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 ]

Other news stories related to: "Philip Pullman leads writers condemning 'pernicious' book discounts"


Author loses spot in Top 10 after buying 400 copies of his own book

Mark Dawson’s purchase pushed his thriller The Cleaner up the Sunday Times chart, but the sales monitor Nielsen has now revised its figuresAuthor Mark Dawson has lost his Top 10 position in the Sunday Times bestseller charts for his thriller The Cleaner after revealing that he bought 400 copies... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-07-22 11:24:02 UTC ]
More news stories like this


An author bought his own book to get higher on bestseller lists. Is that fair?

Author Mark Dawson has attracted criticism after bulk buying his own book gave him a high chart position. But that isn’t breaking any rulesFor any author, being able to describe yourself as a bona fide bestseller is key to conferring your career with a certain gravitas – and will often bring you... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-07-20 15:59:35 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Philip Pullman to release unseen His Dark Materials novella in October

Written in 2004 and auctioned for charity, Serpentine sees an adult Lyra and her daemon Pantalaimon revisit Trollesund in search of secretsA previously unseen His Dark Materials story about a teenage Lyra, written by Philip Pullman over a decade ago and that he never intended to publish, will be... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-07-08 23:01:46 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Lockdown learning helps education market rise as study guides’ sales surge

Though Nielsen has been unable to provide volume sales throughout the lockdown, the presence of multiple study guides in the bestseller lists points to a relative purple patch for the education sector. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-19 11:00:02 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Lockdown learning helps education market rise as study guides’ sales surge

Though Nielsen has been unable to provide volume sales throughout the lockdown, the presence of multiple study guides in the bestseller lists points to a relative purple patch for the education sector. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-18 19:58:31 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Can #BlackoutBestsellerList be the reckoning the publishing industry needs?

The social media campaign could force publishers to focus on black writers by encouraging readers to buy their booksCould the New York Times’ Best Seller book list ever be filled entirely by black authors?As industries undergo reckonings around race, in the wake of international demonstrations... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-06-17 10:00:17 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Black US authors top New York Times bestseller list as protests continue

Michelle Alexander and Ijeoma Oluo among those on list, marking first time top 10 entries are primarily titles on race issuesGeorge Floyd killing – latest US updatesBlack American authors, including Michelle Alexander and Ijeoma Oluo, have surged to the top of the latest New York Times’... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-06-11 18:10:43 UTC ]
More news stories like this


This Week's Bestsellers: June 8, 2020

‘How to Be an Antiracist’ and other books addressing systemic racism return to our bestseller lists. Plus musician Mikel Jollett debuts with the memoir ‘Hollywood Park,’ and science journalist James Nestor discusses the importance of ‘Breath.’ Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-06-05 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Here’s Katherine Anne Porter describing how she resisted death during the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic.

“I resisted. I would not die. I could not.” Katherine Anne Porter—the Pulitzer Prize- and National Book Award-winning author of Ship of Fools and Pale Horse, Pale Rider—was born 130 years ago today in Indian Creek, Texas, and should, by all expectations, have died less than twenty-eight years... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-05-15 18:30:52 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Rekindled: Amy Meyerson in Conversation with Vanessa Hua

On this episode of Rekindled, award-winning author Vanessa Hua talks with Amy Meyerson about her new book, The Imperfects, a story about a priceless inheritance that leads one family on a life-altering pursuit of the truth. Meyerson talks about the process of researching for her new novel, using... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-05-06 20:00:35 UTC ]
More news stories like this


The Silent Book Club, a global meet-up for introverts, now connects them remotely

A book club for people who don't like book clubs, founded in 2012 in San Francisco and now boasting six chapters in L.A. County, has moved online. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-04-10 14:00:07 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Nosy Crow acquires 10 children’s books by Pamela Butchart

Independent publisher Nosy Crow has acquired 10 new titles from the award-winning author and schoolteacher Pamela Butchart. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-17 11:26:59 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Hold on to your Nebulas: Ken Liu’s short stories are coming to TV.

Ken Liu, the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author of more acclaimed SFF short stories than you can shake a futuristic stick at, will soon be bringing his expansive imagination to the small screen. As Publishers Marketplace announced earlier today, AMC has acquired the rights to the... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-03-13 14:30:21 UTC ]
More news stories like this


James McBride’s ‘Deacon King Kong’ offers a rollicking examination of a Brooklyn community

The National Book Award-winning author follows an aging deacon whose mysterious actions set a sprawling plot in motion. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-03-09 15:07:32 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Stewart Foster strikes new two-book deal with S&S Children's

Simon & Schuster Children’s UK has acquired two middle-grade titles from Stewart Foster, the award-winning author of The Bubble Boy.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-05 14:43:09 UTC ]
More news stories like this


April Lit Fest at the University of Oklahoma

News and Events WLT Bestselling Pakistani author Mohsin Hamid will visit the University of Oklahoma April 6 through 8 for the 2020 Puterbaugh Lit Fest hosted by World Literature Today magazine. Events start on April 6 with a conversation about... Continue reading at World Literature Today

[ World Literature Today | 2020-03-02 22:05:09 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Clive Cussler obituary

Prolific author of fast-paced thrillers, including Raise the Titanic!, featuring the adventure hero Dirk PittThe prolific and popular novelist Clive Cussler, who has died aged 88, combined adventure and technology into fast-paced thrillers. Ubiquitous and easily recognisable on airport... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-02-27 16:45:35 UTC ]
More news stories like this


10 shiny new books you should pick up this week.

Every week, the TBR pile grows a little bit more. It’s getting precarious. It’s taking up your whole nightstand. It’s threatening to crush you in your sleep. Well, what are you waiting for? Get cracking. What are you reading this week?   Colum McCann, Apeirogon (Random House) The latest novel... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-02-25 14:57:43 UTC ]
More news stories like this


A writer is holding Patrick deWitt’s website hostage—until he reads their manuscript.

The following post has been updated with a response from the website squatter. There are traditional ways to get a book published—pitches, queries, agents, enduring months and years of soul-crushing work and silence—and then there’s blackmail. A writer is currently squatting on Patrick deWitt’s... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-01-30 16:55:01 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Myers and SoA condemn pressure on authors to 'perform'

Award-winning author Benjamin Myers and the Society of Authors (SoA) have criticised the pressure on writers to become “personalities” rather than be judged on their work as literary events increase. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-01-09 07:55:03 UTC ]
More news stories like this