're an admirer of James Joyce's "Ulysses"? Well, thank Trieste for that book. So you're an admirer of James Joyce's "Ulysses"? Well, thank Trieste for that book. Why? Gordon Bowker's "James Joyce: A New Biography" (Farrar, Straus & Giroux: 608 pp., $35) shows readers how living in that... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-07-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Both the number of people who use tablets and usage per tablet user are exploding. But tablet users' appetite for paid apps isn't following the trend. A new study commissioned by the Online Publishers Association found that 54% of tabl ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2012-06-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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When Google gave up on its One Pass paid content system last month, RR Donnelley’s Press+ strengthened its standing as the paid content platform of choice for a growing number of news publishers. However, with audience revenue models evolvi ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2012-05-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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There have been quite a few studies aimed at figuring out what makes the so-called "digital native" (i.e. children of the 90's who have had Web access and mobile technology their entire lives) tick. Most of them arrive at some disparaging conclusion or other: "Digital natives are slow to pick up... Continue reading at Betanews
[ Betanews | 2012-04-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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