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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After his death, John McCain's last book climbs bestseller lists

John McCain's book “The Restless Wave” appeared on bestseller lists following the Arizona senator's death on Saturday. The book, which was released in May by Simon & Schuster, was ranked No. 2 on Amazon's list of bestselling books, and No. 3 on the Barnes & Noble website as of Monday... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2018-08-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bringing a Brooklyn Twist to Book Clubs

The Bushwick Book Club has everything—big performances, chapters across the country and overseas, and a podcast. All it doesn't have is a book club. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-08-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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China’s Book Market in the First Half of 2018: Slower Growth, Rising Prices

As book prices rise and children's books show new energy, the number of new titles on China's bestseller lists has decreased, with older hits lingering on sales charts. The post China’s Book Market in the First Half of 2018: Slower Growth, Rising Prices appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2018-08-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Digital-to-Print SIPs Are Kalmbach’s Key to Attracting New Readers

Kalmbach Media’s Discover, a consumer-facing science magazine, is producing its first digital-to-print special issue publication (SIP), called Strange Science, which will feature 52 unusual, yet true, science stories, curated from some of Discover’s more popular digital articles. Published as a... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2018-08-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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How the ‘brainy’ book became a publishing phenomenon

These uncertain times have seen a renewed interest in serious nonfiction, as people try to make sense of an unstable world• The best ‘brainy’ books of the last 10 yearsThis is a story about a book that just kept selling, catching publishers, booksellers and even its author off guard. In seeking... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2018-07-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Fiction sales lead Ireland’s domestic market to recovery

Ireland’s Nielsen-measured market has enjoyed strong, UK-beating growth this year to date, with a grass-roots author campaign propelling the late Emma Hannigan to the top of the bestseller lists. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-07-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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S&S Launches New Book Club Initiative

"Book Club Favorites," a new direct-to-consumer program, is intended to promote titles from imprints across the company deemed of particular interest to book clubs. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-06-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This Week's Bestsellers: June 18, 2018

Bill Clinton and James Patterson have the #1 book in the country with 'The President Is Missing' and more in our analysis of this week's bestseller lists. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-06-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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French moves to Viking for 'ambitious' standalone novel

Tana French, award-winning author of the Dublin Murder Squad series, has moved from Hodder to Viking for a standalone novel. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-05-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ian McEwan admits to only earning C-grade after helping son with essay on one of his books

Ian McEwan, the award-winning author, has admitted feeling "a little dubious" about people being compelled to study his books, after helping his son with an essay about his own novel and receiving a C. Continue reading at Stuff

[ Stuff | 2018-05-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Domestic Fiction Leads Slovakia’s Book Market Growth and Bestseller Lists

In its latest market report, Slovakia's publishers' association says the overall book market was worth up to €110 million (US$135.3 million) in 2016. Fiction rose to 27 percent of those sales. The post Domestic Fiction Leads Slovakia’s Book Market Growth and Bestseller Lists appeared first on... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2018-03-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Awards for women, writers of colour, small presses – why are there so many books prizes?

There are so many literary prizes these days that they could be regarded as an industry in their own right – but they’re needed to change the status quoHow many literary prizes are there in the UK today? To Wikipedia’s tally of around 70, I can immediately add half a dozen more – and still they... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2018-02-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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January Religion Bestsellers: 'Jesus (Still) Calling'; No One Leaves 'The Shack'

Popular pastors' inspirational advice, devotionals, and novels packed with romance, suspense -- or both -- lead January's bestseller lists. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-02-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Pamela Butchart | 'Funny books can break down some of the barriers of children believing 'books aren’t for me''

Award-winning author and schoolteacher Pamela Butchart is set to go stratospheric in 2018, with a World book Day title and a Secret Seven revamp in the pipeline. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-01-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Obituary: Julius Lester

Award-winning author, educator, activist, and musician Julius Lester, known for a body of work focused on African-American culture, as well as for his fierce advocacy for books for black children by black creators, died on January 18 at the age of 78. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-01-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Books trend for 2018

By all accounts, the Hulu series “The Handmaid’s Tale” was a huge success in 2017. Counterintuitively, the Margaret Atwood novel it was based on has been a constant on bestseller lists. Hadn’t people gotten the story from watching the show? Apparently not. In fact, this was the case for a number... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2018-01-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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David Walliams's Bad Dad beats Jamie Oliver to Christmas No 1

Children’s novel about a boy trying to break his father out of prison sells more than 60,000 copies in a week to secure top slot in festive book chartsDavid Walliams’s tale of a boy trying to break his father out of prison, Bad Dad, has beaten Jamie Oliver’s latest recipe collection to the top... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2017-12-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Philip Pullman's La Belle Sauvage tops Waterstones Book of the Year list

Philip Pullman's return to the world of His Dark Materials is a hit with bookshop staff. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2017-11-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In China: Bookselling Trends and OpenBook’s Bestseller Lists for October

China bestsellers: As publisher-owned bookstores are on the rise, so are "shared bookstores" where customers are allowed to borrow books. The post In China: Bookselling Trends and OpenBook’s Bestseller Lists for October appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2017-11-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Does Anybody Know What a Bestseller Is?

There are more bestseller lists than ever—and the consequences for publishing remain unclear. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-11-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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