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 is printing extra stock of Fifty Shades of Grey in Germany to help keep bookshelves... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-06-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The chiefs of Europe's publishing houses will meet today (26th June) in Brussels at a round-... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-06-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Despite challenges faced by the publishing industry and past predictions, the written word has not seen its last day Continue reading at The Atlantic
[ The Atlantic | 2012-06-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Random House's Square Peg is lining up two in-house projects for the second half of 2012,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-05-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Erika Leonard laughs a lot, a deep wheezy chortle. And why wouldn't she? Leonard, a 49-year-old overnight publishing sensation, is laughing all the way to the bank. In the past few months the former TV executive has had her first novel, Fifty Shades of Grey, dominate the New York Times... Continue reading at Stuff
[ Stuff | 2012-05-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Tim Brooks, the former managing director of Guardian News & Media, identifies a new sense of optimism setting into the publishing industry, after two years of concern amid sweeping change. Continue reading at Media Week
[ Media Week | 2012-05-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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By Robert M. Sacks In any given year, I give about a dozen “talks” about the publishing industry. Sometimes it is to interested companies and sometimes it is to the industry at large during publishing conventions... Continue reading at Publishing Executive
[ Publishing Executive | 2012-05-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Editors and marketing and publicity managers from Little, Brown, Random House and indies,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-04-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Random House will focus on international partnerships, engage directly with customers and... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-04-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Unresolved conflicts among publishers, sellers, libraries, and the U.S. Justice Department cloud the future of the publishing industry. Continue reading at The Atlantic
[ The Atlantic | 2012-04-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apple Inc. says the accusation that it conspired with major book publishers to raise the price of ebooks is untrue.Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr says that, contrary to allegations in lawsuits by the Justice Department and 15 states, Apple fostered innovation and competition by introducing its... Continue reading at Crains New York
[ Crains New York | 2012-04-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Alleged collusion aside, the publishing industry's agency pricing model may actually protect the long-term interests of everyone in the ebook value chain. Continue reading at AllThingsD
[ AllThingsD | 2012-04-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Not that we were expecting Apple and Macmillan to simply fess up and say, "you're right, totally tried to circumvent the free market," but both companies have come out swinging pretty hard against the allegations of price fixing. Apple has rejected the charges, calling them "simply not true." A... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2012-04-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apple responds to antitrust charges: "The launch of the iBookstore in 2010 fostered innovation and competition, breaking Amazon's monopolistic grip on the publishing industry." Continue reading at AllThingsD
[ AllThingsD | 2012-04-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The major trade publishers do not appear in imminent danger of fading away. With Random House’s release of 2011 financial results late last month, the four large trade houses that report results all posted operating margins that topped 10%. Although the four companies—Lagardère Publishing... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-04-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The lucrative James Bond novels return to Random House, their original publisher, through a new deal. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-03-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Oddly, Random House deciding to triple the price of its ebooks for libraries is being considered a compromise. While others, like Penguin, are pulling their electronic tomes from the virtual shelves of our lending institutions, Random House is at least willing to still play ball -- even if it's... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2012-03-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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CHESTERFIELD, MO, February 22, 2012 – Newspaper Data Exchange (NDX), innovators in media data aggregation in the publishing industry, will now have an exclusive license to enroll new affiliate members for the Audit Bureau of Circulations (A ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2012-02-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Many in the publishing world were convinced that Ms. Knox's story would be a huge best seller, overcoming concerns that she may not be a sympathetic figure to some of the public. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2012-02-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In December 2010, National Book Network CEO Jed Lyons made the decision to cut back on the number of distribution clients NBN represented while also realigning its sales and marketing teams. The changes led to the departure of some NBN executives including NBN president Rich Freese, who moved to... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-02-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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