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 ]
Publisher Martine Paulais wants her new French publishing house, L'Ourse brune, to produce 'beautiful books' of short stories. The post France: A New Small Press in Normandy Champions Short Stories appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-01-07 15:21:11 UTC ]
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Translating novels, short stories, and poetry into English in a way that remains true to their original form can take years, even decades of dedication. And then there is the job of persuading the Anglophone publishing world to take chances. Translators’ labor is ultimately rewarding for readers... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2020-12-31 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Vice Media spent 2020 putting news more at the forefront of its brand, but it still has work to do positioning itself in the digital media landscape. The post For Vice Media, bad-boy news culture is dead, long live news appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2020-12-30 05:01:28 UTC ]
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I can’t attend, for the road between my poem and Damascus is cut off for postmodern reasons. –“I Can’t Attend,” by Ghayath Almadhoun * No ISBN sequence can keep track the world’s recent homeless, but the books won’t stop coming. As the refugee crisis grows unremittingly, with people out of... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-12-29 09:48:26 UTC ]
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These free holiday romance short stories are ready for you! Choose the magic of kisses under the mistletoe and read them right away. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-12-24 11:34:00 UTC ]
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Short Books will publish a "trailblazing" book about glucose and its effects from biologist and entrepreneur Jessie Inchauspe, founder of the Glucose Goddess Instagram account. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-12-23 09:19:16 UTC ]
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Latham, a bookseller for 35 years, has put together a heady mix of history, philosophy, anecdotes and entertaining factsWhat most people know about the American librarian Melvil Dewey is his phenomenal classification technique, the Dewey decimal system, which is still used in 135 countries. Less... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-12-19 09:00:45 UTC ]
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Sceptre has won a four-way auction to publish Huma Qureshi’s prize-winning debut short story collection, Things We Do Not Tell the People We Love, next November. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-12-17 06:10:25 UTC ]
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The master of the Cold War thriller, John le Carré, died Saturday at 89. In 2016, 'PW' took a deep dive into the nearly 60-year literary of le Carré and offered a data visualization of some highlights from his long literary career. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-12-14 05:00:00 UTC ]
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The first book in David Bowles’s new graphic novel series, “Rise of the Halfling King,” shows kids how a hieroglyphic script might have captivated the Mayans. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2020-12-05 16:27:56 UTC ]
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The planned merger of Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster may be global but it's bad for books both foreign and domestic. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-12-04 19:25:12 UTC ]
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In 1963 and 1964, as Louise Fitzhugh was inventing Harriet the Spy’s world, nannies and spies were very much in the public eye. Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music were in the movie theaters. John le Carré’s The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and Ian Fleming’s James Bond books were leading... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-12-04 09:55:48 UTC ]
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Weidenfeld & Nicolson is launching W&N Essentials—a new list of "classic books for modern readers" made up of "cult favourites, trailblazers and cherished friends". Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-12-02 14:52:38 UTC ]
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Now that you’ve purchased new house slippers, a floor lamp, and an air fryer at slight discounts (anyone else? just me?), why not consider donating a few dollars to these very worthy literary organizations, nonprofits, and volunteer-run bookshops? * ORGANIZATIONS Book Industry Charitable... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-12-01 19:39:08 UTC ]
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Han’s debut novel follows a Chinese couple reaching for the American Dream while raising their children in Texas. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2020-11-30 16:27:21 UTC ]
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For book lovers, the announcement may feel like background noise, but the ramifications are huge. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2020-11-25 12:57:10 UTC ]
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Earlier this morning, the Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) announced the winners of the 2020 Brooklyn Public Library Literary Prize for nonfiction and fiction/poetry. The Award, one of the few major literary prizes from a public library system, comes with a $5,000 purse. Previous winners include... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-11-23 17:59:11 UTC ]
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“A spoonful of honey makes the medicine go down,” says S. A. Cosby on the appeal of thrillers. The medicine he’s referring to is themes like racism, poverty, and income inequality woven throughout his debut novel, Blacktop Wasteland. “It’s easier to talk about those things,” Cosby says, “if... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-11-23 09:48:50 UTC ]
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“The Office of Historical Corrections,” an extraordinary new collection of fiction, examines alienation and the phantasmagoria of racial performance. Continue reading at New Yorker
[ New Yorker | 2020-11-21 16:01:38 UTC ]
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Yesterday, Benjamin Mullin and Keach Hagey, of the Wall Street Journal, broke a huge media-business story: BuzzFeed is buying HuffPost in a stock deal, part of a broader package that will see Verizon Media, HuffPost’s current owner, take a minority stake and make a cash investment in BuzzFeed.... Continue reading at Columbia Journalism Review
[ Columbia Journalism Review | 2020-11-20 13:25:55 UTC ]
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