In Mexico, One Bookstore per 120,000 Inhabitants, by Elena Poniatowska

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 ]
News tagged with: #public policies #administrative expenses #reduce costs #combining promotional #advertising efforts #press teams #editorial program #cervantes winners #medium term #marketing teams #exhibition spaces #economic opportunity #fernanda melchor #random house #literary translator #bookstore chain #publishing industry #book price #penguin random house #independent bookstore #publishing companies #publishing world #bookseller #publishing houses #bookstore

Other Publishing stories related to: 'In Mexico, One Bookstore per 120,000 Inhabitants, by Elena Poniatowska '


Independent bookstores survived the rise of online retail. Coronavirus poses bigger challenges.

Indie bookstores thrive on being part of a community. Now, they’re taking desperate action to stay in business amid “social distancing.” Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-03-17 15:49:08 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #online retail


The Mirror and the Light shatters 100,000 mark

Hilary Mantel’s The Mirror and the Light (Fourth Estate) has claimed the UK Official Top 50 number one spot for a second week running.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-17 11:08:45 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #sthe mirror #hilary mantel #lightfourth estate #week running


Major Indie Bookstores Lay Off Hundreds

Three prominent bookstores, McNally Jackson in New York City, Powell's Books in Portland, Ore., and Busboys and Poets in Washington, D.C., have together laid off more than 600 employees as a result of the coronavirus crisis. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-03-17 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #prominent bookstores #mcnally jackson #coronavirus crisis


January Bookstore Sales Fell 4.8%

Bookstore sales dropped from $1.14 billion in January 2019 to $1.02 billion in 2020, according to preliminary estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-03-17 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #preliminary estimates #census bureau #bookstore sales


Major Indie Bookstores Lay Off Hundreds

Three prominent bookstores, McNally Jackson in New York City, Powell's Books in Portland, Ore., and Busboys and Poets in Washington, D.C., have together laid off more than 600 employees as a result of the coronavirus crisis. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-03-17 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #prominent bookstores #mcnally jackson #coronavirus crisis


Independent Bookstore Day Has Been Postponed

Independent Bookstore Day, which was scheduled for April 25, has been postponed. The American Booksellers Association, which manages the promotion, said the event would be rescheduled. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-03-17 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #independent bookstore #bookstore day


How you can support bookstores during the coronavirus pandemic.

Though most bookstores are closing their doors to the public, you can still buy books from them! And because you believe in our shared responsibility to preserve the wellbeing of those most vulnerable among us, you’re staying home and reading books, right? This past weekend saw many book people... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-03-16 19:01:49 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #support bookstores #coronavirus pandemic #buy books #reading books #past weekend #book people


Emerald Publishing launches £20,000 fund to make coronavirus research available

Emerald Publishing has launched a £20,000 fund to cover article processing charges, supporting social scientists in making their research on health emergencies such as coronavirus rapidly available.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-16 15:58:43 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #emerald publishing


How America’s Oldest Bookstore Has Survived Across the Centuries

The tale of the Moravian Book Shop isn’t straight-forward. Founded in 1745, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, it’s said to be the oldest continuously-running bookstore in America, yet it’s largely under the radar. It’s not a grande dame to whom homage must be paid; it’s never been the epicenter for... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-03-16 08:49:30 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #oldest bookstore #grande dame #bookstore


Indie Bookstores Begin Temporary Closures

In less than a week, brisk early March sales at bookstores in many regions have given way to temporary closures and modified business practices in response to the widening effects of the new coronavirus outbreak. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-03-16 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #coronavirus outbreak


Under quarantine in South Korea? You can now read 50,000 books for free.

This week, amid a deluge of vaguely horrifying, opportunistic-seeming quarantine-related reading lists, here’s something that seems genuinely good: a South Korean e-book startup is waiving its subscription fee for coronavirus patients and people under quarantine in the country. “We hope that... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-03-10 16:59:11 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #south korea #e-book


New York Bookstores Weathering Coronavirus Outbreak

From New York City to Buffalo, booksellers said customers were undeterred thus far by the news that a growing number of New Yorkers had contracted the new coronavirus. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-03-10 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #growing number


Fitzcarraldo Editions, Giramondo and New Directions launch $10,000 Novel Prize

Fitzcarraldo Editions, Giramondo and New Directions are launching The Novel Prize, a $10,000 biennial award for book-length fiction by published or unpublished authors. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-02 09:34:44 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #fitzcarraldo editions #unpublished authors


‘Surreal immediacy’: how a 1,000-page novel became a 45-hour audiobook

Lucy Ellmann’s Ducks, Newburyport has attracted much attention for its length, but one publisher believes the spoken word might be its perfect mediumFinishing a good book should leave you feeling bereft for a little while, but it’s rare to leave a novel with your brain vibrating at a different... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-02-28 14:00:18 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #spoken word #shortlisted titles #audio publisher #good book


The Coronavirus and Bologna: Manager Elena Pasoli on the Upheaval

'Ninety percent of the guests are confirming their participation' in the new May dates for the Bologna Children's Book Fair, says Elena Pasoli. The post The Coronavirus and Bologna: Manager Elena Pasoli on the Upheaval appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-02-26 16:30:07 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bologna children #book fair #elena pasoli #children's book


Not a Cult, a new bookstore in Los Angeles, puts authors of color at the forefront.

The door of Los Angeles’ newest bookstore is propped open on a quiet section of Hollywood Boulevard, the front window displaying books on a handmade wooden bookshelf. Inside the front room, you’ll find more books and merchandise below a neon light thought bubble and a sign that reads, “I still... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-02-21 15:00:52 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bookstore


Aspen Words $35,000 Literary Prize Names Its 2020 Finalists

The still-young Aspen Words Literary Prize's longlisted titles point up 'humor in the midst of serious situations'–in issue-driven fiction. The post Aspen Words $35,000 Literary Prize Names Its 2020 Finalists appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-02-19 15:30:55 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #issue-driven fiction #literary prize


Bookstores Team Up to Turn Arizona Blue

Bookshop Santa Cruz in California and Changing Hands Bookstore in Arizona, have partnered in a drive to register Arizona voters and persuade them to vote Democrat in this year's presidential election. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-02-14 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #presidential election #bookstore #bookshop


Bookstore Sales Fell 5.7% in 2019

Bookstore sales, which struggled for most of the year, ended 2019 with a weak December and finished the year with a 5.7% sales drop compared to 2018, according to preliminary estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-02-14 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bookstore sales #census bureau #bookstore


In Amazon’s Bookstore, No Second Chances for the Third Reich

The retailer once said it would sell “the good, the bad and the ugly.” Now it has banished objectionable volumes — and agreed to erasing the swastikas from a photo book about a Nazi takeover. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2020-02-09 21:35:27 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #photo book