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 ]
Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster are putting up a fight against federal efforts to scuttle their merger, alleging the government is wrong. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-12-13 21:40:35 UTC ]
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The Biden administration has challenged the deal over concerns it would harm authors, but the publisher said that argument is a misunderstanding of how the book industry works. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-12-13 17:21:52 UTC ]
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Penguin Random House is disputing the U.S. Department of Justice's main argument in the government's lawsuit to block PRH’s acquisition of S&S, namely that the merger would lead to "substantial harm to authors of anticipated top-selling books and ultimately, consumers.” Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-12-13 05:00:00 UTC ]
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The Department of Justice is aiming to begin court proceedings against Penguin Random House owner Bertelsmann on 1st August 2022, in a bid to block the publisher from acquiring Simon & Schuster in a $2.2bn deal. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-12-12 18:18:18 UTC ]
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In addition to being a prolific novelist, Toni Morrison was a prolific editor. She was committed to championing Black writers, both through her role as senior editor at Random House and her work with writing collectives like The Sisterhood (which included literary giants like June Jordan, Alice... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-12-10 18:40:25 UTC ]
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PW looks back at the library stories that captivated the publishing world this year—and what they portend for 2022. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-12-10 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Alongside Richard Osman and JK Rowling, figures show huge successes for relative unknowns Ellery Adams and Brenda ChapmanThe UK’s library users are widely seen as a traditional bunch when it comes to choosing their next read, but while Richard Osman might have topped the list of the year’s... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2021-12-08 16:34:37 UTC ]
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Bookseller Nic Bottomley's publishing outfit Fox, Finch & Tepper has signed and published its first original book, an account of an impromptu biking adventure by award-winning travel-writer Julian Sayarer. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-12-08 08:31:26 UTC ]
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Continuing our series looking behind the headlines of 2021, we speak to the philosophy professor who resigned from Sussex University after protests over her views on gender and transgender rightsGaza bookseller Samir Mansour: ‘It was shocking to realise I was a target’When Kathleen Stock opens... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2021-12-05 10:00:51 UTC ]
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It might seem odd for a magazine called The Bookseller to have a dedicated issue for “booksellers”, but this week’s issue is a dedicated one for, well, booksellers, including our now-annual listing of the Bookshop Heroes, those purveyors of the written word who, when push came to shove in 2021,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-12-03 15:21:51 UTC ]
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Zenith Bookstore sells both new and used books, and has become a community hub in a part of the city where residents never expected to have a bookstore. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-12-03 05:00:00 UTC ]
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A debut novel by a HarperCollins UK editor goes to Putnam, former Washington quarterback Robert Griffin III sells a memoir to Atria, Random House buys NBA winner Tiya Miles’s latest, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-12-03 05:00:00 UTC ]
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I was 10 years old when I read my first crime fiction novel. A charity shop copy of Agatha Christie’s 1935 Death in the Clouds, gifted from my gran. For the 38 years since I have devoured crime fiction and thrillers. And I am not alone. In the UK in June 2020, the publishing industry saw a crime... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-11-30 22:50:13 UTC ]
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Last week The Bookseller held its first face-to-face event for 18 months: the FutureBook Conference took place on Friday 19th November, with about 250 delegates, speakers, sponsors, colleagues and volunteers at the event space at 155 Bishopsgate joining the more than 600 individuals who watched... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-11-26 13:12:27 UTC ]
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In the early 2010s I lived near a bookstore called KAYO Books, in an area of San Francisco sometimes called Tenderloin Heights. They stocked an incredible array of pulp and genre fiction: two dizzying floors of detective fiction, mysteries, westerns, schlocky movie and TV tie-ins, and erotica.... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-11-24 09:55:50 UTC ]
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Gina Gagliano, the founder and publishing director of Random House Graphic, Random House Children's Books’ graphic novel imprint, is leaving the company effective December 3. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-11-24 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Little, Brown has appointed Matthew Crossey from Penguin Random House as head of lifestyle non-fiction campaigns. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-11-22 00:37:51 UTC ]
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Penguin Random House worldwide chief executive Markus Dohle says he is "optimistic" about the future of the publishing industry, claiming "it's the best time in this business since Gutenberg invented the printing press". Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-11-20 11:07:03 UTC ]
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The publishing industry needs to collaborate in order to improve its sustainability, because the size of the challenge is “so enormous” FutureBook audiences were told today. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-11-20 06:42:09 UTC ]
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Penguin Random House chief Markus Dohle has said the publisher is sceptical of streaming platforms as a viable method to distribute audiobooks, following recent buyouts by audio firms. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-11-19 18:47:42 UTC ]
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