Short ebooks: don't let one bad experience ruin a literary phenomenon

Penelope Lively's recent short ebook for Penguin drew criticism for its brevity – but readers should not be put off the genre as a whole"Overpriced", "ridiculous", I feel cheated". Amazon reviewers haven't been wholly positive about a digital short Penelope Lively has written for Penguin Specials. On the evidence of the story itself, it's not Lively's fault. Abroad is about a pair of art students who travel to 1950s Spain in search of picturesque peasants and are disappointed when they don't live up to expectations. It's funny and evocative of a time when rural Europe was still exotic.It also peters out after just 4,000 words, so I sympathise with anyone who felt ripped off by its £1.99 price tag. These days you can buy two whole novels for that. The sad fact is, publishers don't make any money if an ebook costs less than £1.99. Amazon does, because singles are the literary equivalent of a gateway drug.This was brought home to me on finishing Susan Hill's latest effort, Printer's Devil Court (99p), a haunting tale about pre-second world war medical students who experiment with resurrection. More substantial than Lively's, it's a great, old-fashioned ghost story, whose chilling impact was somewhat undermined by turning the final page to find Amazon ordering me to rate, review, tweet, Facebook and buy more books by Susan Hill. Was the ebook I'd enjoyed little more than a trailer?Singles are a clever marketing tool. But it would be a shame if readers short-changed by one... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2013-11-17 00:00:00 UTC ]

Other news stories related to: "Short ebooks: don't let one bad experience ruin a literary phenomenon"


Halloween Short Fiction: 9 Short Stories to Get You Ready for Spooky Season

These Halloween short stories are free to read online! They're deliciously unsettling, genre-bending, emotional, and even humorous. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2023-10-16 10:33:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #short stories #read online #spooky season


Bad Sex award cancelled to spare people from more bad things

The Bad Sex in Fiction Award 2020 has been cancelled with organisers saying people have been “subjected to too many bad things this year” already. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-12-07 20:14:15 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bad sex #bad things


The Literary Arts Emergency Fund will award 3.5 million to 282 literary organizations this year.

Exclusive: the Literary Arts Emergency Fund, launched and administered by the Academy of American Poets, the Community of Literary Magazine & Presses, and the National Book Foundation, has announced that it will distribute $3.5 million in emergency funding to 282 nonprofit literary arts... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-09-15 19:00:39 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #literary magazine #american poets


Literary Fiction Literary Agents Open to Submissions

Literary agents are gatekeepers of the publishing industry. Find literary fiction literary agents open to submissions in this post. List will be updated regularly. The post Literary Fiction Literary Agents Open to Submissions by Robert Lee Brewer appeared first on Writer's Digest. Continue reading at Writer's Digest

[ Writer's Digest | 2019-07-26 11:00:18 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #literary agents #literary fiction #updated regularly #publishing industry


Industry Notes: Europeana Opens ‘Literary Tour’; Trio in UK Opens Literary Events Consultancy

Keyed on World Book Day, the cultural heritage platform Europeana opens a literature focus, as a new consultancy for festivals opens in the UK. The post Industry Notes: Europeana Opens ‘Literary Tour’; Trio in UK Opens Literary Events Consultancy appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2017-04-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Track Changes: A Literary History of Word Processing review – did tech change literary style?

Frank Herbert on his Boeing, Stephen King on his Wang, and Philip Roth worrying that writing would become too easy … Matthew Kirschenbaum’s account of literature in the digital ageIn a photograph taken in his high-tech home office at 29 Merrick Square, London, in 1968, thriller writer Len... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2016-06-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #stop printing


'Walking Dead' just cast a bad, bad character

Many "Walking Dead" fans have been moping about over the past few weeks due to an unexpected and violent character death. Now the recent casting news of actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan has readers of the comic books in a tizzy.  Hero Complex can confirm that Morgan has been officially cast in the role... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2015-11-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #hero complex #comic books #walking dead


The ebook is dead. Long live the ebook

Reports that physical books are gaining ground at the expense of digital are just plain wrongHas the ebook had its day? If you’ve skimmed a newspaper over the past month you could be forgiven for thinking just that. “The physical book market is making a comeback after years of decline,”... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-02-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #james daunt #teenage son #christmas trading #past month


The Atlantic Hires Former TNR Literary Editor Leon WieseltierThe Atlantic Hires Former TNR Literary Editor Leon Wieseltier

Leon Wieseltier has been hired by The Atlantic as a contributing editor and critic, the media company announced today. In his new position, he will write about “his customary wide range of subjects” for the magazine ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2015-01-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #contributing editor


Foreword Literary Now Fuse Literary

Following an out-of-court settlement with Fore Word Magazine, Foreword Literary, the literary agency formed in March 2013, has changed its name to Fuse Literary. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-10-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #out-of-court settlement


Literary Agent Q&A: Melanie Rostock, K Literary Agency in Spain

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 ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #film agency #literary agents #literary agency


The $35,000 Aspen Words Literary Prize Names Its 2025 Longlist

'Fiction that delves fearlessly into the most pressing social challenges of our time' is the goal of the Aspen Words Literary Prize. The post The $35,000 Aspen Words Literary Prize Names Its 2025 Longlist appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2024-11-18 19:19:57 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #literary prize


From Classroom to Conference: Insights from the American Literary Translators Association Meeting in Milwaukee, by Daria Shchukina

From Classroom to Conference: Insights from the American Literary Translators Association Meeting in Milwaukee, by Daria Shchukina From the Road [email protected] Wed, 11/13/2024 - 13:36 Photo by Daria ShchukinaUniversity of Oklahoma student Daria... Continue reading at World Literature Today

[ World Literature Today | 2024-11-13 19:36:48 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #american literature #book fair #publishing houses #vice president #pivotal moment


Georgia Bodnar Launches Boutique Agency, Noyan Literary

The former Viking editor and UTA agent has launched a boutique literary agency based in New York representing “authors writing works that shape our understanding of the world and offer profound insights into its complexities.” Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-11-13 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #literary agency


‘No Americans putting on bad Belfast accents!’ How Disney drama Say Nothing brings the Troubles to life

A new series is stepping into the fraught territory of Northern Ireland in the 70s by telling the real-life story of a woman abducted by the IRA. Its creators talk about truth, reconciliation and trying to depict both sides of the conflict“To be honest, I’d always thought of the Troubles as a... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2024-11-12 11:00:55 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #nonfiction book #tv adaptation #executive producer #real-life story #northern ireland


Kindle Paperwhite Signature (2024) review: A luxurious reading experience

Amazon completely revamped its Kindle family in October when it debuted the entirely new Colorsoft ereader along with updated generations of the other three existing models: the standard Kindle, the Paperwhite and the Scribe E Ink tablet. The new Paperwhite has a slightly larger screen, a bigger... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2024-11-04 16:30:36 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #kindle #audiobook #ebooks #paperback #price jump #heightened experience #trade paperback #base model


“It Will Be One of the Most Ghastly Short Stories Ever Written.” When Dylan Thomas Tried to Get Spooky

Late in 1933, Dylan Thomas started writing a new short story. “The theme of the story I dreamed in a nightmare,” he wrote to a friend. “If successful, if the words fit to the thoughts, it will be one of the most ghastly short stories ever written.” Thomas was possessed, in part, by rejection.... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2024-10-31 08:56:14 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #short stories #short story #dylan thomas


Finding My Literary Style (with a Little Help From My Mother)

I wear my mother’s cropped grey jacket to the book launch party in LA. Her navy blazer with pinstripes to my book reading in Brooklyn. Her leopard print scarf on my way to introduce Jennifer Egan at Carnegie Library in Pittsburgh. In Seattle, Corte Madera, Kansas City, I wear her thin platinum... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2024-10-28 08:56:53 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book reading #kansas city #corte madera #carnegie library


Literary Publishers Embrace the Midnight Release Party

Move over, Harry Potter! Hotly anticipated adult novels from such authors as Haruki Murakami and Sally Rooney are the latest to get the midnight book release party treatment. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-10-28 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #sally rooney #haruki murakami #harry potter


Naomi Cohn On the Sensory Experience of Reading with Her Hands

Naomi Cohn’s memoir focuses on her progressive vision loss and her embrace of braille as an act of reclaiming her love of reading and writing, along with an expanded sensory and sensual existence in the world. Intertwined with this focus are themes braided and bountiful, including a history of... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2024-10-25 11:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #memoir #electric literature #sensory experience