Philip Pullman leads writers condemning 'pernicious' book discounts

His Dark Materials novelist says today’s steep price cuts devalue authors’ work and cheapen the experience of readingWith more than two months to go before Philip Pullman’s long-awaited new novel from the world of His Dark Materials is published, pre-orders have sent La Belle Sauvage flying up bestseller lists. But with booksellers already slashing the cover price in half, the award-winning author has spoken out about how cheap books devalue the experience of reading, and called for an end to the “pernicious” doctrine of “market fundamentalism” if literary culture is to survive.Pullman is president of the Society of Authors, which is launching a campaign for publishers to stop damaging authors’ earnings by discounting bulk sales to book clubs and supermarkets, and has slammed the cut-price culture in his trade. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2017-08-04 00:00:00 UTC ]

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Business Adventures why Bill Gates's favourite book is back at the top of the bestseller lists

It is 43 years old and was out of print for ages, but the Microsoft mogul's approval has caused a brand new surge in salesName: Business AdventuresAge: 43 Continue reading... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-08-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'The Girls of Atomic City': a bestselling WWII tale

'Girls,' by Denise Kiernan, continues to hold steady on bestseller lists more than a year after its initial publication. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-06-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon war with Hachette over ebook profit margins intensifies

Dispute has also dragged in authors including JK Rowling and James PattersonIt is another mystery for inspector Rebus to solve. Why is Amazon UK selling Saints of the Shadow Bible, the latest instalment of Ian Rankin's best-selling series about the Edinburgh sleuth, for half the price being... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-05-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Graywolf Has Hit with 'Empathy Exams'

Leslie Jamison’s collection of nonfiction essays about pain, "The Empathy Exams," is hitting a nerve in more ways than one: the April 1 Graywolf Press release is landing on bestseller lists and has gone into a sixth print run. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-04-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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New Releases Top Foreign Charts

New titles dominated the top spots on February’s bestseller lists across foreign markets. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-03-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Book That Lies Behind The Success Of HBO's "True Detective"

HBO's hit new show has catapulted a 100-year-old short-story collection onto the bestseller lists.A collection of strange art nouveau stories by American author Robert W. Chambers, The King in Yellow has gone virtually unread for most of the past century. The first half of the book is made up of... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2014-03-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy has sold 100m copies worldwide

Random House imprint Vintage Books announces global sales of erotic thriller which started life as Twilight fan fictionOne-hundred-million copies of EL James's erotic trilogy, Fifty Shades of Grey, have now been sold around the world, her US publisher announced today.More than 27m of the books,... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-02-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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New Releases on Top in January

A handful of new titles topped the bestseller lists in the international markets at the start of 2014. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-02-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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TV Choice sales hit five-year high as it benefits from closure of TV Pick

Listings magazine, which is the most popular paid-for title in UK, reported an average weekly sale of 1,374,813TV Choice has increased sales to a five-year high of almost 1.4 million, the biggest beneficiary among listings magazines from the demise of Richard Desmond's short-lived TV Pick.H... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-02-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Private Eye retains the top spot among news magazines

Satirical title has a print circulation of more than 220,000, ahead of The Economist and The WeekPrivate Eye held on to the number one spot among news magazines in the second half of 2013 with a print circulation of more than 220,000, ahead of The Economist and The Week.Ian Hislop's satirical... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-02-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Richard Desmond's Star magazine enters top ten for women's weeklies

Bauer's Closer, Hearst's Best and IPC's Now, and OK! all record double-digit falls, year on yearRichard Desmond's Star magazine has jumped into the top 10 biggest sellers in the women's weeklies market, after reporting a 16.5% sales surge in the second half of 2013.But there were double digit... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-02-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book the Writer service brings authors to book clubs – for a fee

While authors have appeared in person, via Skype or via telephone at book clubs before, Book the Writer has the clubs pay for the author's appearance. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-02-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A Look at 2013’s Bestseller Lists

An analysis of the year's bestselling books reveals the clout big publishers have, how fast bestsellers rotate out, and much more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-01-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Christmas picks lined up by independent bookshops

Indies hope to highlight 'books that are a bit quirky and a little bit different' and might be overlooked by chain retailersThe nation's independent bookshops have pooled their collective expertise to identify the best of this year's crop of Christmas books, in a bid to pick out the hidden... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2013-11-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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New Books Top the Overseas Charts

New titles commandeered the top slots across the bestseller lists in international markets in September. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-10-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Are Amazon's new book discounts a 'declaration of war'?

The online bookseller had dropped prices on some of its top-selling hardcovers, as much as 64% off retail.Bargain book shoppers must have been pleased looking at Amazon's bestseller list this weekend: The online bookseller had dropped prices on some of its top-selling hardcovers, as much as 64%... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-07-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Philip Pullman argues that authors are being shortchanged on ebook loans

Few people understand the magic of libraries better than Philip Pullman, author of His Dark Materials, but all is not well when it comes to digital lending. As the soon-to-be president of the Society of Authors, Pullman is leading the charge against publishing houses that may be shortchanging... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2013-06-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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NSA surveillance puts George Orwell's '1984' on bestseller lists

Big Brother is watching. And people are reading.Big Brother is watching. And people are reading. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-06-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Are Publishers in South Korea Gaming Their Bestseller Lists?

Allegations of stockpiling and best-seller list manipulation have rocked the publishing world in South Korea as publishers combat decreasing book sales. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-05-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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