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 US has restructured its international sales team with a string of promotions and two departures. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-04-17 08:55:38 UTC ]
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Sales and marketing director Julie Atkins of outdoor sports publisher Vertebrate talks to The Bookseller about their first carbon negative book. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-04-15 22:42:47 UTC ]
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The Doubleday division of Penguin Random House is expanding its nonfiction list to include wellness and self-help titles. The first titles are expected to be published in 2023. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-04-15 04:00:00 UTC ]
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“The Bookseller of Florence,” by Ross King, tells the history of Renaissance bookmaking through the story of Vespasiano da Bisticci, who rose from humble roots to dominate the trade. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-04-13 09:00:07 UTC ]
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Even in boomtimes it is hard to keep a bookstore afloat: the margins are razor thin and you’re in constant competition for bookbuyers with the largest monopoly in the universe (Am*zon). This is why a lot stores—particularly newer ones—build higher-margin sidelines into their business models…... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-04-12 14:51:07 UTC ]
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Having collected views from Black people across the publishing industry for the past year, the Black Agents and Editors’ Group has outlined 15 steps for how those in the trade can do better. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-04-09 07:18:36 UTC ]
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This summer, Tattered Cover Bookstore will open a children's bookstore in Aurora, Colo., a Denver suburb. The new bookstore will be Tattered Cover's fifth outlet and its first children's specialty bookstore. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-04-08 04:00:00 UTC ]
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When Dr. Seuss Enterprises announced it would no longer be publishing six of Dr. Seuss’s books which have aged problematically, the bookstore I work at in Scranton, Pennsylvania had a flurry of very concerned customers. People were coming up with stacks of his books along with an... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2021-04-07 11:00:00 UTC ]
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The two-year-old Oakland, Calif.-based "partnership publisher" is hoping to disrupt the publishing industry's traditional models. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-04-02 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Ingram Content Group seeds Binc's 'Survive to Thrive' bookstore grant program, with additional major support from publishers and Bookshop.org. The post US Book Industry Charitable Foundation Raises $1 Million for Bookstores appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-04-01 14:26:57 UTC ]
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'Globally, people turned to books' in 2020, Markus Dohle says, and Penguin Random House parent Bertelsmann reports on a strong year. The post PRH’s Markus Dohle on Bertelsmann’s 2020 Profit Report appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-03-30 15:54:57 UTC ]
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10 swoon-worthy bookstore pins that'll show off your nerd cred -- and make you want to hit your local indie ASAP. - Kelly Jensen Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2021-03-30 10:38:00 UTC ]
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Driven by strong sales in the U.S. in 2020, revenue at Penguin Random House increased 4.6% over 2019, while profits jumped 23%. The U.S. accounted for 58% of worldwide sales, up from 56% in 2019. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-03-30 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Interviews Carlos Manuel Álvarez’s debut novel, The Fallen—a withering portrait of a Cuban family with conflicting visions of their country and their roles within it—was published in June 2020 and has helped establish Álvarez as one of the leading... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2021-03-29 21:52:25 UTC ]
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Only three months after the high-profile merger of Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster, The New York Times reported earlier this morning that HarperCollins, one of publishing’s “Big Five,” will acquire Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books and Media—Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s trade... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-03-29 14:25:08 UTC ]
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Interviews Ellen Adams is a singer-songwriter and prose writer who splits her time between Seattle and Montreal. She has been a Lambda Literary Fellow for nonfiction and a Fulbright Fellow researching politically engaged contemporary art in Thailand.... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2021-03-29 13:25:33 UTC ]
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People want stories and that means cultivating a publishing ecosystem where big and small can flourishThis week both the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority and the Department of Justice in the US announced investigations into the planned $2.2bn acquisition of the publisher Simon &... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2021-03-28 17:25:47 UTC ]
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Penguin Random House will allow independent bookstores in the United States to take an additional month to pay their invoices to the publisher, the company announced on Wednesday. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-03-24 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Following the splitting of their two imprints in December, Random House Canada publisher Sue Kuruvilla and Knopf Canada Publisher Martha Kanya-Forstner have announced a number of roles for their team members. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-03-24 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The five finalists for 2021 Bookstore of the Year reflect the changes that have taken place in the ways that bookstores serve their communities and the increasing role of activism in bookselling today. The five finalists for Rep come from commission groups, Ingram, and the Big Five. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-03-23 04:00:00 UTC ]
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