Cultural Cross Sections Elena Poniatowska In this column that originally appeared in La Jornada, Elena Poniatowska considers the role of editors and talks with Diego Rabasa, founder of publisher Sexto Piso. Already precarious, the pandemic lockdown has made the plight of independent publishers and bookstores in Mexico in light of Covid-19 even more acute. To be an editor is to answer the call of the gods. It’s a vocation, a ministry, an immense privilege, to enter the Olympus of literature. To be an editor is to pick those who have talent and launch them. To be a publisher is to foretell: this one will make it. It’s also to disappoint and reject. I recall the Dutch printer Alexander Stolz in Mexico holding out to me his exquisite edition of Benjamin Constant’s Adolphe, as if it were a diamond, at the Fondo de Cultura Económica, and the paternal care that Arnaldo Orfila Reynal took with the anguished palavering of Fernando del Paso. To be an editor is to be a psychologist and to be bewildered as to how to treat each creature-author. Vicente Rojo was my editor, and we have loved each other deeply since, but I never gave him trouble. What must that genius from Pachuca named Yuri Herrera be like? What’s his soft spot? I have to handle Carlos Montemayor with kid gloves because he’s unpredictable. Federico Alvarez, director of the FCE in Spain, told me that seeing Elena Garro and Helena Paz enter the FCE in Madrid was like falling into... Continue reading at 'World Literature Today'
[ World Literature Today | 2020-06-03 21:05:48 UTC ]
Random House has launched "The Happy Foodie" website, together with a newsletter and... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-09-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The internet and new technology is making a dream of being an author a reality for many writers. Online self-publishing - bypassing agents and publishing houses is now a fast-growing sector. Continue reading at BBC World
[ BBC World | 2013-08-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Seth Godin traces the ups and downs of the independent bookstore since WWII, while proclaiming that today is "a golden age for books," crediting Amazon. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-08-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Beacon will continue to utilize the full portfolio of Random House's sales and distribution services for both their newly published and backlist physical and digital titles. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-08-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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There’s still no more relevant topic of debate in the publishing industry than the future of the physical book versus the exponentially growing influence of digital publishing. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-08-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The commencement address George Saunders delivered this past spring at Syracuse University, which has gone viral across the Internet, will be published next year as a book by Random House.From the department of it had to happen: The commencement address George Saunders delivered this past spring... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-08-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apparently Apple isn't the only company thinking the US Department of Justice's recently imposed remedies against it were "draconian." US publishers HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Penguin and others have also ganged up on the DOJ with a legal brief opposing the punitive restrictions. In... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2013-08-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Suvudu, Random House's online destination for science fiction and fantasy fans, launched Suvudu Universe, an online community for SF and fantasy bloggers. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-08-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Allison & Busby has secured a first novel about the publishing world from Judith Flanders,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-07-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A new bi-annual publication dedicated to the unpaid workforce looks anything but entry-level. Intern magazine marks a new meta-high in the publishing industry: Unpaid interns who work in media are paying plenty of attention to a media launch dedicated to unpaid interns. If you had to think... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2013-07-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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It’s not many publishing companies that can say they beat revenue projections by 40%, but that was the case in the fiscal year ended in March for the U.S. division of the U.K.-based illustrated book publisher Thames & Hudson. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-07-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Random House and the Chorleywood Bookshop in Hertfordshire are to run a cookery book festival for... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-07-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In Ether for Authors, Porter Anderson looks at the ties many publishing companies have with Author Solutions, at Amazon debates, and at drinking on the job. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-07-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Despite concerns about consolidation among publishing houses, sales of the top 10 companies accounted for 55% of revenue of the 50 publishers that are on the list for both 2012 and 2011, down from 57% in 2011. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-07-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apple Inc., the world's biggest technology company, violated antitrust law by engaging in a scheme to fix the prices of electronic books, a federal judge ruled in a suit brought by the U.S. government.U.S. District Judge Denise Cote, who tried the case without a jury, ruled against Apple in a... Continue reading at Crains New York
[ Crains New York | 2013-07-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Barnes & Noble CEO William Lynch resigned after the company reported disappointing fourth-quarter numbers. The bookstore chain also recently announced that it's seeking another company with which to produce the B&N Nook tablet devices. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-07-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Following the completion of the merger between Penguin and Random House, CEO Markus Dohle announces the global senior executive team for the new Penguin Random House, which now controls around 25% of the trade book market in the US. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-07-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Random House's Ballantine Books joined the ranks of the Food Network, Smithfield, Wal-Mart, and a bevy of other companies in ceasing its relationship with the self-proclaimed queen of butter. Continue reading at ABC News
[ ABC News | 2013-06-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Pearson and Bertelsmann have completed the merger of Penguin and Random House to create Penguin... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-06-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Shakespeare's plays will become contemporary novels, as the transatlantic Hogarth Press, an imprint of Random House, has announced it is commissioning prominent writers to adapt the Elizabethan plays.Shakespeare’s plays will become contemporary novels, as the transatlantic Hogarth Press, an... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-06-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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