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 ]
A crop of recent novels strains against the expectations of a publishing industry attempting to embrace diversity. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-10-13 09:00:06 UTC ]
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PW’s annual ranking of the world’s largest publishers in 2021 shows little change from 2020 among the top 10 Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-10-07 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The Colombian-American author's new book "Lightlark" was rejected numerous times — until she went directly to her readers for support. Continue reading at HuffPost
[ HuffPost | 2022-09-15 09:45:12 UTC ]
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As houses across the industry start recalling staff to their offices, publishing professionals are pushing back against low pay, heavy workloads, and an increasingly stifled corporate environment. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-09-02 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The mainstream publishing industry is intimidating. How does a writer break in? Follow Jessamine Chan’s “The School for Good Mothers” through the roller coaster of its creation. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-08-25 18:20:53 UTC ]
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Madeline McIntosh argued that the publishing industry extends far beyond its biggest players, and that the government has focused on a tiny sliver of deals. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-08-15 22:30:20 UTC ]
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As Salman Rushdie struggles with his injuries, the world publishing industry demands protection for the freedom to publish. The post Rushdie Attack: IPA Calls for ‘Redoubling Our Commitment’ appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-08-15 14:59:48 UTC ]
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With oral arguments set to begin on August 1, the closely watched case holds major implications for a publishing industry grappling with consolidation and for government regulators facing growing calls for more vigilant antitrust enforcement. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-07-22 04:00:00 UTC ]
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#BookTok, where enthusiastic readers share reading recommendations, has gone from being a novelty to becoming an anchor in the publishing industry and a dominant driver of fiction sales. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-07-01 13:38:09 UTC ]
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Forefront Books and the Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives are teaming up to form Frederick Douglass Books, a publishing imprint meant to “establish a pathway for Black and Brown authors” into the publishing industry, the two organizations announced in a press release last week. The imprint... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-06-16 13:04:40 UTC ]
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Panelists addressing the issue of what a healthy publishing industry looks like concluded that, while the industry is suffering some severe aches and pains, creative remedies could bolster the book business—as long as industry leaders are willing to reimagine old formulas. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-05-25 04:00:00 UTC ]
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David Unger, director of the Publishing Certificate Program at the City College of New York, highlights how Black Lives Matter woke up the publishing industry. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-04-19 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The publishing industry faces continuing supply chain issues and paper shortages, while another set of challenges has appeared in early 2022, in the form of employee resignations and work-life balance issues. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-04-08 04:00:00 UTC ]
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As the UK publishing industry prepares for its annual encounter with many colleagues from other markets, a look at UK book business diversity. The post Heading to London Book Fair: Diversity in UK Publishing appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-04-01 19:24:36 UTC ]
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Since 2011, all my book editors have been white. Why wouldn’t I want another perspective on the characters I invent?Until a few years ago, only publishing industry insiders would have understood the role of the sensitivity reader. Then came American Dirt. The Jeanine Cummins novel sold to a US... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-03-08 09:00:06 UTC ]
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Shabby Road, a Beatles tribute band formed by members of the publishing industry, are to hold a fundraising concert for the National Literary Trust this spring, following their sell-out debut gig for the charity in 2019. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2022-01-31 11:57:55 UTC ]
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The final 2021 report from the Association of American Publishers shows December up 2.8 percent over December 2020, at US$1.1 billion. The post AAP StatShot: The United States’ Publishing Industry Gained 12.2 Percent in 2021 appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-01-26 16:01:07 UTC ]
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The publishing industry is booming. According to Publishers Weekly, sales of print books rose 8.9% in 2021, selling 825.7 million units, up from 757.9 million in 2020. This is the second year in a row to see a similar sales jump; in 2020, sales were up 8.2% from 2019, in which 693.7 million... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-01-12 19:07:42 UTC ]
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IPA, CPJ, and several embassies condemn the defamation verdict against PRH Peru's Jerónimo Pimentel and author Christopher Acosta. The post PRH Peru Chief and Author in Defamation Case: Publishing Industry Support appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-01-12 15:59:10 UTC ]
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Roy Schwartz’s Is Superman Circumcised?, a look at Superman’s Jewish influences, has won U.K.-based Bookseller/Diagram Prize for Oddest Title of the Year, beating out The Life Cycle of Russian Things: From Fish Guts to Fabergé for the honor. Is Superman Circumcised? won in a landslide, taking... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-12-03 18:03:46 UTC ]
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