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 ]
Starting this week, Washington D.C.’s Kramerbooks & Afterwords Cafe is using Postmates, an app largely used for food delivery, to get books in the hands of readers in the D.C. area. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-04-01 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Sixteen-year-old Porter Square Books is the first New England bookstore in more than a decade to receive this honor and the second bookstore in Cambridge, Mass. Texan Bob Barnett, a sales representative for 25 years, was named Rep of the Year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-04-01 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Bookshop.org has reached a new milestone in generating revenue for independent bookstores. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-03-31 20:01:01 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Simon & Schuster has launched a company-wide effort to support the newly established independent bookseller–focused online bookstore Bookshop.org and its affiliate network of independent booksellers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-03-31 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
For publishing companies to survive a global crisis like the one we're in, Rich Antoniello's formula is 'brand, plus brains, plus balance sheet." He would know, having stewarded Complex through the 2008 financial crisis as CEO, the role he still holds now. But compared to that, the downturn... Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2020-03-31 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Indigo Books and Music, Canada's dominant bookstore chain, closed all of its 199 retail locations on March 18. On Friday, March 27, the company laid off 5,200 of 7,000 total employees. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-03-31 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Indie booksellers in New England and in California will be getting additional assistance from their regional bookstore associations, including management counselling, tech support, and promotional opportunities. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-03-30 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
A surge in online sales at Powell's Books in Portland, Ore., has allowed the bookseller to rehire 49 previously laid off union employees, ILWU Local 5 has confirmed. They are now working alongside more than 50 people in management to fulfill orders. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-03-30 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Portland's beloved indie bookstore Powell's Books rehired more than 100 employees after seeing a surge in online orders. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-03-29 18:12:16 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Shannon Marchese, formerly executive editor at Penguin Random House imprints Waterbrook & Multnomah and Convergent, has been hired as v-p, publisher of Tommy Nelson, Thomas Nelson’s children’s imprint. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-03-27 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Regional independent booksellers associations are working to support their members with information, digital resources, virtual events, promotions, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-03-27 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Penguin Random House UK c.e.o. Tom Weldon says the company is actively seeking ways of helping struggling booksellers during the coronavirus lockdown. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-26 21:42:26 UTC ]
More news stories like this
There’s been a rapid rise in submissions from would-be authors since the coronavirus outbreak. If you’re dusting off your manuscript, here are some things to keep in mindIf you’re one of those people who always said they would write a novel if only they had the time: this is your moment. As more... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-03-26 16:00:31 UTC ]
More news stories like this
A lot has happened since I wrote to you last week about the rapid spread of COVID-19, its impact on all of us in publishing and our continued commitment to serve you. As I stated then, Folio: will keep our promise to seek out positive stories on how our community can get through this... Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2020-03-26 13:00:37 UTC ]
More news stories like this
A crowdfunder set up by the trade to raise money for booksellers affected by the Covid-19 pandemic has increased its target to £100,000 after Penguin Random House and the Booksellers Association pledged support. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-25 19:31:47 UTC ]
More news stories like this
On this episode of Sheltering, Maris Kreizman talks to Kate Elizabeth Russell about her recent novel, My Dark Vanessa. Kate shares the things that are helping to get through this time of isolation: Fiona Apple, the game Animal Crossing, and eating “like she’s at a sleepover.” Kate’s local... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-03-25 19:00:22 UTC ]
More news stories like this
We’ve already brought your attention to the ways you can help bookstores (and bookstore workers) during the coronavirus pandemic, and here’s another one: a collective of recently laid-off booksellers has started an online storefront at Bookshop.org (in case you missed it, Bookshop is the new... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-03-25 15:14:23 UTC ]
More news stories like this
More than a dozen out-of-work booksellers in New York City have launched The Bookstore at the End of the World on Bookshop.org, to "make money doing what they do best." Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-03-25 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Chicago authors are spotlighting the unique plight of two local indies that both closed to walk-in traffic on March 16: one bookstore that was only officially open for one day, and another that had changed ownership two weeks earlier. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-03-25 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The Publishers Association has unveiled a brand and website redesign, including a new logo, icon and colour scheme that have been chosen "to reflect the creativity and dynamism of the publishing industry". Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-25 01:18:09 UTC ]
More news stories like this