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 ]
The US children's market has seen huge growth this year with increasing focus on books by people of colour and by celebrities, Barbara Marcus, president and publisher of Random House Children's Books in the US, has said. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-27 21:41:42 UTC ]
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On Wednesday, Black Lives Matter protesters in Louisville and around the world waited with bated breath for an announcement from Daniel Cameron, Kentucky’s attorney general: a charging decision, or lack thereof, in the case of Breonna Taylor, an emergency medical technician who was killed by... Continue reading at Columbia Journalism Review
[ Columbia Journalism Review | 2020-09-25 12:37:49 UTC ]
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This fall's independent bookstore regional trade shows started off last week with two big virtual fairs held by three organizations—and did so swimmingly. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-09-25 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Journalist who at the Sunday Times became the most admired newspaper editor of his generationSir Harold Evans, who has died aged 92, lived a life of two halves, almost two distinct lives. In his first life, he was the Manchester lad who grew up to be the most famous and most admired newspaper... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-09-24 11:55:45 UTC ]
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In Britain, he helped redefine high-quality newspapers and challenged legal restrictions on the press. In America, he brought new scope and glitz to book publishing as the head of Random House. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2020-09-24 09:41:20 UTC ]
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Well, beautiful might not exactly be the word—perhaps disquietingly arresting? Chinese architecture firm x+living seems to be channeling the synaptic afterimages of Borges’s brain in their dizzying design for a bookstore in the city of Dujiangyan, in the southwest of China. The almost manic use... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-09-23 13:51:18 UTC ]
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Take a tour of an independent bookstore and community hub, Book Revue, the largest independent bookstore on Long Island. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-09-23 10:38:00 UTC ]
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Industry experts weighed in on the state of the Christian publishing industry during the virtual American Christian Fiction Writers Conference on Sept. 18. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-09-23 04:00:00 UTC ]
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UK staffers at Penguin Random House have already been told they should again work from home if they can, following the step-change in government guidance as coronavirus infection rates rise. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-23 00:00:21 UTC ]
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Penguin Random House launches The Conversation, a hub of content collections 'to combat racism and end racial inequities'—meant for families, educators, and businesses. The post PRH Opens ‘The Conversation’ To ‘Sustain Antiracist Engagement’ appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-09-22 19:17:06 UTC ]
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In a partnership that may turn out to be a rare, notable success during the pandemic, the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association and the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance saw their five-day combined conference kick off on Monday with high attendance. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-09-22 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Australia has spoken, and J.K. Rowling is out. Rabble Books & Games in Maylands, Australia, said earlier this week that the store would stop stocking her books due to this, this, or this, all of which, it’s not so wild to presume, have already impacted her book sales. “We are always trying... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-09-17 19:06:37 UTC ]
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Three children’s authors from around the world will close this year’s Bookseller Children’s Conference (28th September-1st October) by giving their vision of the future of reading. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-16 21:29:01 UTC ]
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Two Big Five US publishing houses independently announce new directorial appointments focused on workplace diversity and inclusion. The post In New York, Simon & Schuster and HarperCollins Announce Diversity Roles appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-09-15 23:40:06 UTC ]
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Random House Children’s Books is expanding the Berenstain Bears franchise with Gifts of the Spirit, a new series of faith-based picture books. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-09-15 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Beloved L.A. bookstores like Diesel are turning to fundraising platforms to survive the financial blows dealt by COVID-19. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-09-14 20:54:38 UTC ]
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Ahead of a Chevalier's bookstore talk with Bradley Whitford, the "Handmaid's Tale" author talks about Ann Dowd, Zoom-worthy tops, dystopia and elections. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-09-14 14:00:45 UTC ]
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With books delayed by the pandemic reaching shops alongside other titles aimed at the Christmas market, the trade has seen sales boomBooksellers up and down the UK are reporting a boom in sales since readers returned to bookshops after the lockdown, with the first avalanche of Christmas titles... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-09-11 12:40:19 UTC ]
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When One Hundred Years of Solitude hit the market in 1967, the book industry in Spanish was booming. This situation was unimaginable for most writers and critics just a few years before. “How can literature exist,” writer Mario Vargas Llosa asked, “in countries where there are no publishing... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-09-11 08:48:47 UTC ]
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No single event has wiped out more bookselling jobs in the modern era than the Covid-19 pandemic. Few booksellers have any job protections—that is, unless they have a union. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-09-11 04:00:00 UTC ]
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