As Black Lives Matter protests take place across the world, the publishing world is rushing to support those ‘ignored by the mainstream’. Who is the mainstream, then?The publishing industry is stilted and archaic. I worked in it for seven years, and left due to reasons I can’t legally talk about. Though, in that time, I was able to enforce and oversee some steps towards sustainable change. At 4th Estate, an imprint of HarperCollins, I started the Guardian 4th Estate BAME Short Story prize (still going strong, five years later). Staggered by the lack of underrepresented voices, I knew I had to do something, anything to give those voices a way to permeate the industry.It is taken for granted that would-be writers will know what a literary agent is. But most have no idea how to structure a book proposal, or where to send it. This information is possessed by those in the know, and the people in the know often want to keep it to themselves. Let’s talk about literary agents for a second; they are, effectively, tastemakers. Editors trust them to deliver books and authors that adhere to their (sometimes limited) taste. And what happens when these arbiters continue to work within the circles of writers who they already know? The same thing that always happens: books that follow trends, that look the same, that are written by the same kinds of people. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2020-06-11 09:44:22 UTC ]
This week on The Lit Hub Podcast: How the publishing world can respond to Trump, and “What energizes you?” | Lit Hub Radio “When in doubt, leave the reaction out.” Eric Puchner on how to be funny when writing a novel. | Lit Hub Craft Ted Hamm on how Jimmy Breslin and Langston Hughes each […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2025-02-21 11:30:16 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Don’t give in to moral panic, fellas! Here are some tips from my own bumpy literary journeyIf you really want to make a name for yourself, publish comment insisting you’ve been silenced.It happened again last week in a nationwide publication. Under a byline, accompanied by a headshot and the... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2025-02-04 14:00:09 UTC ]
More news stories like this
RESPONDING TO THE SECOND TRUMP ADMINISTRATION: Kim Kelly on the how-tos and DOs and DON’Ts of mutual aid • Madeline ffitch on direct action and survival work in the face of fascism • Josh Cook on what the publishing industry can do in the face of authoritarianism. | Lit Hub Politics Matthew... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2025-01-25 11:30:02 UTC ]
More news stories like this
John Taylor “Ike” Williams, the longtime literary agent and intellectual property and media and entertainment lawyer, died at his home in Cambridge, Mass., on Dec. 26. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2025-01-22 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The way our legal system approaches issues of intellectual property must change to meet the novel questions posed by new technology, argues publishing industry analyst Christopher Kenneally. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2025-01-14 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The publishing industry can feel like an opaque, black box to aspiring authors, with countless gatekeepers—agents, editors, publicists, book buyers and more—shaping the process behind the scenes. Even established authors can find the sector confusing as they attempt to read the tea leaves behind... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2025-01-06 12:05:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
PW looks back at some of the library stories that captivated the publishing world this year, and what they portend for 2025. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-12-20 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Since 1985, literary agent Richard Curtis has irregularly chronicled the state of trade book publishing in verse in the pages of 'Publishers Weekly.' In honor of his final year-end poem, we've republished them all here. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-12-20 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Judy Garland once famously instructed us to make the Yuletide gay, and the publishing industry is really doing its part ... Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-12-19 13:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The holidays are approaching, and, with them, the end of 2024. As we near December’s various holidays and the start of an unpredictable 2025, observant readers will doubtless see that there haven’t been as many new books to list here as usual. This often happens in the publishing industry around... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-12-17 09:34:15 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The CEO of Serendipity Literary Agency and president of the Association of American Literary Agents is bringing the innovative spirit of an engineer to the publishing industry. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-12-17 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
No one has been more central to the publishing industry’s efforts to defend the freedom to read than the Penguin Random House SVP. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-12-17 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The author will serve as editor-at-large of Monument Books, helping to find authors that champion ‘ideas, stories and culture, as well as uplifting or refashioning past legacies’Reni Eddo-Lodge, the author of the 2017 bestseller Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race, has launched... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2024-12-16 17:04:41 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Many celebrities’ books are actually written by others, the UK writers’ union says, and it’s time they were acknowledgedThe Society of Authors (SoA) is calling on celebrities and the publishing industry to properly acknowledge the writers behind celebrity books, particularly those aimed at... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2024-12-10 16:42:22 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Rebellion Developments began life as a video game production studio, but over the past 25 years, it has become a force in the U.K. publishing industry, developing robust businesses around valuable IPs including Judge Dredd and Rogue Trooper. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-12-10 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Artificial intelligence is pushing the publishing world toward volume. That could drown out the good work. AI has the power to pump out words in record speed. And already, that’s substantially inflating the book publishing market. Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2024-12-02 09:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
His blog, The Shatzkin Files, was an essential read for industry insiders. His observations about the changes digital publishing would bring were prophetic. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2024-11-22 22:38:42 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Some time ago–a decade at least, but it feels longer–a literary agent read a manuscript that I’d written and told me that she loved it, loved my style, but the book felt too calculated, too much like a math problem. It didn’t lack heart per se, she said, but it felt too much like a […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-11-18 09:55:11 UTC ]
More news stories like this
This year’s report, based on 632 responses to our annual survey, reveals the beginnings of a generational shift in publishing, and continuing unease about AI. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-11-08 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this