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 ]
Operating under the Black Creatives Fund banner, We Need Diverse Books is partnering with Penguin Random House on a series of programs designed to get more books by Black writers published. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-02-17 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Self-care and non-fiction subscription box business Wildwoman has launched its own online bookstore to help cope with the pandemic's effects on business. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-02-16 04:31:10 UTC ]
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The Bookseller is calling for authors to pen an “ode to booksellers” as part of a celebration of the trade during a time when high-street bookshops are unable to open their doors. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-02-14 20:12:04 UTC ]
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The idea for Muslim Voices in Publishing was born out of a feeling of loneliness – something that we have all experienced in multitudes over the many months of isolation and social distancing. The past year has been a stark reminder that, in anything we set out to do, there is often a need for a... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-02-14 20:11:39 UTC ]
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Chicago’s only Black woman-owned bookstore opened in the summer of 2019. Over the past two years, Semicolon has served as a vital and vibrant cultural hub and gallery space. Last summer, as the coronavirus began to tear through our country and small businesses had to close their doors, Semicolon... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-02-12 16:25:48 UTC ]
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Carsten Coesfeld took over as DK CEO days before Covid-19 shut down the publishing world. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-02-12 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Jonathan Karp, who took the helm at Simon & Schuster after the loss of its formidable former c.e.o. Carolyn Reidy, reveals how he intends to navigate the pandemic, a Penguin Random House takeover, and US politics Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-02-11 15:06:22 UTC ]
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Clara Villarosa, the founder of two iconic bookstores, the Hue-Man Experience in Denver and the Hue-Man Experience Bookstore & Cafe in New York City, will curate BIPOC books for the Tattered Cover Bookstore. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-02-10 05:00:00 UTC ]
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One issue that causes the most stress for many employees, including those in the publishing industry, is the dread of simply arriving at work. Far too many people know they will face a negative atmosphere the moment they walk (or rather Zoom) into their workspace. The job we are employed to do... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-02-09 15:02:23 UTC ]
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Is there anything better than (safe, socially distanced, double masked, sanitized) browsing at your local indie? I was having the crumbiest day the other day, and I passed by my local bookstore (the Greenlight on Flatbush, if you know it) as I was running errands. Well, I couldn’t not go in.... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-02-09 13:30:25 UTC ]
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Yesterday’s slate of Super Bowl commercials can be divided into two heavily-overlapping camps: cringey pop-culture nostalgia garbage fronted by stars you hoped were better than that, and expensive “unify the divided country through capitalism” garbage fronted by stars you hoped were better than... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-02-08 16:56:30 UTC ]
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My sister always goes to the same bookshop in Oxfordshire, where she lives. There she seeks out a young bookseller with a shock of black hair from within the stacks. He once recommended her a list of books, and she loved every single one; she’s been returning to him ever since. During lockdown,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-02-08 09:49:32 UTC ]
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Penguin Random House UK is to publish four books from Amanda Gorman, the youngest presidential inaugural poet in US history, including a special edition of “The Hill We Climb” which she read at Joe Biden's inauguration. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-02-08 03:19:06 UTC ]
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At Philadelphia’s Uncle Bobbie’s Coffee & Books, bookstore manager Evisa Gallman sees a long future for herself in bookselling. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-02-05 05:00:00 UTC ]
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After 27 years, Jeff Bezos, the entrepreneur who turned an online bookstore into one of the most powerful companies in the world, announced his plans to step down as Amazon CEO. In an email to employees on Tuesday, Bezos said the transition will come in Q3, at which point he will become... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2021-02-02 21:43:59 UTC ]
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Avon Books has sailed off with The Lighthouse, a “terrifyingly gripping” novel from author and bookseller Fran Dorricott, in a two-book deal. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-02-02 20:55:30 UTC ]
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On February 2, 1922, Sylvia Beach, through her legendary bookstore and occasional imprint Shakespeare and Company, published the entirety of James Joyce’s modernist novel, Ulysses. (It was also Joyce’s 40th birthday.) Two years later, she sought to have at least some of it recorded in Joyce’s... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-02-02 15:29:36 UTC ]
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Anne Irish, a leading figure in children's bookselling in America, died on January 26 at age 78; she was among a cadre of women who opened and purchased bookstores in the 1970s and 1980s. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-02-02 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Several organizations sent a letter to the Department of Justice on Friday urging it to stop Penguin Random House from purchasing Simon & Schuster. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-01-29 22:12:00 UTC ]
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Greene & Heaton rights director Kate Rizzo talks to The Bookseller about her role. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-29 10:34:09 UTC ]
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