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 ]
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Back in the 1980s—before bookstores began weighing the addition of cafes, possibly with wine and beer licenses—stores like Louie’s Bookstore Café in Baltimore and Trident Booksellers & Café in Boston aimed specifically to integrate food for the mind and the body. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-03-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Tom McCarthy and James Salter are among the winners of the inaugural Donald Windham-Sandy M. Campbell Literature Prizes. Tom McCarthy and James Salter are among the winners of the inaugural Donald Windham-Sandy M. Campbell Literature Prizes, announced Monday at Yale University's Beinecke Rare... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-03-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Not only is the venue surviving in downtown L.A., it has expanded. Neighboring artists help transform an upstairs space into the Labyrinth.The staircase is narrow and creaky, with a bookshelf made from a 100-year-old harp case teetering on the precipice of collapse at the top of the landing.... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-03-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Booksellers Association in the UK latest membership figures for the year 2012 revealed 79 stores closed, 39 opened and total membership was 3,580. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-02-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The stores charge that secret agreements made between the publishers and Amazon give Amazon the advantage in selling ebooks, but some industry observers find flaws in their logic. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-02-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Preliminary estimates from the Census Bureau show that US bookstores as a whole experienced a 0.5 percent decrease in sales for the year of 2012. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-02-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In what's become a trend, Korean publishers are opening popular bookstore cafes. Should more Western publishers follow suit or is bookselling no longer part of their DNA? Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-02-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A new £10,000 literary prize rewarding original fiction has been launched by Goldsmiths,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-01-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sales at independent bookstores rose almost 8 percent during the year, according to data from about 500 stores. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-01-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Barnes & Noble reported disappointing holiday sales numbers while, in contrast, some independent bookstores said they had their best month ever. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-01-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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News out of Japan suggests Apple will launch Japanese-language ebooks in January, with a selection of 80,000 titles from publishers including Kadokawa, Shogakukan, and Kodansha. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-01-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hachette UK saw 250,000 ebook sales between Christmas Day and Boxing Day, The Bookseller can... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-12-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon closed a deal in Brazil with Bookstore chain Livraria da Vila to sell Kindles through the remainder of 2012 until January 2013. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2012-12-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Canadians have had to be content with a form of Kindle Store limbo until now. They could buy Kindle ebooks, but they've had to rely on a US-centric portal that scarcely acknowledges their literary tradition. As of this weekend, they don't have to cross the virtual border: Amazon Canada now has... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2012-12-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Employees at book publisher Random House are getting a little something extra in their fishnet Christmas stockings this year, a $5,000 bonus. The bonus, which will be the same for top editors as their secretaries, follows a particularly good year for the publishing house in... Continue reading at ABC News
[ ABC News | 2012-12-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Random House US employees will all be receiving a $5,000 bonus this year due to the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-12-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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British bookshop Foyles and The Bookseller have partnered to help crowdsource ideas for making Foyles's new flagship store fit for the 21st Century. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2012-12-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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More than 1,000 library staff will lose their jobs in the next 12 months, according to a new... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-12-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Even though Thanksgiving came early this year, big box retailers, national chains, and online sellers began the Christmas season even earlier. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-12-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Founded by a writer and mother, Take Your Child to a Bookstore Day is set for Dec. 1 this year. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-11-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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