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 ]
News tagged with: #curtis brown #costa book #literary fiction #major houses #diverse voices #predominantly white

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Trollope new chair of Orange Prize

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Mon, 01/08/2011 - 08:45 The Orange Prize for Fiction has appointed author Joanna Trollope as its chair of judges for 2012, only the second time a novelist has chaired the prize. Kate Mosse, author and co-founder and honorary director of the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #orange prize #full panel #kate mosse #inaugural year #female writer


Pan Mac buys third book from Orion's Wright

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Mon, 01/08/2011 - 14:32 Pan Macmillan has bought the third novel by Orion senior rights manager Pippa Wright, entitled The Foster Husband. Senior commissioning editor for fiction Jenny Geras acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Andrew Kidd... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #andrew kidd


Rupert Murdoch's Disaster Is Already an E-Book

Vanity Fair gets a compilation into the Kindle and Nook stores: Twenty previously published stories for $4, heavy on the Michael Wolff. Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2011-07-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #rupert murdoch #vanity fair #nook stores #michael wolff


Book clubs in America: Why do we love them so much?

A casual observer of the book-club scene could be fooled into thinking that this summer was a hard one for the nation's leisure readers. Late in spring, Oprah's club shuttered, stranding publishers in what promises to be a long shoal of short print runs and offering the rest of us one literary... Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2011-07-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #buyout offer #reading groups #good chance


World Book Night confirms US launch

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Thu, 28/07/2011 - 15:19 World Book Night will launch in the US in 2012, with the States confirmed as the event's first international partner. HarperCollins vice president of independent retailing Carl Lennertz has been appointed as chief... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #international partner #1st september #million books


HarperPress to focus on non-fiction

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Thu, 28/07/2011 - 14:22 HarperPress will no longer publish fiction by the end of June 2012 with the publisher choosing to concentrate on non-fiction in the wake of Clare Smith's upcoming departure to Little, Brown. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #clare smith


Irish authorities clear Amazon Book Depository acquistion

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Wed, 27/07/2011 - 08:17 The Irish Competition Authority has cleared the acquisition of The Book Depository by Amazon after a three week investigation into the deal. In a short statement, the authority said: "[We have] formed the view that the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book depository #short statement #substantial lessening #25th september #relevant parties #confidential information #published version


Irish authorities clear Amazon Book Depository acquisition

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Wed, 27/07/2011 - 07:40 The Irish Competition Authority has cleared the acquisition of The Book Depository by Amazon after a three-week investigation into the deal. In a short statement, the authority said: "[We have] formed the view that the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book depository #short statement #substantial lessening #25th september #relevant parties #confidential information #published version


Latest Digital IQ Index Says Top-Ranked TIME is “Genius”

TIME is ranked number one in the latest Digital IQ Index from "digital innovation think tank" L2 that measures the digital aptitude and ad revenue-per-page of 87 magazine brands.The rankings were developed by NYU Stern professor Scott Galloway. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-07-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #digital innovation


Telegraph ordered to pay damages over book review

Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Tue, 26/07/2011 - 17:11 Telegraph Media Group has been ordered to pay £65,000 in damages after losing a high court case for libel and malicious falsehood over a Lynn Barber book review published in the Telegraph. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #pay damages #book review


Mail boosts Dukan as French reclaims top spot

Written By: Philip Stone Publication Date: Tue, 26/07/2011 - 15:10 A resurgent Dawn French narrowly beat Sophie Kinsella to the summit of The Official UK Top 50 this week. The former’s A Tiny Bit Marvellous (Penguin) sold 29,725 copies at UK booksellers last week, just 356 more than Kinsella's... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #pole position #uk booksellers #kathy reichs


Google Books Bows to New Apple App Store Rules

The Google Books iOS app is now in line with Apple's newly enforced rules that ban links bypassing Apple's own in-app purchase mechanism, which means Apple can retain its 30 percent cut. Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2011-07-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Foyles continues kids book giveaway

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Mon, 25/07/2011 - 08:46 Foyles continues its free book giveaway today (25th July), offering five titles free to children and teen readers. The five Foyles London stores have been giving away the titles free over this weekend and today, the first... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #teen readers


Books-A-Million in last-minute Borders bid

Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Fri, 22/07/2011 - 09:32 Books-A-Million has bid for up to 35 US Borders stores in a last-minute offer to try and save part of the 40-year-old bookselling chain. The chain, which also runs stores under the names Books & Co., Bookland and Joe... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bookselling chain #borders stores #bloomberg reports


John Blake signs Murdoch book

Written By: Neill Denny Publication Date: Thu, 21/07/2011 - 08:45 John Blake has signed a book by a journalist-turned-lawyer on the Rupert Murdoch story, for publication next February. Called The Rise and Fall of the Murdoch Empire the book will be written by John Lisners, who worked for... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #decade ago


Three Golden Rules for book reviewing: What are they?

Possibly the most famous book review, ever, was written by the young Irish wit and polemicist John Wilson Croker. Croker is still remembered, though obscurely, as a founder of modern political conservatism. What's more, according to some sources, John Wilson Croker invented the very term... Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2011-07-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book reviewing


Murdoch Books signs Olivia Newton-John cookbook

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Thu, 21/07/2011 - 09:00 Murdoch Books has bought a healthy living cookbook from "Grease" star Olivia Newton-John. Managing director Christine Jones bought US, UK, Australian and New Zealand rights from Louise Georgeson. LivWise will be published in... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #zealand rights #absolutely delighted


Borders is Toast, But Don't Blame E-Books

A physical bookstore closes, but it's not the fault of ebooks. Presented By: Get Ready for Tomorrow Today with Cisco The way the world consumes and shares data will dramatically change in the next five years. Is your network ready to handle the load? Friend and follow Cisco across the web as... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2011-07-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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E-Book Revolution Upends a Course

TRANSFORMEDFor some new releases, digital sales outpace print sales. The Columbia Publishing Course teaches the old and the new of the business. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2011-07-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Oxford poetry professor up for Forward prize

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Thu, 14/07/2011 - 09:00 Oxford Professor of Poetry Geoffrey Hill will compete against former winners David Harsent and Sean O’Brien to win The Forward poetry prize for Best Collection on its 20th anniversary. Hill took the coveted Oxford poetry role... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #forward prize #20th anniversary #ruth padel