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 ]
In the absence of in-person book fair meetings, literary agents are hosting webinars to pitch titles at the 2020 Frankfurt Book Fair. The post Frankfurt Events: Riky Stock’s Agent Webinar Picks appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-10-14 23:08:52 UTC ]
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Robert Caskie established Robert Caskie Ltd in April this year. He co-founded Caskie Mushens in 2017, after previous roles as senior agent and chief operating officer at PFD. The literary agent reckons any online equivalent will struggle to live up to the physical book fair—if he can get logged... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-10-14 10:17:05 UTC ]
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Bärbel Becker’s selection of events at the 2020 Frankfurt Book Fair, ranging from rights presentations to book prize ceremonies and introductions to international literature. By Hannah Johnson | @hannahsjohnson Noteworthy Sessions in and Around the Trade Show ublishing Perspectives has asked... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-10-12 02:08:45 UTC ]
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My mother, Janet Freer, who has died aged 89, was a literary agent for science-fiction writers in the 1960s and 70s. She helped launch the careers of several young SF writers.Janet began work as a commercial artist before starting her publishing career in London around 1962. She spent several... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-10-11 15:38:47 UTC ]
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Wade through the vast library and a horrifying picture emerges: an ignorant, narcissistic, racist liar with a strange relationship with his daughter and senior adviserDonald Trump is not a reader but to the publishing industry he is the gift that keeps on giving. His time in the White House has... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-10-11 05:00:04 UTC ]
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Simply submitting your story to be read by someone who knows talent when they see it is important for so many reasonsWriting prizes are massively important for aspiring and emerging writers. I think they are vastly more important than literary prizes. So many aspiring writers don’t have access... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-10-03 07:00:18 UTC ]
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Candice Carty-Williams, Nikesh Shukla and Ayisha Malik are among authors shortlisted for this year's inaugural Diverse Book Awards. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-10-02 16:05:26 UTC ]
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Industry experts weighed in on the state of the Christian publishing industry during the virtual American Christian Fiction Writers Conference on Sept. 18. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-09-23 04:00:00 UTC ]
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In April, on the first night of Passover, Michael Cohen—Donald Trump’s former fixer, who was then incarcerated at Otisville prison, in New York—took an early manuscript of a book he’d been working on, and tossed it into a fire that Orthodox inmates had built to burn leavened bread. According to... Continue reading at Columbia Journalism Review
[ Columbia Journalism Review | 2020-09-09 12:20:26 UTC ]
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Attention to diversity has yet to pay much heed to us, but we are the biggest minority in the world, so if space is cleared everyone stands to win As a disabled writer, it has been a little strange to watch publishers rush to put on online events during the pandemic. Authors have been... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-09-04 14:00:57 UTC ]
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"ReBoot: Books, Business and Reading," a virtual conference aimed at preparing the publishing industry for 2021, has been set for October 13. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-08-26 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Bolinda has scooped a “laugh out loud” romantic comedy by debut author Aly Mennuti, featuring a literary agent based partly on the author's own, Simon Trewin. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-08-25 02:20:12 UTC ]
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Aspen asks, 'Why is the world of publishing so reluctant to offer Black writers the same major book deals typically offered to white writers?' The post Aspen Institute Looks at a Publishing Industry Challenged to Embrace Diversity appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-08-21 18:41:12 UTC ]
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We talk with Serendipity Literary Agency founder Regina Brooks, who has built a roster of award-winning authors and illustrators while remaining committed to making the publishing industry more diverse. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-08-21 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The US publishing industry’s revenues are down 4.2% for the year to date, according to the Association of American Publishers' latest StatShot report, although Trade sales in the six-month period held on with a rise of almost 3% compared to the first half of 2019. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-08-19 02:12:36 UTC ]
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Seeing unexpected pairings of readers and books quickly dispels the idea of who reads what• Time to reset: more brilliant ideas to remake the worldI have a party trick. If you name three books you like and two you hate, I can write you a reading list of 10 books you will love.I’ve gained this... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-08-15 10:00:40 UTC ]
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When I started writing my current novel, Paris Never Leaves You, I had no idea the protagonist, a young widow struggling to survive in Occupied Paris, would end up working in a New York publishing house. I knew she would get to America, but I assumed she would enter the fashion or beauty... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-07-31 08:48:22 UTC ]
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Eased restrictions in Russia have yet to result in a return of sales for the publishing industry. Some 40 percent of bookstores remain closed. The post Coronavirus Impact: Russian Book Market Struggling Despite Reopenings appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-07-20 15:49:57 UTC ]
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Limited promotion and marketing budgets reinforce false ideas about how well diverse books and writers will sell. This leads to a negative cycle for black, Asian and minority ethnic writers. Continue reading at The Conversation
[ The Conversation | 2020-07-15 09:57:53 UTC ]
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I May Destroy You skewers the weirdness of fandom and captures just how terrifying the publishing industry can beMichaela Coel’s critically acclaimed new TV series I May Destroy You (BBC One), the journey of a young woman uncovering and trying to deal with sexual trauma, is a show that I fall... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-07-11 07:00:06 UTC ]
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