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 ]
News tagged with: #book discounts #dark materials #bestseller lists #cover price #award-winning author #literary culture #book clubs

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Tips for Librarians: Spanish Books Spring 2014

While many public libraries in the U.S. have been serving Spanish-speaking patrons for years, in some parts of the country libraries are just beginning to engage this part of the community. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-04-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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London Book Fair 2014: Helping Publishers to Sell Direct: The Qbend Story

Powering more than 50 e-bookstores for publishers specializing in such subjects as fiction, academic, professional and romance has given Qbend COO Kaushik Sampath many unique insights on e-retailing. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-04-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Mabel and Me's' Jon Boorstin heads to L.A. Times Festival of Books

Mabel Normand, who came to fame at Mack Sennett's Keystone Studios, was one of the top comedy stars of the silent era. Besides appearing in several shorts with Charlie Chaplin and Fatty Arbuckle, Normand also wrote, produced and directed these slapstick comedies. She's the subject of "Mabel and... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2014-04-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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London Book Fair 2014: Open Source for an Open Publishing Ecosystem: Readium.org Turns One

Last month marked the one-year anniversary of the formation of the Readium Foundation (Readium.org), an independent nonprofit launched in March 2013 with the objective of developing commercial-grade open source publishing technology software. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-04-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Rundell takes Waterstones Children’s Book Prize

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[ The Bookseller | 2014-04-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Canongate confirms Brand kids' books buy

Canongate has confirmed it is the publisher for a series of children's books by controversial... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-04-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Creamer Joining Hachette Books

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-04-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book Sales Rose 1% in 2013

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-04-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Russell Brand at work on children's books

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[ The Bookseller | 2014-04-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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National Book Award Judges Named

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-04-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Prison books ban could be illegal, says PEN

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[ The Bookseller | 2014-03-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Half Price Books hosts a Tournament of Sidekicks March Madness-style

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[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-03-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apple Loses Two Key Decisions in E-book Case

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-03-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-03-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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PW Picks: Books of the Week, March 31, 2014

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-03-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hacking trial: hidden laptops held book drafts, Charlie Brooks says

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[ The Guardian | 2014-03-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Walliams picture book up for prize

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[ BBC News | 2014-03-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2014-03-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Kindle v Glass, apps v text: the complicated future of books | Antony Loewenstein

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[ The Guardian | 2014-03-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apple, Publishers Battle New E-book Antitrust Claims

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-03-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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