On eve of Costa awards, experts warn that top books prizes are harming fiction

The dominance of three honours in the UK can be prohibitively expensive for small publishers, and end up discouraging risk-taking on ‘difficult’ authorsCutting-edge British literary fiction risks being undermined by its growing reliance on a handful of powerful book prizes, a leading literary agent has warned. But the associated costs of entering the biggest awards mean independent publishers willing to take risks on “difficult” works without obvious marketing potential are being shut out of contention.The warnings, from Jonny Geller of Curtis Brown, come as the Costa book of the year judges prepare to announce the shortlist for the £30,000 award. He said: “Literary fiction is under threat in this country due to a combination of factors – reluctance by major houses to take risks; a bottleneck in the distribution chain [and] diverse voices being ignored by a predominantly white, middle-class industry.” Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2017-01-02 00:00:00 UTC ]

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Portugal’s Book Market: A Few Words With Patricia Seibel

While taking stock of lagging literacy rates and persistent economic challenges, literary agent Patricia Seibel still sees quality and a loyalty to literary fiction as hallmarks of Portugal's resilient market. The post Portugal’s Book Market: A Few Words With Patricia Seibel appeared first on... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-03-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Harry Potter's female readers now driving the boom in 'grip lit'

Millennial women who grew up reading JK Rowling’s wizard series are driving sales in other genres as they reach their 20s and 30s, according to recent researchThe women switched on to books by Harry Potter are shaping the literary world, according to new research, boosting the market in... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2016-03-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Lie Tree sales up over 350% since Costa win

Sales of Frances Hardinge’s YA novel The Lie Tree (Macmillan Children’s Books) have increased 353% in volume terms since winning the Costa Book of the Year, according to Nielsen BookScan data. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-02-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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VIDEO: Costa Book of the Year: Biography

The Costa Book of the Year is announced on January 26th. Nick Higham spoke to each of the shortlisted authors, including Andrea Wulf, winner of the biography prize. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2016-01-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Wise named new AAA president

Senior agent at Curtis Brown, Gordon Wise, has been elected president of the Association of Author's Agents (AAA), following the end of current president Sam Edenborough's term. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-01-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Herdman joins Hodder from Curtis Brown

Hodder & Stoughton is strengthening its fiction department by appointing Curtis Brown's Emma Herdman and promoting two people. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-12-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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PW Talks with Global Kids Connect Speaker Ginger Clark

Clark, a literary agent at Curtis Brown Ltd. and speaker at PW’s upcoming Global Kids Connect Summit, talked us about what U.S. children's titles seem to be working well abroad right now, and the biggest mistakes publishers make in their approach to their foreign rights business. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-11-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Please don't air brush African teen fiction

Ellen Banda-Aaku has long battled with her African publishers to make her teen/YA books ‘suitable’ enough to print. Now she’s started to stand her ground for the sake of her teenager readers – and risks not being published at allPlus find out about #ProjectKala, a campaign to promote reading in... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-11-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Literary agencies host online 'Discovery Day'

Curtis Brown and Conville and Walsh are to host a Twitter based event dedicated to "de-mystifying" the publishing process for prospective authors, called Discovery Day Online. Following the literary agencies’ Discovery Days in 2012 and 2013, held at Foyles Charing Cross Road, Discovery Day... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-10-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Obituary: Gerald Gross, 94

Gerald Gross, a top publishing executive at several major houses from 1946-1975, died in his home in the Baltimore area on October 14. He was 94. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-10-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishing Industry Salary Survey 2015: A Younger Workforce, Still Predominantly White

Our annual salary survey drew responses from a younger group than in years past, though the industry still is very white, with 89% of respondents reporting as caucasian. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-10-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Seattle’s Arundel Books Launches Small Press

The bookstore/art gallery is adding a trade imprint, Chatwin Books, focused on literary fiction and poetry. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-10-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Picador acquires 'deeply personal' McCrum book

Picador has acquired a "deeply personal narrative" by Observer writer and former Faber & Faber editor-in-chief, Robert McCrum. Sophie Jonathan, editor at Picador, bought UK and Commonwealth rights to Every Third Thought: Observations on the Inevitable End-Game from Jonathan Lloyd at Curtis... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-09-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Speed appointed as 'book to film' agent at Curtis Brown

Curtis Brown has appointed Luke Speed as a book to film agent in its book department. Speed previously spent 15 years at Marjacq running its book to film department. Curtis Brown joint c.e.o. Jonny Geller said: “We have long admired Luke's work as book to film agent at Marjacq and are... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Avery made editorial director at William Heinemann

Tom Avery has been promoted to editorial director of William Heinemann. Avery joined the Cornerstone imprint in 2011 as editor, and was made senior editor in 2013. Before joining William Heinemann he was at Jonathan Cape and Vintage Books. Avery publishes non-fiction and some literary... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hot Key buys Manning YA romance

Hot Key Books has acquired a YA rom-com, set in London, by author and journalist Sarra Manning. London Belongs to Us follows Sunny and her friends as they cross London one night, chasing an errant boyfriend from Cyrstal Palace to Alexandra Palace. The story is a “love letter to being young,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Barr amnesia book to PRH in “six-figure” deal

Penguin Random House UK Children's has acquired a teen book by Emily Barr in a six-figure deal. Editorial director Ruth Knowles bought world rights to The One Memory of Flora Banks, along with a second stand-alone novel, from Lauren Pearson at Curtis Brown. The book is about Flora, a teenage... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Unpaid internships 'should be banned to build diversity in publishing'

Novelist Kerry Hudson is setting out ‘a provocation’ calling for wholesale change to encourage and reflect broader spectrum of voicesThe award-winning novelist Kerry Hudson is set to make a bold call for change in UK publishing, which she believes is failing “to reflect the extraordinary... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-07-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Pear Cafe cookbook to HarperThorsons

HarperThorsons has bought a debut recipe book by Pear Café owner and 5:2 follower Elly Pear [pictured]. Editorial director Carolyn Thorne acquired UK and Commonwealth rights in Fast Days and Feast Days from Sheila Crowley at Curtis Brown. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Second World War novel bought in six-figure deal

The Borough Press has bought The Chilbury Ladies' Choir in a “major” six-figure deal. Kate Elton, executive publisher of fiction and non-fiction, and Cassie Browne, commissioning editor at The Borough Press, have bought UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada, at auction, to The Chilbury... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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