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 ]
Today, PEN America announced the finalists for its 2021 Literary Awards, which recognizes and honors “dynamic, imaginative, and thought-provoking” books published in the last year. Previous winners include Nafissa Thompson-Spires, Imani Perry, and Yiyun Li. The 55 finalists were selected across... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-02-10 16:43:48 UTC ]
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There’s so much contemporary fiction released every day, it’s hard to keep track—and it’s hard to know which works will still be remembered in a year and which will slip into obscurity. Luckily, we have George Saunders to guide us. In an interview with Los Angeles Review of Books, Saunders was... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-02-05 16:37:34 UTC ]
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Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain gather activists and scholars to write a group history. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2021-02-05 13:00:00 UTC ]
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Tired of the subtweets? The peevish reviews? The [gasp] indecorous email sign-offs? Do you wish the literary world would just conduct its brawls out in the open for all to see? Well, now you can fight along at home with Street Writer, Maxwell Neely-Cohen’s absolutely wonderful literary homage to... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-02-04 14:06:11 UTC ]
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The social media star known as Léna Situations, 23, had a pretty eventful 2020. She racked up millions of followers, became a best-selling author — and attracted criticism from the Paris book world. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-02-03 16:55:22 UTC ]
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The new award comes with £1,000 and is geared to writers from 'Black, ethnic minority, LGBTQ+, and working-class backgrounds.' The post Barcelona’s Pontas Literary Agency Opens a Mentoring Prize for Authors appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-02-02 20:26:50 UTC ]
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The recycled gossip is tiresome, but what’s most irritating about “A Bright Ray of Darkness” is that it’s really good. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2021-02-02 14:00:00 UTC ]
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A Brighton-based literary agency launches this week, headed by former Curtis Brown editor Rufus Purdy. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-02-02 06:33:25 UTC ]
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LeVar Burton, the actor and longtime host of 'Reading Rainbow,' has been named the inaugural PEN/Faulkner Literary Champion. The longlist for the 2021 PEN/Faulkner Award also has been announced. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-02-02 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Exploring the diversity of The Atlantic’s original fiction: Your weekly guide to the best in books Continue reading at The Atlantic
[ The Atlantic | 2021-01-29 15:30:00 UTC ]
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Call for inquiry into academic publishers as locked-down students unable to access study material onlineCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageLibrarians at UK universities say students’ reading lists for this term are being torn up because of publishers’ “eye-watering”... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2021-01-29 12:00:00 UTC ]
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These beautifully narrated audiobook short story collections tell precise, polished tales about Black women, the fantastical, and more. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2021-01-19 11:30:00 UTC ]
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Peter McGuigan, the cofounder of Foundry Literary + Media, filed a lawsuit against his former business partner, Yfat Reiss Gendell, on Friday. The suit claims that Gendell made illegal withdrawals of more than $860,000 from the former partners' literary agency. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-01-19 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Fairlight Books has acquired world rights to Lynda Clark’s debut short story collection Dreaming in Quantum and Other Stories. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-19 04:48:26 UTC ]
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Nick Walters at David Luxton Associates has been promoted to senior literary agent and rights manager in recognition of his "outstanding contribution" to the agency over the years. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-18 12:55:15 UTC ]
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Class action lawsuit filed in US claims the houses have colluded with the online giant to keep prices artificially highAmazon.com and the “Big Five” publishers – Penguin Random House, Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan and Simon & Schuster – have been accused of colluding to fix ebook... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2021-01-15 13:04:33 UTC ]
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James Runcie will chair the judges for this year's BBC National Short Story Award alongside authors Fiona Mozley and Derek Owusu. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-13 22:24:54 UTC ]
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Three writers who work in literature and screenwriting are behind the shortlisted trio of works in the Costa honors' 2020 cycle. The post Costa Book Awards Names Its Three Short Story Finalists appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-01-13 22:04:22 UTC ]
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University of East Anglia publisher Boiler House Press is to publish Ben Pester’s debut short story collection Am I in the Right Place? Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-13 04:00:35 UTC ]
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Today in 1986 we lost the great P.D. Eastman, who was known for his work under the Dr. Seuss brand of Random House—children’s staples like Go, Dog. Go! and Are You My Mother? But Eastman was also a screenwriter and animator; in fact, he met Theodor Geisel (who later took the name Dr. Seuss) when […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-01-07 17:30:32 UTC ]
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