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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Top Five Mags First Half: Sneakers, Yachts and Hiking Boots

Some new magazine faces have shown up in min's top 5 ad-page charts (see below) for June and for the first half (January-June 2011 vs. 2010). They are sun-bleached, health-minded, sports and outdoor enthusiast in Competitor Group's Competitor, Source Interlink's Power & Motoryacht, Mariah... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-05-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #competitor group #hiking boots #magazine faces #source interlink


Second week at the top for Madeleine memoir

Written By: Philip Stone Publication Date: Tue, 24/05/2011 - 15:55 Kate McCann's Madeleine (Bantam Press) was comfortably the bestselling book at UK booksellers for the second week running, selling 63,909 copies in its first full week on sale. It brings total sales of the hardback edition of... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bestselling book #week running #full week #uk booksellers #hardback edition #non-fiction titles #records began #delia smith #david beckham #tony blair


Aurum reaches final frontier with Star Trek book

Written By: Katie Allen Publication Date: Tue, 24/05/2011 - 15:17 Aurum Press has bought a book delving into archive material from science fiction television show Star Trek. Commissioning editor Sam Harrison acquired UK and Commonweath rights to Star Trek Vault: 40 years from the Archives from... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Google Touts Growth of E-book Service and Store

Google's eBooks electronic bookstore now contains about 3 million free titles, up from 2 million when it was launched in December. Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2011-05-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #e-book service


S&S defends Will & Kate "gypsy" wedding book

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Mon, 23/05/2011 - 15:41 Simon & Schuster has defended its publication of Will & Kate’s Big Fat Gypsy Wedding as “fun” and “gently humorous” after Tesco withdrew the book from sale, following complaints. The supermarket pulled the title after... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Forna wins Commonwealth Writers Prize

Publication Date: Mon, 23/05/2011 - 12:15 Aminatta Forna has won the Commonwealth Writers' Prize 2011 Best Book for her novel The Memory of Love (Bloomsbury). The judges described the novel as "a bold, deeply moving and accomplished novel which confirms her place among the most talented writers... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #commonwealth writers #love bloomsbury #deeply moving


Bringing E-books to Stores

Booksellers attending the Canadian Booksellers Association's National Conference in Toronto, May 13–15, were introduced to innovations from two Canadian companies designed to help bricks-and-mortar stores sell ebooks. Transcontinental Printing demonstrated its ebook distribution system, which... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-05-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #booksellers attending #national conference #sell ebooks #web sites


QOTD: About Those Amazon E-Book Sales…

“As a former Amazon Associate, I can tell you that a great many sales of Kindle Books are for the 99¢ complete Dickens, etc.” –Movie critic and Web publisher Roger Ebert, providing some context for Amazon’s stat about Kindle ebooks outselling print books. Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2011-05-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #kindle books


E-Book Sales Pass Print on Amazon

While the Rapture isn’t scheduled to occur until Saturday, according to members of certain religious fringe groups, it looks like doomsday has come early for publishers of print books. Amazon announced Thursday that sales of ebooks on the site have finally surpassed combined sales of hardcovers... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2011-05-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #mike shatzkin #mortar stores #forrester research #e-book reading #big deal #forrester analyst


Random House dominates Fiction Uncovered list

Written By: Katie Allen Publication Date: Thu, 19/05/2011 - 12:59 Three Random House Group titles have been picked for the first Fiction Uncovered promotion, which also includes two from indie Portobello. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sphere acquires Seal Team Six book

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Thu, 19/05/2011 - 09:02 Sphere is capitalising on the interest surrounding the US Navy Seals following the assassination of Osama bin Laden and has acquired Seal Team Six by Howard E Wasdin and Stephen Templin. Sphere non-fiction publishing... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #navy seals #claire roberts #trident media #scott miller #23rd june


E-book price-fixing law passed in France

Written By: Barbara Casassus Publication Date: Wed, 18/05/2011 - 14:45 The French National Assembly yesterday (17th May) voted into law a bill allowing publishers to fix prices of all ebooks sold in France. The text says that retailers inside or outside France must respect the fixed prices.... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #fix prices #ebooks sold #retailers inside #fixed prices #european commission #european court


Myers wants joined-up thinking over book events

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Wed, 18/05/2011 - 09:33 Dominic Myers has called on the book industry to collaborate in creating more nation-wide events like World Book Night in order to enhance the dialogue around books. The Waterstone's m.d told the Book Industry Conference forum... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book industry #book events #book sales


Number of US physical books printed increases despite digital

Written By: Philip Jones Publication Date: Wed, 18/05/2011 - 15:57 Traditional US print book output in 2010 increased 5% in 2010, despite the huge growth in ebooks, though there was a continuing fall in the number of fiction titles published. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #huge growth


WBN giveaway to be cut to 500,000 books

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Tue, 17/05/2011 - 15:59 World Book Night in 2012 will see 500,000 rather than 1m books given away, WBN founder Jamie Byng told Book Industry Conference (BIC) delegates this morning, as he also discussed incorporating digital and audio elements... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Madeleine surges to top spot

Written By: Philip Stone Publication Date: Tue, 17/05/2011 - 16:04 Kate McCann's Madeleine (Bantam Press), the story of the abduction and continued search for her daughter, has become one of the fastest-selling non-fiction books since records began. Helped by better-than-half price deals at W... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #records began #hardback edition


Quercus publisher of the year at The Bookseller Industry Awards

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Tue, 17/05/2011 - 09:00 Quercus has been crowned 2011's best publisher at The Bookseller Industry Awards, as Sainsbury's scooped the Bookseller of the Year award. Quercus was presented with the Bonnier Publisher of the Year Award at the black-tie... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bonnier publisher


Blackwell and Faber double winners at The Bookseller Industry Awards

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Mon, 16/05/2011 - 22:30 Quercus has been crowned 2011's best publisher at The Bookseller Industry Awards, as Sainsbury's scooped the Bookseller of the Year award. Quercus was presented with the Bonnier Publisher of the Year Award at the black-tie... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bonnier publisher


Sticking with Books

As publishers worry about the shrinking number of physical bookstores, Levy Home Entertainment is making the case that mass merchants will be a viable alternative not only to showcase books but to sell them as well. In a presentation at the Book Industry Study Group's May 5 "Making Information... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-05-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #publishers worry #showcase books #shrinking number #physical bookstores #mass merchants #viable alternative #units sold #online bookstores


Getting the Word Out: Audio Book Marketing 2011

The Audio Publishers Association is set to kick off its 14th annual June Is Audiobook Month campaign, designed to celebrate the industry and bring greater awareness of audiobooks. As formats and consumer habits have changed over the past 10 years—sometimes dramatically—audio publishers have kept... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-05-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #consumer habits