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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Costa Book Awards Announced: But Who Will Win the Big One?

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Two Experiments Running: Agent-Publishing in London

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More Than a Digital Book World

With ebook and total digital sales posting steady—if generally smaller—increases in 2012, sales of print books held up fairly well across the book trade and at most major houses. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

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

Other news stories related to: "On eve of Costa awards, experts warn that top books prizes are harming fiction"

Stella Gibbons discovery takes agent by surprise

Costa Book Awards Announced: But Who Will Win the Big One?

Terry McMillan addresses affairs of the heart

Two Experiments Running: Agent-Publishing in London

Agent Nicole Aragi on the Future of Literary Fiction, Translation

More Than a Digital Book World

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