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 ]
A crop of recent novels strains against the expectations of a publishing industry attempting to embrace diversity. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-10-13 09:00:06 UTC ]
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Literary Hub is pleased to reveal the cover for Jai Chakrabarti’s A Small Sacrifice for an Enormous Happiness, forthcoming from Penguin Random House in February 2023. The book, comprised of 14 short stories, details what family means today across cultures, continents, and faith. The title story,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-10-12 15:00:59 UTC ]
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PW’s annual ranking of the world’s largest publishers in 2021 shows little change from 2020 among the top 10 Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-10-07 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Author Alex George, the owner of Skylark Bookshop in Columbia, Mo., was named Midwest Bookseller of the Year by the Midwest Indie Booksellers Association. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-10-05 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Spiracle will feature titles from independent presses, while last month, Spotify also began offering audiobooks to US customersA new audiobook platform which aims to create a “lovely, welcoming, independent bookstore kind of vibe” has launched, as audio giant Spotify also enters the fast-growing... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-10-03 18:09:30 UTC ]
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The Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Association's annual gathering in Denver, renowned for being a high energy show, was an especially exuberant affair this year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-10-03 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Tom Hanks—who previously spent time crushing a beloved indie bookstore with his discount big box chain (which was then probably crushed by Amazon and yes I am talking about his role in You’ve Got Mail and not his real life)—will publish a novel with Knopf this spring. The book, The Making of... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-09-27 15:17:38 UTC ]
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Nicole Sullivan, the owner of Denver's BookBar, a bookstore and wine bar that she founded in 2013, announced that she will close the store on January 31 to focus more on her other business, the Bookies. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-09-27 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Random House and Celadon announce upcoming editions of the House Select Committee’s January 6 report, Currency takes on a memoir by YouTuber and former banker Gary Stevenson, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-09-23 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The United States Senate voted on Tuesday to elevate the judge overseeing the lawsuit that will decide the fate of the proposed merger of Penguin Random House with Simon & Schuster to the influential U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, filling the seat that belonged... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-09-21 04:00:00 UTC ]
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TikTok users can now link their favorite books from Penguin Random House within their videos following a partnership between the video creation platform and the publisher. Users in the U.K. and U.S. can click "Add Link" and select "Book" prior to posting their video, at which point any Penguin... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2022-09-20 19:30:00 UTC ]
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Book piracy in France has taken a hit, with court action led by the SNE and 12 publishing companies against 'Z-Library.' The post French Publishers Cheer a Court’s Order to Block a Book Piracy Site appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-09-19 20:26:31 UTC ]
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We all have those thoughts, the ones that come to us in the small hours of the night. Who am I? Why are we here? What if my cellphone ran on vacuum tubes instead? Randall Munroe has the answer to, well, only one of those questions, but also the answers to a whole bunch of others collected... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2022-09-18 15:00:37 UTC ]
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The Colombian-American author's new book "Lightlark" was rejected numerous times — until she went directly to her readers for support. Continue reading at HuffPost
[ HuffPost | 2022-09-15 09:45:12 UTC ]
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Books are written in solitude, but writers do some of their finest work with crowds—in public talks, interviews, and events. The best moments from those strange, dramatic interactions often go missing, however: either they’re never recorded, or nobody will ever find the recordings. Fortunately,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-09-14 09:05:43 UTC ]
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Strand Bookstore is taking the idea of the “status tote” to a whole new level and is now selling a special Bottega Veneta limited edition black tote back for $1,500. I hate it. Yes, we here at Lit Hub are definitely part of the Literary Tote Industrial Complex, which traffics in superficial... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-09-13 13:56:21 UTC ]
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Bookstore visits and author addresses were among the primary events for booksellers attending the California Independent Booksellers Alliance's conference this year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-09-13 04:00:00 UTC ]
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With its stellar track record of retail success—including more than 50 New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestsellers—Greenleaf has been a proven innovator within the hybrid publishing world for 25 years and counting. (Sponsored) Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-09-11 04:00:00 UTC ]
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There are very few things in the world that we at Electric Lit love more than bookstores, but one of those things is pets. We are absolutely obsessed with our furry friends. It only stands to reason that to our minds, there is no greater place in the world than a bookstore with a pet. […] The... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2022-09-05 11:00:00 UTC ]
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I’d begged my way into this job in the hopes that it might lead me closer to a literary life. And it would. Eventually. The post Shelve This In Memoir: Confessions of a Teenage Bookseller appeared first on The Millions. Continue reading at The Millions
[ The Millions | 2022-09-05 10:00:28 UTC ]
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