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 ]
A buyer circles back to talk sell-through on bookseller favorites. Plus, a holiday preview! Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-10-18 12:00:02 UTC ]
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A novel featuring a 110-year-old character has won the £20,000 Daily Mail and Penguin Random House First Novel Competition, now in its fourth year. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-18 05:17:36 UTC ]
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Twin Cities area bookstores Excelsior Bay Books and Valley Bookseller have entered a unique collaborative relationship that is attracting A-list authors to their premises and bumping up both stores’ sales. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-10-18 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The following excerpt is from David Heatley’s graphic memoir, Qualification. * __________________________________ Excerpted from Qualification by David Heatley. Copyright © 2019 David Heatley. Excerpted by permission of Pantheon, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved. No... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2019-10-16 08:47:15 UTC ]
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Pan Macmillan’s international sales star—and the Shooting Star among this year’s The Bookseller Rising Stars tranche—on her love for the Messe, learning from Ms Martini, and not drinking too many martinis... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-15 16:21:40 UTC ]
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YouTuber and bestselling novelist Zoe Sugg and Young Adult author and editor Amy McCulloch are collaborating on a new YA fiction project for Penguin Random House Children’s. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-15 11:00:45 UTC ]
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The value of good signage in a bookstore is never overstated – especially as it’s rarely seen by customers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-10-14 12:00:55 UTC ]
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It’s clear that the publishing world needs more diversity. Why do some see this as compromising quality?Let me tell you a story. A few years ago, months after this riven old island voted to leave the European Union, and days after an ex-reality TV host became the leader of the free world, a... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2019-10-11 15:37:44 UTC ]
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A bookseller shares some personal favorite scary stories, just in time for Halloween. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-10-11 12:00:56 UTC ]
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As an abashed former News Corp employee (thankfully at HarperCollins, one of the Murdoch portfolio’s least-offensive holdings), HBO’s "Succession" is my straight shot of Sunday-night dopamine. The show’s great even if you aren’t attuned to the devastating, thinly veiled media and publishing... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2019-10-11 11:22:17 UTC ]
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As an abashed former News Corp employee (thankfully at HarperCollins, one of the Murdoch portfolio’s least-offensive holdings), HBO’s "Succession" is my straight shot of Sunday-night dopamine. The show’s great even if you aren’t attuned to the devastating, thinly veiled media and publishing... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2019-10-11 11:22:17 UTC ]
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The president and CEO of Vroman's Bookstore will succeed Oren Teicher as CEO of the American Booksellers Association on March 1 of next year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-10-11 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Citing mounting vendor debt and declining revenue, Tiger Oak Media—the publisher of more than 30 regional and bridal magazines around the country—has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, according to documents filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Minnesota on Monday. The 26-year-old... Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2019-10-10 14:55:27 UTC ]
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Here are the 25 finalists up for the National Book Awards in of Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Translated Literature, and Young People’s Literature: Finalists for Fiction: Susan Choi, Trust Exercise Henry Holt and Company / Macmillan Publishers Kali Fajardo-Anstine, Sabrina & Corina: Stories... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2019-10-08 14:40:58 UTC ]
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HarperCollins UK has unveiled new initiatives as part of its ongoing support for The Literacy Project and has joined Penguin Random House UK in a ranking of employers in 2019 who have taken the most action on social mobility in the workplace. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-08 08:59:21 UTC ]
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Growing up, Jeff Kinney discovered Tolkien, comics and computers at his local bookshop. When it closed he was bereft – would opening his own as an adult help to right that wrong?Author Jacqueline Woodson recently spoke about books being either mirrors or windows. Mirrors for seeing ourselves,... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2019-10-05 09:00:40 UTC ]
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The British Book Awards and The Bookseller’s working class survey have been shortlisted for prizes at this year’s Professional Publishers Association (PPA) Independent Publisher Awards. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-02 16:52:21 UTC ]
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Literary agents are gatekeepers of the publishing industry. Find literary agents open to submissions from under represented and unique voices in this post. List will be updated regularly. The post Literary Agents Seeking Under Represented and Unique Voices by Robert Lee Brewer appeared first on... Continue reading at Writer's Digest
[ Writer's Digest | 2019-10-02 14:41:00 UTC ]
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Boris Pasternak’s great-niece Anna claims Lara Prescott’s The Secrets We Kept copied her biography of Pasternak’s loverPublisher Penguin Random House has dismissed claims that Lara Prescott, a debut novelist who received a $2m (£1.6m) advance for her novel about the publication of Boris... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2019-10-01 15:39:25 UTC ]
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Penguin Random House says claims by Boris Pasternak’s great niece that parts of Lara Prescott’s debut novel plagiarise her work are “unfounded” and will be “robustly defended”. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-01 13:11:52 UTC ]
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