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 ]
Blackwell's is the latest bookseller to announce it has closed its stores during the new lockdown and will not be offering click and collect, with the exception of its Oxford branch. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-06 09:24:14 UTC ]
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The release of “Consent” put France’s literary establishment under a harsh spotlight. The publishing industry is grappling with a nation that it resembles less and less. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-01-03 16:49:48 UTC ]
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Translating novels, short stories, and poetry into English in a way that remains true to their original form can take years, even decades of dedication. And then there is the job of persuading the Anglophone publishing world to take chances. Translators’ labor is ultimately rewarding for readers... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2020-12-31 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Bloomsbury founder and chief executive Nigel Newton and former Children's Laureate Anthony Browne have been awarded CBEs for services to the publishing industry and to literature respectively in the New Year's Honours list. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-12-30 02:25:11 UTC ]
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Publishing industry veteran Roland Elgey died recently at his home in Scottsdale, Ariz., after an 18-month battle with colorectal cancer. He was 65. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-12-29 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Latham, a bookseller for 35 years, has put together a heady mix of history, philosophy, anecdotes and entertaining factsWhat most people know about the American librarian Melvil Dewey is his phenomenal classification technique, the Dewey decimal system, which is still used in 135 countries. Less... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-12-19 09:00:45 UTC ]
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Cindy Spiegel and Julie Grau are starting their own publishing company, after seeing their eponymous imprint shuttered by Penguin Random House in a reorganization at the company late last year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-12-18 05:00:00 UTC ]
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The Jagriti Publishing House and its bookstore are Razia Rahman Joly's memorial to her slain husband, publisher Faisal Arefin Dipan. The post AAP’s 2020 Freedom to Publish Award: Bangladesh’s Jagriti Publishing House appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-12-17 19:19:51 UTC ]
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A non-fiction work about fungi and books with local interest are among the top-selling titles for indies ahead of Christmas, The Bookseller has been told. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-12-17 16:31:47 UTC ]
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When I was young my parents enrolled me in a speed-reading course, which was held in what felt like the basement of a used bookstore on a former main street in a town just west of Kansas City. The post A Year in Reading: Farooq Ahmed appeared first on The Millions. Continue reading at The Millions
[ The Millions | 2020-12-16 16:00:11 UTC ]
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When lockdown came in March, many small presses feared they would go out of business. But then came an outpouring of support from the publicThe best books from indie publishers in 2020Six months ago, independent publishers Jacaranda and Knights Of were warning publicly that their income had... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-12-16 08:00:30 UTC ]
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Jay-Z's entertainment company, Roc Nation, has created an imprint at Random House called Roc Lit 101. The new imprint will be overseen by Chris Jackson, publisher and editor-in-chief of One World, and Roc Nation's executive v-p Jana Fleishman. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-12-15 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Independent Denver bookstore BookBar has launched its new publishing division, BookBar Press, with the publication of an anthology of micro-plays written by area playwrights. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-12-15 05:00:00 UTC ]
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PW looks back at the library stories that captivated the publishing world this year—and what they portend for 2021. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-12-11 05:00:00 UTC ]
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In light of last week’s Penguin ethnicity pay gap report, their first-ever following in the footsteps of Hachette’s 2019 iteration, it seems like the perfect moment to reconsider the publishing industry’s approach to those vague, catch-all acronyms and terms that are so often used... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-12-10 06:31:16 UTC ]
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Penguin Random House Canada is splitting the Knopf Random House Canada publishing group into two different imprints: Knopf Canada and Random House Canada. Each imprint has new leadership and will operate independently. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-12-10 05:00:00 UTC ]
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CEO Kristin Cochrane retains Anne Collins while moving Martha Kanya-Forstner to lead Knopf Canada and bringing in Sue Kuruvilla for RH Canada. The post Year-End Changes: PRH Canada Separates Knopf and Random House appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-12-09 21:22:13 UTC ]
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Denver's iconic Tattered Cover Bookstore, which has been owned by Len Vlahos and Kristen Gilligan since 2015, has been sold to two entrepreneurs and Denver natives, Kwame Spearman and David Back. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-12-09 05:00:00 UTC ]
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My local bookstore is long, narrow, and outlined in wooden bookshelves. It’s wedged in an old Victorian building that sits across from the Salish Sea, where orcas, seals, and otters are frequently sighted. It smells like paper and salt water, and holds some 3,000 titles that reveal to tourists... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-12-07 09:49:19 UTC ]
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The planned merger of Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster may be global but it's bad for books both foreign and domestic. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-12-04 19:25:12 UTC ]
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