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 ]
Taryn Fagerness, a literary agent in Washington, talks about her recent success with author Matthew Dicks and how she's optimistic about the digital future of publishing. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-08-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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By Robert M. Sacks There is an odd form of delusion in the publishing world, characterized by a resistance to reason in the face of actual facts. This inability to recognize modern business trends is easy for most... Continue reading at Publishing Executive
[ Publishing Executive | 2014-08-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Literary agent Marly Rusoff is re-releasing, through her publishing imprint Maiden Lane Press, a debut novel by Jonathan Odell. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon's leaked 'Netflix for books' plan will alarm publishers and doom old-fashioned anonymous readingOnce upon a time, 12 years ago to be precise, David Bowie said something very perceptive. "Music itself is going to become like running water or electricity," he told a New York Times... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-07-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The first half of 2014 was one of the publishing industry’s busiest six-month periods for mergers and acquisitions since the start of the Great Recession. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Welcome to a special educational series about digital printing solutions and technology. Here, we look at the value proposition of digital printing, and take stock of the current thoughts and practices in the publishing industry in implementing a hybrid printing program. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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As things stand, Hachette is making ebook discounts impossible, and almost everybody else stands to lose, writes Hugh HoweyNews: New Amazon terms amount to 'assisted suicide' for book industry, experts claimHow much should an ebook cost? And how should that money be split? These two questions... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Childrens Laureate enthusiastic about children reading digitally but thinks publishers should proceed with cautionAuthor and Childrens Laureate Malorie Blackman is enthusiastic about the potential for children to read books digitally, but thinks the publishing industry should proceed with... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-07-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The publishing industry's packaging of women's literary fiction in stereotypically girly covers makes great books seem trashy.If you take a look at the cover of Alice Munro's latest Nobel Prize-winning short fiction collection, The View From Castle Rock, you probably wouldn't guess it includes... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2014-07-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Predictions that the e-reader is done seem to be everywhere. What do those forecasts really mean for the publishing industry? Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-07-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Books do furnish a room, but according to many in the publishing industry, the fear is that emails, online video texts and tweets will prevent them being read. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-06-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Six publishers have volunteered for a night in the cells, fundraising for campaign against limits on prisoners' entitlement to booksThere's more than one sort of porridge, as any lag would tell you. Profile Books publisher Andrew Franklin opted for the lumpier kind when he volunteered to spend... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-06-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Melanie Rostock with the K Literary and Film Agency in Barcelona offers best-practice advice for literary agents and tips on promising international markets. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-06-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Amazon-Hachette dispute is a lot more nuanced than has been portrayed in much of the coverage. The retailing giant has its (sometimes anonymous) defenders in the publishing industry, and Hachette has its critics. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-06-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sedef Ilgiç, a literary agent at the Kalem Agency in Turkey, on selling Turkish books to publishers abroad and representing international authors in Turkey. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-06-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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After finishing his first novel, The Expats, Chris Pavone decided he wanted to place his next thriller, The Accident (Crown, Mar.), in the publishing industry. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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You couldn’t find a more optimistic person than David Caron, owner and co-publisher of ECW Press, when it comes to the future of the publishing industry, and he is very proud of the company he’s been with for 10 years. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ukraine's new government is considering withdrawing support for the publishing industry and eliminating tax and other benefits for publishers to save cash. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-03-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Former literary agent and book packager Bill Adler died on February 28. He was 84. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-03-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A snapshot of STM publishing in India, which represents 84% of the publishing industry's profits in the country, from this February's GLOBALOCAL conference. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-02-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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