Francophone African books are still very often published by French imprints, which can make them hard to get at home. But there is a growing push for changeWhen Cameroonian author Daniel Alain Nsegbe first saw his debut novel for sale in his home city of Douala, the price was so high “you would have to ask someone to stop eating for two days in order to buy the book”. It was around 16,000 CFA francs (£20); the average monthly salary in Douala is £150. The book, Ceux qui sortent dans la nuit (Those Who Go Out at Night) was published by Grasset, a French imprint.This is not uncommon: Francophone African authors, whether classic or contemporary, are often published by French, not African presses. This arrangement began in colonial times, but continues because of a number of factors that are particular to France. Publishers frequently push for world rights for all books written in French. Many African writers operate without agents, who would usually divide up rights territories on their behalf. Agents are still a new feature on the African literary landscape, meaning that many classics, such as 1953’s L’enfant noir (The African Child) by Guinean author Camara Laye, and Algerian writer Kateb Yacine’s 1956 novel Nedjma, are owned by publishers in France (Plon and Éditions du Seuil respectively). As French publishers continue to control distribution and pricing, classic authors go missing from bookshelves while contemporary authors struggle to get their books in the hands of... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2020-05-14 09:59:14 UTC ]
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Five bestselling authors have banded together to launch their own literary conference, StoryCon, with the first iteration set to take place in New Orleans next fall. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-10-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The ability of YouTube personalities to capture readers is writ large if you look at this week’s bestseller list. Three books by YouTube dynamos landed in the top 20 on Publishers Weekly's current overall bestseller list, powered by Nielsen BookScan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-10-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Bank Street Book Fair, held at Bank Street College in upper Manhattan on October 24, offered a full day of incisive, humorous, and sometimes revelatory discussions. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-10-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The U.S. Publishing Mission to Cuba is sold out. However, industry members interested in the trip can be added to the waiting list by contacting PW publisher Cevin Bryerman at [email protected]. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-10-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sphere is set to publish a debut novel co-authored by actor and filmmaker Gary Oldman and film producer Douglas Urbanski (pictured). Blood Riders tells the story of “vampire cowboys” and involves a mysterious man fleeing a curse in a town that the gold rush left behind. The collaboration... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-10-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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CLA, the company that helps simplify copyright for content users, has appointed Philip Graf CBE to its board as senior independent director. Graf is chairman for the Gambling Commission and chair of CfBT Education Trust, a leading education consultancy and service organisation. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-10-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Actress Leah Remini's take on why she left Scientology, and Sister Joan Chittister's discussion of her life's work of speaking up for women are among the religion news items being talked about today. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-10-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Tis but a scratch, of course. Still, writes Bibliolcloud and Snowbooks' Emma Barnes, certain problems in publishing begin to appear Grail-shaped to us. She's talking about such issues as accurate sales forecasting, reconciling statutory and management accounts, and knowing how profitable... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-10-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[Sponsored Content] For millennia, recognizable brands have identified creative ownership, and ultimately the reputation of that owner. Producers of goods and services have elevated that concept to a sophisticated science, leveraging loyalty to a brand reputation in order to succeed. The post... Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2015-10-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The bit in her book that readers are reacting to the most, says Louise O'Neill, is not the gang rape. Continue reading at Stuff
[ Stuff | 2015-10-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In the future, we may remember 2015 as the year when content fragmentation hit the mainstream. Facebook Instant Articles (or Facebook IA in the interest of brevity), Snapchat Discover, Apple News, Twitter Moments, and ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2015-10-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The French cartoonist Riad Sattouf spent the earliest years of his life in three dictatorships. One dictator was Col. Moammar Kadafi, the "supreme leader" of Libya, where Sattouf and his parents moved when he was 2. Another was President Hafez Assad of Syria, where they relocated when he was 4.... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2015-10-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Vera B. Williams' family saved pennies and nickels to get by during the Depression. So her mother's purchase of a "real chair" — neither stick-hard nor someone's castoff but brand new and cushiony — was an extravagance. "I don't intend to work all my life and have nowhere to sit down," the woman... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2015-10-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The children’s book world should not be scared of self- publishing, according to Carl-Johan Forssén Ehrlin, the Swedish author behind the bestselling picture book The Rabbit Who Wants to Fall Asleep, which shot to number one in the Amazon.co.uk book chart before the author signed any deals with... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-10-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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At this month’s Digiday Publishing Summit in Barcelona, Digiday and ConvertMedia gathered some of the brightest minds in publishing, put them behind closed doors, and let them have an honest and open conversation about what they’re dealing with these days. Spoiler alert: mobile, ad blocking, and... Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2015-10-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This week, we asked our readers what the publishing industry could do to encourage diversity within its ranks. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-10-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A host of organizations are working to make publishing more effective worldwide. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-10-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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At the opening press conference at this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair (which ended October 18), Heinrich Riethmüller, the chairman of the German Publishers and Booksellers Association, told reporters about the German book industry’s battle to prevent Amazon from “monopolizing” the book business. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-10-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Google has launched its €150m (£109m) fund for European publishers to tap to develop new digital news projects, with large-scale grants needing approval from a council includingTelegraph chief Murdoch MacLennan. Google ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2015-10-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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With an iOS update expanding ad-blocking's reach, experts say smaller publishers and bloggers have fewer means of survival.As the debate over online ad blocking heats up with the arrival of iOS 9, experts say the biggest casualties of the online ad war may be small publishers and bloggers with... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2015-10-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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