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 ]
An emergency fund has been opened to get quick aid to West London's Saqi Books, a publisher and bookstore reporting severe flood damage. The post Saqi Books in London Hit by Monday’s Flash Flooding appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-07-13 19:52:32 UTC ]
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The Penguin Random House US staff is told in a memo that vaccinations will be required in offices reopening in September. The post Penguin Random House USA Sets September 13 to Start Reopening Offices appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-07-13 15:41:49 UTC ]
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Representation matters. Last year, using the 2020 Arthur C. Clarke Award submission list, I wrote about the problems facing the genre publishing industry here in the UK. Since then, using the same methodology, we’ve collated the data from 2013 through 2020 to look for progress. We could have... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-07-07 19:02:10 UTC ]
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Reissued tales of classic journeys are being snapped up as Britons long for escape while having to stay at homeSome will go on a “great trudge” from the Hook of Holland to Istanbul. Others will explore the canyonlands of Utah or the mountains of Iran. But there is one idiosyncrasy they will all... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2021-07-04 07:30:15 UTC ]
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There’s a feeling of real energy and momentum to the Lit in Colour: Diversity in Literature in English Schools report released this week, from research conducted by Penguin Random House as part of the wider Lit in Colour campaign. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-07-03 02:17:46 UTC ]
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The author was repeatedly told that no one wanted to read fun books with disabled heroes. Now she has won the £5,000 Waterstones children’s book prize for her debut, A Kind of SparkWhen Scottish author Elle McNicoll was first trying to enter the publishing world, she was repeatedly told that... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2021-07-01 05:01:05 UTC ]
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This week we’ve published the findings of research conducted by Lit in Colour, a campaign run by Penguin Random House and The Runnymede Trust to make the teaching of English Literature more inclusive and representative of the myriad of different voices and narratives that make up Britain’s past... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-06-29 23:09:45 UTC ]
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Research commissioned by Penguin Random House has revealed only 0.7% of English Literature GCSE students in England study a book by a writer of colour while only 7% study a book by a woman. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-06-28 22:57:04 UTC ]
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The Homer Bookstore is the oldest continually operating bookstore in Alaska, and one of the few places to buy new books within several hundred miles. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-06-25 04:00:00 UTC ]
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As you may recall, right around St. Patrick’s Day in 2020, pretty much every bookstore on earth suspended all in-person author events indefinitely. Since then, book people like us have been cut off from meeting our favorite authors and have had to settle for watching glitchy versions of them on... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-06-17 08:49:48 UTC ]
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Publishing houses in Romania are working together to produce the Echo audiobook subscription platform, a first in its market. The post Beat Technology Is Developing Romania’s First Audiobook Program appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-06-14 04:05:13 UTC ]
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Last week, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex published her first children's book The Bench with Penguin Random House Children's. It picked up reviews from the Evening Standard, the Irish Times, the Telegraph, the Independent and the New York Times, making it one of the most reviewed new titles. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-06-13 20:19:26 UTC ]
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Penguin Random House has acquired the audio rights for Pat Barker's catalogue, commissioning new readings by a star cast including include Simon Russell Beale (pictured). Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-06-08 02:15:03 UTC ]
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Fiction Photo by Peter Boccia / Unsplash After renting a room in an Indian family’s house in England, the Croatian tenant becomes privy to one member’s dreams of return. “This is it!” Parvati, a young Indian woman, shows me a tiny room with... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2021-06-07 20:25:08 UTC ]
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The century-old Drama Book Shop in Manhattan struggled for years. Then “Hamilton” happened. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-06-07 15:11:17 UTC ]
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The Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) has appointed author Elly Griffiths to the role of booksellers champion, as National Crime Reading Month begins across the UK. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-06-06 06:52:44 UTC ]
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Every time a Democratic president is in office, conservative publishing houses rush to capitalize on the opportunity, publishing political screeds against the president in the hopes of a best-seller. It’s a rule of thumb at this point—at least, until this year. According to The Atlantic,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-06-04 17:03:56 UTC ]
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Penguin Random House and Waterstones say they have returned to “business as usual” following a dispute that saw the bookseller limit the visibility of PRH titles in its stores. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-06-04 12:14:36 UTC ]
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I have known plenty of failure in my writing life. Inspired partly by Henry David Thoreau, I set out to be a writer after college. Which effectively meant that I worked part-time as a carpenter and bookseller for the next dozen years without publishing a word. My current day job is as a teacher... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-06-04 08:49:40 UTC ]
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What is the International Literature Showcase?The International Literature Showcase is a partnership between the National Centre for Writing and British Council. It aims to showcase amazing writers based in the UK to programmers, publishers and teachers of literature in English around the world.... Continue reading at British Council global
[ British Council global | 2021-06-03 11:39:08 UTC ]
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