Drawing on her panoramic reading and her experiences of the authorly life cycle, Atwood surveys her trade with a mix of seriousness and gentle fun“You may find the subject a little peculiar,” warns Margaret Atwood, before she discusses the writer’s relationship with mortality. “It is a little peculiar. Writing itself is a little peculiar.” Atwood’s survey of her profession makes this seem like an understatement: after all, she argues, writers have been placed in close company with the devil and the dead; they have secret identities and hidden doubles; they are death-defying magicians, self-erasing nobodies, even – if you want to get “murky and pretentious” – shamanistic travellers. This book prefers to stay on the side of clarity and self-deprecation, combining evidence drawn from her panoramic reading – one chapter deals with The Tempest, The Wizard of Oz and Klaus Mann’s Mephisto – with her own experiences of the life cycle of an author. She tempers the seriousness of her questions – What is a writer? For whom do writers write? – by poking gentle fun at her trade, describing the machine-like publishing industry as “cog eat cog”, and quietly mocking endless discussion panels. Yet Atwood sees her kind reflected everywhere – from Gilgamesh to The Beast With Five Fingers – and works hard on their behalf: advocate, analyst and always, writer.•To order On Writers and Writing for £7.99 (RRP £9.99) go to bookshop.theguardian.com or call 0330 333 6846. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2015-01-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
Iceland’s giant-killing football success in France has produced a surge of interest in the country’s literary outputIceland’s heroic performance in the Euro 2016 football tournament has had a surprising side-effect – a boost for the tiny Nordic country’s publishing industry. The head of the... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2016-07-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Literary and talent agent Diane Banks contemplates the next steps for the publishing industry following the UK's vote to leave the European Union. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-07-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Former Penguin Random House publicity director Natalie Higgins-Galsworthy has joined creative communications agency Premier to enhance its offering to the publishing industry. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-06-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Our publishing industry is complex and vibrant,' says publisher Karina Bolasco, who speaks on October 18 as The Philippines' analyst in Frankfurt Book Fair's The Markets: Global Publishing Summit. The post ‘Draw That Roadmap to the World’: The Philippines’ Karina Bolasco appeared first on... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-06-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Philip Jones reacts to the result of the EU referendum and considers its impact on the publishing industry. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-06-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[Sponsored] Four steps toward harnessing the power of audience data for success. The post Publishing 3.0: The Atomization of the Publishing Industry appeared first on Folio:. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2016-06-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Australian Booksellers Association has joined with other members of the country's publishing industry to protest a government proposal to allow booksellers to import U.S. and U.K. books without restrictions. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-06-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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How might Web technology change the publishing industry? Ask the inventor of the World Wide Web. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Opportunities and challenges in Poland's publishing market are under discussion this week at BookExpo America, in the wake of a decision against fixed pricing there. The post At BEA: Poland’s Publishing Industry Is the Market Focus in Chicago appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-05-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In a major development in the publishing industry's wholesaling segment, Follett Corp. has acquired Baker & Taylor for an undisclosed price. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-04-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The decision ends one of the publishing industry's defining legal dramas of the digital age. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-04-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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What is going on with ebooks? The decline in trade ebook sales in the U.S. is certainly one of the big questions hanging over the publishing industry as publishers gather for the 2016 London Book Fair. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-04-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bethany Buck, a veteran of the children's publishing industry, will join Skyhorse Publishing as editorial director of its children’s imprint on March 21. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-03-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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At its March 4 conference, the Supreme Court declined to take up Apple’s appeal in its ebook price-fixing case, effectively ending one of the publishing industry's most closely-watched cases. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-03-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The publishing industry's trade association had a busy year protecting copyright in a changing market. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-02-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Opinions were mixed about what Amazon's rumored plans to open more physical bookstores could mean for the publishing industry. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-02-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A heated debate about the role of libraries in supporting the publishing industry has broken out at the Inpress Publishing Festival, with one publisher alleging libraries had "completely betrayed" the sector. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Survey of workforce at 34 book publishers and eight review journals in US reveals 79% of staff are white and 78% female – with UK numbers still unmonitoredMan Booker winner Marlon James: ‘Writers of colour pander to the white woman’A survey of American publishing has found that it is blindingly... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2016-01-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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What is going on with ebooks? As 2016 dawns, what’s driving a decline in trade ebook sales is one of the big questions hanging over the publishing industry. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-01-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Bookseller's conference FutureBook 2015 was a timely reminder for the publishing industry that its digital transformation has barely begun, that it has a whole universe of possibilities to explore, and that its careful progression may yet turn into an unsightly stumble. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-12-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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