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 ]
Two graphic novels by Steve Sheinkin and former 'Village Voice' cartoonist Stan Mack each took the publishing world by surprise after becoming bestsellers for Jewish Lights recently. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The theme of this year’s Children’s Media Conference (CMC), which took place 1-3 July in Sheffield, was “All Change”. Which is apt, because the children’s TV industry (from which this conference was originally born) is experiencing a disruption just as profound and perhaps more urgent than... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ovum’s new Digital Consumer Publishing Forecast is published tomorrow. It takes a five year view at how this sector will change. Ahead of publication, Ovum analyst Charlotte Miller gives TheMediaBriefing an exclusive look at some of t ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2015-07-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Novelist Kerry Hudson is setting out ‘a provocation’ calling for wholesale change to encourage and reflect broader spectrum of voicesThe award-winning novelist Kerry Hudson is set to make a bold call for change in UK publishing, which she believes is failing “to reflect the extraordinary... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-07-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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As a literary agent, Frankfurt has been a launch pad for some of the most powerful women’s voices from around the world. This year will be no different. The post How Can Women Change the World? Book by Book appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-07-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Author Lucy Beresford is launching an initiative to create a library at one of the London shelters for domestic violence charity Refuge. Beresford said: “I'm launching an initiative called Refuge for Books, asking all my friends in the publishing world to send me a copy of a book for Refuge.... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The changing nature of the worldwide book industry is sharply demonstrated in the upper echelons of the 2015 edition of the Global Ranking of the Publishing Industry: for the first time, publishing houses from outside Europe and North America have cracked the top 10. Both the groups—Phoenix... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-06-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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When it comes to high-calibre non-fiction, risk-averse trade publishing houses are producing too many copycat ‘smart thinking’ books that promise more than they deliver. But praise should be given to the university pressesAmid the ambient wails of doom about the publishing industry, I’d like to... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-06-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Julie Crisp has signed up her first author as a literary agent following her departure from Pan Macmillan. Crisp will represent Sam Hawke, an Australian fantasy writer from Canberra, who has written a novel called Proof, described as “intelligent fantasy concentrating on issues of race, gender... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-06-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Madeleine Milburn Literary, TV & Film Agency is expanding with the addition of two new agents this summer. Thérèse Coen will join the business as a rights agent in July, with Sarah O'Halloran joining as a literary agent in August. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-06-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Non-human cover stars are two-a-penny in the publishing industry. Just check out Miley with Bubba Sue on the new issue of Paper magazine. But, as many celebrities past and present show, you have to pick your companion with care…In the competitive world of magazine covers, you’re nobody unless... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-06-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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What a difference a year has made with BookCon, with this year's literary fanfest featuring not one but two author panels specifically addressing issues of diversity in books and in the publishing industry itself. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-06-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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One of the few literary agents focusing on Arabic, Yasmina Jraissati, discusses the non-existent role of the literary agent in the Middle East. The post Why Are There No Literary Agents in the Middle East? appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-06-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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HarperCollins has appointed Helen Garnons-Williams as publishing director of 4th Estate, moving from her role as publishing director at Bloomsbury. Meanwhile, at Bloomsbury, Alexa von Hirschberg has been promoted from commissioning editor to senior fiction editor. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-05-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Teri Hayt has worked for both large and small news organization during her 35-year career in the publishing industry. She’s worked for Time-Life Books, Inc., the Arizona Daily Star, Sports Illustrated, Newsday, the San Diego Union-Tribune ( ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2015-04-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Figures from across the publishing industry are limbering up for the Virgin London Marathon this Sunday (26th April). Nick Coveney, head of digital at Blink Publishing, will be running to raise money for the Alzheimer's Society and the Albert Kennedy Trust via his fundraising page. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-04-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The publishing industry is constantly evolving with improved workflows and processes. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-04-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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TV Land has given the green light for a second season of Younger, starring Sutton Foster, Hilary Duff, Debi Mazar, Miriam Shor and Nico Tortorella. The Darren Star-produced series follows Liza, played by Foster, a 40-year-old woman who pretends to be 26 in order to get a job in the publishing... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2015-04-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Society of Authors has said that a “publishing industry which does not reflect society fails writers, readers and itself”. Nicola Solomon, the organisation’s chief executive, and HarperCollins’ director of people John Athanasiou have backed a new report calling for improved diversity across... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-04-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A new publishing model has launched, offering authors a 50% share of revenue on book sales. Lightning Books, the fiction imprint of the newly created Eyestorm Media, operates a co-publishing model. It was founded by Eye Books owner Dan Hiscocks, a former director of the Independent Publishers’... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-04-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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