Mike Stoner couldn’t find a publisher for his story of an expat’s dark days in Indonesia – until he looked eastAs soon as I read Mike Stoner’s self-published novel, Jalan Jalan, I had a feeling that it ought to be able to find a commercial publisher. The book was the last winner of the Guardian’s self-published book of the month, which picked seven books from open submissions between June and December 2014 and reviewed them on the site. I followed the series from the start, but Jalan Jalan was the first entry to really catch my attention. The tale follows a heartbroken young Brit through Indonesia, where he finds himself embroiled in a murky world at the bottom of the expat barrel after accepting a teaching job at a dodgy language school after a five-minute telephone interview.Josh Lacey called it an “involving tale of self-transformation, and a welcome blast of heat and spice”. It’s all that and more; a curious blend of Alex Garland and Nick Hornby with a ghost thrown in for good measure. It has some memorable drug- and alcohol-fuelled set pieces, lots of very funny dialogue, and lashings of tropical atmosphere. But it also has a more complex, moving and rather magical core. The protagonist – whose name is not revealed until the final chapter – is haunted by memories of his dead girlfriend, and as the book progresses it becomes clear that there is more going on here than mere misadventure in a foreign land. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2016-03-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Revival will see horror master return to his signature genre after excursion into crime fiction, Mr MercedesNot content with making his first excursion into hard-boiled detective fiction this summer, Stephen King has announced that he will publish a second novel in the autumn.The 66-year-old... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-02-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Google’s Android is now the most popular smartphone operating system in the UK – so publishers can no longer just talk about iPhone and iPad apps. But despite its increasing market dominance (on mobile anyway) the Google propo ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2014-02-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Finishing a strong second year, Worthy Publishing Group sees an 84% increase in sales in 2013. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-02-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In a past life, Michael Tiffany fought cyber crime for financial institutions. Then he notice the same techniques were being used to defraud the advertising industry.The problem was big enough to draw Mr. Tiffany into the battle against traffic fraud full-time and, in 2013, he started a company... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2014-02-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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With the 2014 Winter Olympics here, many newsrooms are covering the games with their specific readers in mind. Maybe you’re a newspaper in a small town that has a local Olympian, or maybe you’re a niche sports site devoted to cove ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2014-02-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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With a mix of all-ages and adult material, print and digital, Action Lab Entertainment is trying to establish itself while maintaining a balance with a staff located around the country. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-02-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Open Road, the largest independent ebook publisher, has purchased E-Reads, which is the oldest. The deal, announced Monday, adds 1,200 titles to Open Road's catalog of more than 4,000 ebooks at a... To view the full story, click the title link. Continue reading at Crains New York
[ Crains New York | 2014-02-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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February's notable reviews of self-published titles include stars for a 'startling' memoir about the Vietnam War and a 'fascinating' exploration of human rights. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-02-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Microsoft caught everyone's attention back when it introduced ID@Xbox. Now, nearly six months after the indie developer program was revealed, we're finally seeing the first titles to come out of it: Worms Battlegrounds and Nutjitsu. At this point,... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2014-02-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Quality video ad inventory is still scarce. That's why companies such as Conde Nast, Meredith, AOL, and Entrepreneur.com are eager to generate as many video views as they possible can, and why they buy traffic from platforms like Swagbucks to help.The post When Publishers Pay for Video Ad Views... Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2014-02-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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DreamWorks Animation is launching DreamWorks Press as an internal umbrella for digital and print books. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-02-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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LinkedIn is looking more and more like a publisher these days. The professional networking site eschews the term, but its recent moves suggest otherwise, from its Influencers blog network to its acquisition of news reader Pulse and the introduction of native advertising. (LinkedIn calls them... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2014-02-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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After what the government said was an 18-month investigation, Canada’s Competition Bureau has reached consent agreements with four multinational publishers regarding their ebook pricing policies. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-02-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Digital—readers, advertising, revenue—is growing, but publishers are managing that growth in different ways depending on where their value propositions lie. For a news-driven operation, that could mean emphasizing speed and developing paid products in niche verticals. It could be offering... Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2014-02-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Billing WEbook as a digital “slush pile,” Ardy Khazaei, its former president, told PW in 2009 that the Web site aimed to match agents with the kinds of manuscripts they were looking to represent. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-02-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Interested in the business of high-quality web video? There’s a lot of good stuff from Washington Post video GM Steven Schiffman in this Beet.TV interview about the Post’s broad-strokes strategy for the business side of video. ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2014-02-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Cassell Illustrated will publish a book with UK singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran and his childhood... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-02-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Time Warner, the media company that owns HBO and the Warner Bros. film studio as well as Time Inc. for a few more months, surpassed analysts' estimates for both fourth-quarter revenue and profit in results reported on Wednesday.Excluding some items, earnings were $1.17 a share, the New... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2014-02-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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University of Central Lancashire will coach students to make the most of their manuscriptsThe University of Central Lancashire has announced the launch of what it describes as the world's first degree in self-publishing.The MA will begin in September, and course leader Debbie Williams believes... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-02-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This week's Publishing Perspective's #EtherIssue looks at the debate about quality and changing perceptions of the self-publishing community in the broader market. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-02-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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