Publishers bypass literary agents to discover bestseller talent

Cutting out the middlemen of the literary world can lead to the discovery of acclaimed authors such as Andrea BennettPublishers are playing literary agents at their own game, seeking out new talent for themselves and cutting out the industry’s powerful middlemen.Executives within HarperCollins, Jonathan Cape, Little, Brown, and Tinder Press are inviting “un-agented submissions”, marking a dramatic cultural shift for an industry having to readjust to developments such as self-publishing, as well as the often huge advances demanded by agents for coveted titles. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2015-02-22 00:00:00 UTC ]

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A winner of this year’s Windham-Campbell Prizes dropped out of the literary scene for 40 years.

New hero alert: Wong May, the winner of this year’s $165,000 Windham-Campbell Prize in poetry, who expressed surprise at the award given than she has consciously eschewed the literary world in favor of the work itself. On the Windham-Campbell website, Wong May has one of the all-time great... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-03-29 19:56:25 UTC ]
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The Huntington has acquired Eve Babitz’s archive.

Last December, the literary world mourned the loss of essayist Eve Babitz—joyful, sharp observer of Los Angeles. Now, The Huntington Library in San, Marino has announced it has acquired Babitz’s archive, meaning researchers will be able to browse drafts of Babitz’s books and articles, original... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-03-11 18:11:06 UTC ]
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7 Novels Set in the Literary World

At the risk of seeming obnoxiously obsessed with ourselves, writers and readers do tend to love books about writers and readers—especially when those fictional writers and readers behave badly. (It’s no wonder, really, why the Bad Art Friend discourse hit a nerve; so many people were frantic... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2022-03-11 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Ian McEwan’s ‘most epic book to date’ to be published in September

The Booker prize-winning author’s new novel Lessons is ‘a powerful meditation on history and humanity told through the prism of one man’s lifetime’Ian McEwan’s “most epic book to date”, moving from the end of the second world war to the current pandemic and exploring the impact of childhood... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2022-01-19 12:00:11 UTC ]
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McEwan's 'mesmerising' Lessons signed by Cape for September release

Ian McEwan’s “ambitious and mesmerising” new novel Lessons will be published by Jonathan Cape in September.   Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2022-01-19 02:10:47 UTC ]
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“Anybody’s life could be a wonderful piece of art.” Read Maxine Hong Kingston’s best writing advice.

On this day in 1940, Maxine Hong Kingston was born in Stockton, CA. Kingston, the daughter of Chinese immigrants, took the literary world by storm with her seminal work The Woman Warrior (1976), which blends autobiography and mythology. The Woman Warrior, the winner of the 1976 National Book... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-10-27 16:42:53 UTC ]
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Two for Cape on Laurel Prize shortlist

The four-strong shortlist for this year's Laurel Prize for nature and eco-poetry has been announced, with two nominations for Jonathan Cape titles. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-26 07:25:12 UTC ]
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September 24, 2021

“Fitzgerald likes to rub rich people’s monstrousness against their beauty and thereby make sparks fly.” Andrew Martin and Benjamin Nugent discuss F. Scott Fitzgerald on his birthday. | Lit Hub Criticism Biographer Jacques Berlinerblau on why it matters that the literary world lacks critical... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-09-24 10:30:35 UTC ]
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The Acknowledgments Are My Favorite Part of a Book

I’ve never read the ending of a book first, though I do have a habit of flipping to the back before I begin, turning instead to the acknowledgments page. There are stories embedded here. Acknowledgments capture the real-life intimacies of the literary world and lay bare the backdrop of the... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2021-07-20 11:00:00 UTC ]
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The Adventures of Miss Barbara Pym by Paula Byrne – the ‘modern Jane Austen’?

This excellent cradle-to-grave biography of a much loved novelist who goes in and out of fashion captures her alarming habits and tormented love affairsIn 1971 the author Barbara Pym was at her day job at the International African Institute when she noticed “Mr C” laboriously attacking his... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-04-08 06:30:07 UTC ]
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The Awesome Power of Picture Books

Sari Feldman reflects on how these “wizards of the literary world” can be the key to a lifelong love of reading. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-04-08 04:00:00 UTC ]
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News that stays news

For Christmas 1972, I was given a present that changed the way I viewed the world. It was a folder of facsimile documents called Tutankhamun & the Discovery of the Tomb. My family didn’t manage to visit the ‘Treasures of Tutankhamun’ exhibition at the British Museum that year, so my Jackdaw... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-03-27 01:02:55 UTC ]
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Tinder Press acquires 'breathtaking literary page turner' from Owen

Tinder Press, Headline's literary imprint, has acquired Small Angels by Lauren Owen, author of The Quick (Vintage, 2014). Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-02-25 00:05:34 UTC ]
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Kitamura’s Intimacies to Jonathan Cape

Jonathan Cape has acquired two new books by Katie Kitamura, including her "taut and electrifying" novel Intimacies, about an interpreter pulled into "explosive political fires".  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-02-08 20:29:15 UTC ]
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STREET WRITER: The literary video game we didn’t know we needed.

Tired of the subtweets? The peevish reviews? The [gasp] indecorous email sign-offs? Do you wish the literary world would just conduct its brawls out in the open for all to see? Well, now you can fight along at home with Street Writer, Maxwell Neely-Cohen’s absolutely wonderful literary homage to... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-02-04 14:06:11 UTC ]
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Last year may be a tipping point for a truly inclusive industry, but there is more to do

Five prominent figures from the literary world discuss the vexed debates surrounding cultural appropriation, authenticity and the growing trend for sensitivity readers. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-15 06:28:34 UTC ]
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More virtual book events should be variety shows!

Ryan Chapman (erstwhile host of Nerd Jeopardy, back episodes of which you can enjoy here) is launching the paperback edition of his novel, Riots I Have Known, tonight, and as a veteran showman of the literary world, Chapman has decided to put together something a little different. Tonight’s... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-12-09 20:04:37 UTC ]
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Cape wins Crooks' 'phenomenal' debut novel in 10-way auction

Jonathan Cape has won a 10-publisher auction for Fire Rush, the “phenomenal” debut novel by Jacqueline Crooks. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-12-09 10:11:08 UTC ]
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Jonathan Cape to publish Bennett's second novel, Checkout 19

Vintage imprint Jonathan Cape will publish Checkout 19 by Claire-Louise Bennett, author of Pond (Fitzcarraldo Editions, 2015).  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-30 16:16:38 UTC ]
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11 New Books by Native American Writers

This year has been a dumpster fire and we mean that literally. But the shining bright spot in the literary world is an abundance of great new books by Indigenous writers being published in 2020. Since it’s National Native American Heritage Month, we’re focusing on books coming out of the U.S.... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2020-11-27 12:00:00 UTC ]
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