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 ]
Limited promotion and marketing budgets reinforce false ideas about how well diverse books and writers will sell. This leads to a negative cycle for black, Asian and minority ethnic writers. Continue reading at The Conversation
[ The Conversation | 2020-07-15 09:57:53 UTC ]
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Andrew Weissmann, who served as a prosecutor for Robert Mueller during an investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, is releasing a book this fall—and says it will include details on the investigation’s “mistakes.” Random House will publish Where Law Ends: Inside the Mueller... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-07-14 17:26:22 UTC ]
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The 40th annual Los Angeles Times Book Prizes were announced today on Twitter. The prizes are given in 12 categories, and titles from Penguin Random House took home six. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-07-14 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Dhara Snowden, senior commissioning editor at Rowman & Littlefield takes The Bookseller behind the scenes. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-14 01:03:02 UTC ]
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Penguin Random House UK and DK have joined with Bertelsmann stablemates Fremantle and BMG to launch a joint podcast business, called Storyglass, as part of the Bertelsmann Content Alliance UK. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-13 15:51:02 UTC ]
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Penguin Random House Audio is releasing Edinburgh Unlocked, a comedy festival in audiobook format featuring names such as Ivo Graham, Jessie Cave, Sofie Hagen and Dane Baptiste. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-12 14:00:06 UTC ]
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I May Destroy You skewers the weirdness of fandom and captures just how terrifying the publishing industry can beMichaela Coel’s critically acclaimed new TV series I May Destroy You (BBC One), the journey of a young woman uncovering and trying to deal with sexual trauma, is a show that I fall... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-07-11 07:00:06 UTC ]
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The owners of Greenlight Bookstore, which has two Brooklyn locations, came forward this week to take responsibility for “negative experiences of Black customers and employees in our stores” with a commitment to improving. In an open letter published Wednesday, co-owners Rebecca Fitting and... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-07-10 16:24:01 UTC ]
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Penguin Random House has published an “accelerated inclusion plan”, including a commitment on "radical and urgent action" to make its senior leadership teams representative of UK society. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-09 07:47:24 UTC ]
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Written in 2004 and auctioned for charity, Serpentine sees an adult Lyra and her daemon Pantalaimon revisit Trollesund in search of secretsA previously unseen His Dark Materials story about a teenage Lyra, written by Philip Pullman over a decade ago and that he never intended to publish, will be... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-07-08 23:01:46 UTC ]
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Top-visibility Authors Guild members join with Amazon Publishing and Penguin Random House in a suit alleging KISS is pirating a wide range of books. The post Grisham, Child, Amazon, PRH Headline Lawsuit of KISS Library for Piracy appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-07-08 14:52:12 UTC ]
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Today, Penguin Random House announced the launch of a new imprint, Tiny Reparations Books, founded by New York Times bestselling author, comedian, actress, and producer Phoebe Robinson. Robinson will be partnering with Plume (a division of Dutton, which is itself an imprint of PRH) and its... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-07-08 14:20:42 UTC ]
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The past few months have restricted physical access to bookshops, interrupted supply chains and created a raft of logistical complexities for the publishing industry. Even with restrictions easing, traditional consumer marketing and PR are trickier to execute safely. However, our data at The... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-07 15:24:03 UTC ]
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The board of directors at Ebony has removed CEO Willard Jackson, the magazine said Sunday, citing an ongoing independent investigation into "a number of transactions that Jackson led." A co-founder and vice chairman of Clear View Group (CVG), the private equity firm that acquired Ebony from... Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2020-07-06 17:59:58 UTC ]
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The Spanish publishing industry has gained new clarity on where it stands with the government and is ratcheting up its demands for pendemic assistance. The post Coronavirus Impact: Spain’s Publishers Open a Two-Front Strategy appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-07-06 13:44:10 UTC ]
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The Bookseller would like to capture the trade’s thoughts on social media and, in particular, "cancel culture" and its impacts on UK publishing, bookselling and writing. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-01 19:32:20 UTC ]
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Today’s publishers are working to survive in a new reality where media consumption is up, but revenues are down. Let’s examine three ways publishers can thrive — not just survive — and prepare for success in the next normal. Continue reading at Publishing Executive
[ Publishing Executive | 2020-06-30 20:16:23 UTC ]
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There’s no doubt COVID-19 has forever changed the world as we know it. A small slice of life that had to shift trajectory is the publishing industry. Debut authors are especially struggling as the books they have worked on for countless years are released into a world without in-person book... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2020-06-30 11:00:00 UTC ]
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I have been writing children's books for over 10 years now. I have worked as an editor in children's publishing houses for 15. For the last 18 months, I have been mentoring writers and illustrators of colour, and doing my best to try and explain how publishing works. How to navigate this... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-26 10:43:21 UTC ]
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A “marginalized people’s history of labor in the U.S.” goes to One Signal for six figures, HarperCollins takes on a book about Prince Harry and Prince William, Willie Nelson and his sister sell a memoir to Random House, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-06-26 04:00:00 UTC ]
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