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 ]
After 26 years at The New Yorker, he became chief editor at Random House, overseeing works by a raft of luminaries. He wrote a half-dozen well-received books of his own. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2020-10-27 16:47:41 UTC ]
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With Halloween fast-approaching, I feel the need (along with every other person on the book internet) to remind you that one of the scariest things imaginable might happen: your local indie bookstore might close. Their fate is in your hands. Go on and pick up one (or two or three) of these new... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-10-27 13:16:05 UTC ]
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After shaky start in lockdown, Bloomsbury sales soar as people pick books over box setsCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe Harry Potter publisher, Bloomsbury, has reported its most profitable first half in more than a decade, after a nation tiring of box sets fuelled... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-10-27 12:22:12 UTC ]
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Jimmy Fallon, local authors and devoted regulars are rallying to help Once Upon a Time in Montrose — the country's oldest kids' bookstore — survive the pandemic that has destroyed so many small businesses. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-10-27 12:00:02 UTC ]
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Kansas bookseller Danny Caine's statement honoring the owners of Moon Palace Books in Minneapolis as the Midwest Independent Booksellers Association's bookseller of the year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-10-27 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Weidenfeld & Nicolson has acquired the debut of former bookseller Daniel O’Connor, launching "a startlingly bold new voice". Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-10-26 19:12:42 UTC ]
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Lit in Colour, the publisher’s partnership with the Runnymede Trust, hopes to redress imbalances in English literature coursesThe book publisher Penguin Random House has teamed up with the thinktank the Runnymede Trust to boost diversity in reading lists in schools.The partnership – Lit in... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-10-24 16:11:09 UTC ]
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Adrienne Tang, longtime rights director with Kids Can Press, moves to Penguin Random House Canada to create 'an entirely new in-house rights operation,' says CEO Kristen Cochrane. The post Penguin Random House Canada: Adrienne Tang to Build In-House Rights Business appeared first on Publishing... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-10-23 16:11:39 UTC ]
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Kit Harington, Joanna Lumley and David Walliams are among the all-star cast for a new Penguin Random House audio edition of J M Barrie's classic Peter Pan. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-10-23 01:15:27 UTC ]
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Six books will vie to win the 42nd Diagram Prize for the Oddest Book Title of the Year. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-10-22 18:15:14 UTC ]
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Following the recent slate of virtual regional bookseller conferences, both organizers and participants anticipate that in-person gatherings will make a return someday and will be part of a hybrid model that includes enhanced virtual programming. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-10-22 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Workman Publishing has launched a campaign to encourage readers to buy books from their local independent bookstore this holiday season, under the slogan. "Shop Local NOW, So You Can Shop Local FOREVER." Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-10-22 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Canelo is taking on titles currently released by The Dome Press, a publisher set up by agent and bookseller David Headley. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-10-21 12:03:08 UTC ]
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In this David-versus-Goliath battle, mom-and-pop bookstores wrapped themselves in Amazon's familiar brown cardboard as a protest against the retail giant and a plea to shop local. The Instagram-ready stunt, with Amazon lookalike boxes covered in sick literary burns and topical quips, came... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2020-10-19 20:06:41 UTC ]
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How does one browse in a dark bookstore? Picture row upon row of faced-out books lit like tiny billboards floating in an inky black room, small candle lit café tables as little islands of light between hundreds of glowing covers… That’s basically the scene at Wuguan Bookstore in Kaohsiung,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-10-19 15:08:32 UTC ]
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The Center for Fiction announced the establishment of the Susan Kamil Award for Emerging Writers, a new award to honor the memory and influence of the late Kamil, who was former executive v-p and publisher of the Random House imprint. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-10-19 04:00:00 UTC ]
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A survey conducted by The Bookseller found most staffers in the children’s publishing sector were optimistic concerning its odds of surviving, and thriving, in a post-Covid market. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-10-18 18:23:09 UTC ]
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The Penguin Random House Ireland imprint buys medievalist Elizabeth Boyle's memoir hybrid. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-10-15 13:39:11 UTC ]
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Independent booksellers are desperate for customers to return, and not just for an online reading. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2020-10-15 09:00:28 UTC ]
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Vowing to address its own workforce demographics, Penguin Random House releases a Global Social Impact site on corporate responsibility. The post Penguin Random House’s Global Social Impact: Claire von Schilling appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-10-14 20:00:57 UTC ]
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