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 ]
In which a bookseller appreciates the return of old rhythms from a pre-pandemic past. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-02-17 13:30:00 UTC ]
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Erroll McDonald, v-p and executive editor at Alfred A. Knopf, pays tribute to the legendary Random House editor and industry entrepreneur, who died February 4 at age 93. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-02-11 05:00:00 UTC ]
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A brief but happy update: The Bookseller has reported that Samir Mansour Bookshop, the largest bookstore in Gaza, will reopen next week after being destroyed by an Israeli airstrike last May. The reopening was made possible by a GoFundMe campaign led by human rights lawyers Mahvish Rukhsana and... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-02-07 16:07:29 UTC ]
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The longtime Random House editor, who combined a deep passion for books with a shrewd business mind and, as a result, made multiple major contributions to 20th Century literary and publishing history, died on February 4. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-02-07 05:00:00 UTC ]
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He founded Anchor Books, publishing high-quality paperbacks in the 1950s, then led Random House and helped launch the New York Review of Books. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2022-02-05 02:25:43 UTC ]
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Former U.S. attorney general Eric Holder sells a book about voting rights to One World, Random House buys a memoir from Deadwood creator David Milch, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-02-04 05:00:00 UTC ]
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On February 2, 1922, Sylvia Beach, through her legendary bookstore and occasional imprint Shakespeare and Company, published James Joyce’s modernist novel, Ulysses, in its entirety for the very first time. (It was also Joyce’s 40th birthday.) Since then, it has been banned and celebrated,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-02-02 09:55:38 UTC ]
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In May 2021, Penguin Random House launched a new marketing effort under the hashtag #AllWaysBlack. Over 26.3K followers and nearly a year later, the channel will expand in a number of ways. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-02-01 05:00:00 UTC ]
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As Penguin Random House and the Department of Justice continue to prepare for an August trial in which PRH hopes to block the government’s effort to kill its acquisition of Simon & Schuster, professionals throughout the industry are finding themselves pulled into the legal fray. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-02-01 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Works by writers like bell hooks, Damon Young and James Baldwin that will educate and make an impact on everyone. Continue reading at HuffPost
[ HuffPost | 2022-01-31 16:37:38 UTC ]
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Shabby Road, a Beatles tribute band formed by members of the publishing industry, are to hold a fundraising concert for the National Literary Trust this spring, following their sell-out debut gig for the charity in 2019. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2022-01-31 11:57:55 UTC ]
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I have a terrible habit of going on the internet and looking at properties I can’t afford. (A hobby many of my fellow millennials share, I’m sure.) From my cramped Brooklyn apartment with pots of spaghetti piled haphazardly in the kitchen, I like to criticize the design choices of millionaires... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-01-28 19:45:49 UTC ]
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To mark its second anniversary, Bookshop.org, has started what it is calling the Golden Bookmark Sweepstakes, which will award one person $600 in Bookshop.org gift cards each year for life, as well as a one-time prize of $500 to donate to a bookstore of their choice. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-01-28 05:00:00 UTC ]
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The final 2021 report from the Association of American Publishers shows December up 2.8 percent over December 2020, at US$1.1 billion. The post AAP StatShot: The United States’ Publishing Industry Gained 12.2 Percent in 2021 appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-01-26 16:01:07 UTC ]
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Legend Times is to move all of its publishing companies from Booksource to Macmillan Distribution (MDL). Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2022-01-20 13:14:03 UTC ]
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More than 100 writers, artists, comedians and musicians will voice James Joyce’s seminal novel in celebration of its publication a century agoOne hundred years ago, in February 1922, Sylvia Beach, owner of the Paris bookshop Shakespeare and Company, published James Joyce’s Ulysses, in full, for... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-01-20 09:30:55 UTC ]
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The publishing industry is booming. According to Publishers Weekly, sales of print books rose 8.9% in 2021, selling 825.7 million units, up from 757.9 million in 2020. This is the second year in a row to see a similar sales jump; in 2020, sales were up 8.2% from 2019, in which 693.7 million... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-01-12 19:07:42 UTC ]
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IPA, CPJ, and several embassies condemn the defamation verdict against PRH Peru's Jerónimo Pimentel and author Christopher Acosta. The post PRH Peru Chief and Author in Defamation Case: Publishing Industry Support appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-01-12 15:59:10 UTC ]
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Two decades ago, I wrote my very first novel while working at The Community Bookstore, an independent bookstore in Brooklyn, New York. That job enabled me to complete my book, not just because of the flexible hours, but because the other staffers were all aspiring writers, and many of our... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-01-12 09:50:45 UTC ]
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Kerri Maher’s novel “The Paris Bookseller” celebrates the life of American Sylvia Beach, a bookstore owner who saw promise in James Joyce’s “Ulysses.” Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2022-01-11 20:01:10 UTC ]
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