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 ]
On this episode of Sheltering, Maris Kreizman speaks with Amy Jo Burns about her new novel, Shiner. Burns talks about loosely basing a character off her grandmother, the possible legalization of moonshine, and the skill of snake-handling. Her favorite local bookstore is Labyrinth Books; please... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-05-12 19:00:18 UTC ]
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May 2nd, 2020 Happy birthday to us. Little City Books opened May 2nd, 2015, a stunning spring day [click here for an account of that day, on this website]. It was Independent Bookstore Day. It was our city’s annual art and music festival. And it was the Kentucky Derby (I only remember that... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-05-12 08:48:42 UTC ]
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Offering what they call their ‘360-degree view of the potential as well as the shortcomings of the publishing industry,’ Italy’s literary agents are organizing during the ‘critical situation’ imposed by COVID-19. By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson ‘For a New Start After the... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-05-11 03:29:40 UTC ]
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When Sylvia Beach, the New Jersey native who published Ulysses and opened Paris’ Shakespeare and Co. (“the most famous bookstore in the world”), died in 1962, Princeton University purchased and catalogued her papers. This trove of materials reveals, among other things, the reading preferences of... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-05-08 19:46:30 UTC ]
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These were the most popular books in libraries to kick off 2020. What have you read? Missed? Want to pick up from your library or bookstore next? Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-05-08 10:32:36 UTC ]
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An awesome daily roundup of the most interesting bookish links from around the web! Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-05-08 10:30:26 UTC ]
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Marian Wood, a veteran editor and former v-p and publisher of an eponymous imprint at G.P. Putnam's Sons, died over the weekend. Penguin Random House called Wood's time in the business, which began in the 1970s, "one of the most illustrious careers in publishing." Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-05-08 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Survey shows 60% expect the impact of the pandemic may put them out of business, prompting calls for concerted helpMore than half of the UK’s small publishers fear they could be out of business by the autumn as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, according to research by the Bookseller, which... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-05-07 15:02:20 UTC ]
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Every industry is experiencing a digital transformation. For some, the pandemic has accelerated this transformation. Others, like retail, travel and QSR, are trying to quickly adapt to the new criteria of our on-demand world. Consumers are permanently changing their online consumption habits,... Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2020-05-07 14:20:39 UTC ]
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Lookout Books, a teaching press housed at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington, is partnering with indies to provide students and others with virtual bookstore backgrounds to maintain confidentiality during video calls. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-05-06 04:00:00 UTC ]
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DC bookstore mainstay Politics & Prose recently featured Kawai Strong Washburn, author of Sharks in the Time of Saviors, in conversation with Tommy Orange, author of There There. The two discuss virtual book events, appreciating connection more than ever, and the miracle of being transported... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-05-05 20:00:41 UTC ]
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April 2020 found the publishing industry entering a period of unexpected change as bookshops closed and the focus turned to digital sales. The COVID-19 lockdown has forced writers to re-evaluate the future in this difficult time. As a narrative psychologist and fiction writer, I am interested... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-05 04:49:45 UTC ]
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The Bookseller will begin this week to republish its May and June previews showcasing titles that have been rescheduled, as a result of the lockdown, as well as those that are still being published during those months. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-04 16:17:03 UTC ]
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In the best of times, businesses know to diversify their revenue. But during the pandemic, survival has sometimes meant getting into a whole new business. Co-host David Griner talks with new community editor Ko Im about how a bookstore ramped up site visits by turning itself into a travel site.... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2020-05-04 15:04:07 UTC ]
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The Bookseller and writer development charity Spread the Word have launched a survey of small independent presses to assess the financial pressures they are under as a result of the coronavirus lockdown. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-04 09:12:42 UTC ]
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Welcome to First Things First, Adweek's daily resource for marketers. We'll be publishing the content to First Things First on Adweek.com each morning (like this post), but if you prefer that it come straight to your inbox, you can sign up for the email here. A Bookstore Shocked Fans and Boosted... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2020-05-01 10:45:39 UTC ]
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Publishing industry sales rose 3.5% in the first two months of 2020 over the same period in 2019, according to data supplied to the AAP by 1,361 publishers for the organization’s StatShot report. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-05-01 04:00:00 UTC ]
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When beloved bookstore and cafe The Wild Detectives had to close alongside most Dallas businesses due to Covid-19 quarantine measures, it faced the daunting challenge of shifting its business to being online-only. So the shop owners turned to agency partner Dieste, which has created several... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2020-04-30 19:09:51 UTC ]
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Could the coronavirus crisis and the UK lockdown be offering the publishing industry a glimpse into a world without bookshops? Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-30 02:18:22 UTC ]
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Penguin Random House owner Bertelsmann has reported a first quarter revenue decline of 2.7% in what it said was a “satisfactory” performance given the challenge of Covid-19. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-29 16:46:13 UTC ]
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