Nabokov on one page, nudes on the next: a Playboy literary editor reveals all

In the wake of Hugh Hefner’s death, the magazine’s former fiction editor shares how she got everyone from Donna Tartt to Margaret Atwood to write for herI am not the only woman who worked at Playboy and kept her clothes on. When I was hired as literary editor in 2005, Hugh Hefner’s basic recipe for the monthly had not changed much since the 1950s: insistent juxtapositions of high and low culture, the ingredients, as he wrote in his 1953 inaugural editorial, for “a quiet discussion on Picasso, Nietzsche, jazz, sex” at a cocktail party.Its DNA was spliced from Esquire’s, where Hefner worked as a young man; but the nudity gave it a daring few magazines had. By the time I arrived it was at once chaste, compared with what was on offer online, and sterile, given to an overabundance of models with big breast implants and big hair. The daring had to be found elsewhere. My task, or so I told myself, was to locate it in the fiction and literary pieces. Related: Effusive Hugh Hefner tributes ignore Playboy founder's dark side Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2017-10-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Will a new editor find an audience for his 'religiously digital' newspaper?

In pre-Kindle days I once weighed myself down with more than dozen books after spending half a day in Powell's "city of books" in Portland, Oregon.People still enjoy cruising the miles of shelves in that wonderful monument to the era of print. By contrast, readers have been deserting the print... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Meet the Editor: Shannon Welch

While staffing Rodale’s Modern Times imprint, which launched in 2007, editorial director Leigh Haber reached out to Shannon Welch, a young writer she knew through mutual friends. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Guadalajara Book Fair to Honor Argentine Literary Greats

The Guadalajara Book Fair's guest nation, Argentina, will honor literary greats and acknowledge Mexico as a haven for exiled writers during the Dirty War. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-07-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Yellow Jersey to publish 'revealing' Van Gaal book

Yellow Jersey Press has signed a book about the new Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal by... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-07-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook reveals news feed experiment to control emotions

Protests over secret study involving 689,000 users in which friends' postings were moved to influence moodsIt already knows whether you are single or dating, the first school you went to and whether you like or loathe Justin Bieber. But now Facebook, the world's biggest social networking site,... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-06-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Self-Publishing as a Means to My Own Literary Revolution

Author Tejas Desai expresses his frustration with the classic publishing industry by way of explaining why he opted for self-publishing. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-06-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Phone hacking 'truth' revealed in Nick Davies book

Chatto & Windus is to “shortly” publish a book about Rupert Murdoch and phone... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-06-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Four Questions for...'Euphoria' Editor Elisabeth Schmitz

PW talked to the editor of Lily King's buzzed-about new novel, which bowed on June 3 and received a starred review from PW and may be adapted into a feature film. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-06-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Shortlists for the 2014 PEN USA Literary Awards

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[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-06-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Play the literary World Cup: nominate your all-time top team

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[ The Guardian | 2014-06-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Pages on Livernois to Open in Detroit This Fall

Pages on Livernois will open in Detroit this fall, thus doubling the number of general independent bookstores in the Motor City selling new books. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-06-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Jerwood Fiction Uncovered winners revealed

Eight writers have been chosen as winners of the Jerwood Fiction Uncovered Prize, with two... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-06-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Editor in Chief Craig Marks: Print 'Stands in the Way of Where Spin Needs to Be'

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[ AdWeek | 2014-06-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Literary Agent Q&A: Cecile Barendsma of Janklow & Nesbit

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[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-06-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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FutureBookHack Category Winners revealed

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[ The Bookseller | 2014-06-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Rising Stars 2014 list revealed

The main theme emerging in The Bookseller Rising Stars list—the annual run-down of the best... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-06-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Meet the Editor: Julie Strauss-Gabel

The phrase “orphaned manuscript” strikes dread in the heart of every writer: it refers to a project acquired by an editor who leaves the company before the book is published. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-06-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hachette reveals Amazon digital sales share

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[ The Bookseller | 2014-06-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Literary Agent Q&A: Lora Fountain on Graphic Novels and France

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[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-06-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Kwani at Ten: The Making of Pan-African Literary Community

In the ten years since its launch, Kwani?, East Africa’s first literary journal, has led the growth of literary life in the region — and now looks ahead. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-06-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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