In Mexico, One Bookstore per 120,000 Inhabitants, by Elena Poniatowska

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 ]
News tagged with: #public policies #administrative expenses #reduce costs #combining promotional #advertising efforts #press teams #editorial program #cervantes winners #medium term #marketing teams #exhibition spaces #economic opportunity #fernanda melchor #random house #literary translator #bookstore chain #publishing industry #book price #penguin random house #independent bookstore #publishing companies #publishing world #bookseller #publishing houses #bookstore

Other Publishing stories related to: 'In Mexico, One Bookstore per 120,000 Inhabitants, by Elena Poniatowska '


Reinventing the Community Bookstore

Is there a future for independent bookstores in general and Kepler’s Books in particular? That was the question posed by Future Search leaders Sandra Janoff and Michael Pann-witz to nearly 80 booksellers, publishers, distributors, authors, and community supporters who gathered at the Oshman... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-08-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #independent bookstores #question posed #palo alto


Sage launches e-bookstore

Academic press Sage has launched an e-bookstore, part of its online social science platform Sage... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-06-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


An indie bookstore 'saved by a tweet'

Broadway Books in Portland, Oregon, saved from shutting its doors when the owner's son tweeted a plea to help save it, is now celebrating its 20th birthday. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-05-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #indie bookstore #broadway books #20th birthday


Hachette Livre drops 2,000 ebook prices

Hachette Livre has today (4th May) reduced the retail prices of ebooks to the level of the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-05-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #hachette livre #retail prices


The American Prospect Seeks $500,000 to Avoid Closure

The American Prospect is looking to raise half a million dollars this month, and gain $700,000 worth of pledged support for the new fiscal year starting in July, in order to avoid suspending publication, cutting back frequency or complete closure. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2012-05-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #raise half #million dollars


What Should Bookstores Stock in a Digital Age?

Nothing has challenged bricks-and-mortar bookstores to reconsider their physical space and what they carry more than the recession and the rise of ebooks. Recently, two independents announced that they will reduce their space. Third Street Books in McMinnville, Ore., which expanded in 2006, is... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-04-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #physical space #street books #digital age


How to Give Away 500,000 Books

When looking at an effort with the scale of World Book Night U.S.—half a million books will be given away to strangers across all 50 states on April 23—it’s helpful to consider some numbers: 25,000 “givers” have volunteered to give away their allotment of books to people, many of whom they’ve... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-04-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #million books


€100,000 IMPAC Dublin Literary Award shortlist announced

Pulitzer Prize winner A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan (Alfred A Knopf) is among the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-04-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #goon squad


Bad new for independent bookstores: Is Google becoming "another Amazon"?

Google will end its Google eBooks reseller program which allowed independent bookstores to sell ebooks through Google's platform. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-04-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #independent bookstores #sell ebooks


Google pulls plug on partnership with independent bookstores

The nation's independent bookstores got another bit of bad news Thursday: Google Inc.is closing the books on them. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-04-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #independent bookstores


Media Decoder Blog: In a Blow to Independent Bookstores, Google to Discontinue Reseller Program

Google said the program, which allowed independent bookstores to sell ebooks through their Web sites, was not a success. Bookstores said it was a valuable platform that allowed them to give customers something they wanted. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2012-04-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #independent bookstores #sell ebooks #web sites #give customers


Amazon launches Kindle eBook store en Español, over 33,000 libros to choose from

Buenas noticias para todos los amantes de los libros que viven en Estados Unidos. Amazon acaba de anunciar una nueva tienda llamada eBooks Kindle en Español. El nuevo servicio dará acceso a más de 33,000 libros que se podrán leer en los diferentes dispositivos Kindle. Esta biblioteca virtual... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2012-04-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #originally appeared


How 200,000 Books Were Given to U.S. Troops

Moving 200,000 books isn’t an easy task, but through the goodwill and team work of several organizations, that’s exactly what happened in an unprecedented donation of James Patterson’s own books to the United States Armed Forces. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-03-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #easy task #james patterson


WHS to run events for 1,000 children

Schoolchildren will be encouraged to cash in their World Book Day vouchers by visiting W H Smith... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-03-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


With This Machine, You Can Print Your Own Books at the Local Bookstore

The Espresso Book Machine means that booksellers can publish and sell an enormous number of titles. But can they make the finances work? Continue reading at The Atlantic

[ The Atlantic | 2012-03-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #local bookstore


Cosmopolitan Hits 115,000 Paid Digital Subscribers

Cosmopolitan topped 115,000 digital subscribers last month, making it the first Hearst title to break 100,000 and perhaps marking renewed reason for hope among magazine publishers. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2012-03-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #hearst title #magazine publishers


Scholastic enters the ebook fray with Storia and 1,000 children's stories

Between Google Books, iBooks, Nook, Kindle, Kobo, Sony... you'd figure the ebook field was crowded enough, right? Well, if you're specifically in the market for children's stories, things might look a little less packed. We guess that's why Scholastic is attempting to enter the fray with Storia,... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2012-03-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #google books #interactive features #free ebooks


E-book readers are buying plenty – but not in bookstores

The new study by Book Industry Study Group says ebook consumers are buying more books – both print and electronic – but they’re buying mostly online and via in-app purchasing. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-03-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #e-book readers #in-app purchasing


Bookstore Sales Slipped in 2011

Bookstore sales fell 0.8% in 2011, the slowest rate of decline since bookstore sales peaked at $17.18 billion in 2007, according to preliminary estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. Since 2007, bookstore sales declined a total of 9.6%. The modest drop in 2011 comes with one big caveat—December... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-02-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #preliminary estimates #census bureau


Houston Chronicle’s La Voz to Increase Circulation to 150,000

Hearst owned Spanish-language weekly La Voz is going to increase its circulation from 100,000 to 150,000 in the second half of 2012. La Voz is published by The Houston Chronicle “in the first quarter we are launching Phase 1 which is a re-a ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2012-02-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #houston chronicle