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 ]
The Society of Authors will launch a bi-monthly book club on Twitter next month, to celebrate a selection of favourite titles from works in its literary estates. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-12-22 16:59:37 UTC ]
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“The Dolphin Letters” explores the tumultuous relationship between Robert Lowell and Elizabeth Hardwick, through their correspondence. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2019-12-19 20:00:00 UTC ]
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If you’re a Kindle user, you’ve undoubtedly come across titles with that Kindle Unlimited logo and an enticing “$0.00” price tag attached. You’re curious, yes? With titles in genres from mysteries and romance to sci-fi and self-help, Kindle Unlimited is an easy and affordable way to sate your... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2019-12-18 11:30:00 UTC ]
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If you find the holidays more foreboding than cheerful, find someone to relate to in these 4 free holiday short stories available to read online. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2019-12-16 11:35:47 UTC ]
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This year’s Booker and Turner prizes tell us artists and even judges are repudiating the winner-takes-all award. It may be time to find new ways to celebrate the artsThe past year has been a curious one for cultural prizes. The Booker, when the judges failed to agree on a single winner, ended up... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2019-12-15 18:25:01 UTC ]
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She was also a publisher and an author whose memoir affirmed that her father, the theologian Reinhold Niebuhr, had popularized the Serenity Prayer. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2019-12-13 22:52:39 UTC ]
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Riot announced its new publishing arm for new League of Legends-related games, Riot Forge, just last week, and tonight at The Game Awards it revealed the first title to spawn from this business: Ruined King: A League of Legends Story. It's a narrativ... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2019-12-13 03:16:00 UTC ]
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In our series “Can Writing Be Taught?” we partner with Catapult to ask their course instructors all our burning questions about the process of teaching writing. This time we’re talking to Lilly Dancyger, editor at Narratively and author of the forthcoming memoir Negative Space. Lilly’s next... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2019-12-12 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Is your attention span ravaged by living in our hellscape of a modern era? Good news: 2019 brought us plenty of brilliant short fiction. We polled current and former Electric Lit staff and contributors about their favorite collections of the year, and their picks include debuts, National Book... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2019-12-11 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Learning from Incidents — super useful articles on doing what it says on the box. (via duckalini) Say Goodbye to the 10-digit ISBN — ISBNs started out using a 10-digit number, but later transitioned to 13-digit numbers as the supply of unused numbers ran low. It has been standard up to this... Continue reading at O'Reilly Radar
[ O'Reilly Radar | 2019-12-09 05:01:00 UTC ]
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On November 12, at the Pen Parentis Literary Salon in Lower Manhattan, I hear author Jimin Han say something I’ve never heard a writer admit before. “I didn’t really commit to being a writer until I had children,” Han says to a room of 20 or so writers, all of whom are parents. There is […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2019-12-06 09:47:14 UTC ]
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Voting has opened for the 2019 Costa Short Story Award, with the public invited to pick their favourite from three stories written by mystery authors. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-12-05 17:05:07 UTC ]
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JPay made ebooks from Project Gutenberg free to incarcerated people who have their tablets last month. But...where did the money they collected for all of those Project Gutenberg books go? Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2019-12-05 11:39:33 UTC ]
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Award-winning novelist Hari Kunzru has moved to Simon & Schuster UK after 17 years at Hamish Hamilton, with literary thriller Red Pill set for publication in 2020. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-12-03 18:33:02 UTC ]
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Every day of the year, Electric Literature is grateful for the people who read and share what we publish. But on this Giving Tuesday, we’re coming to you with a special request: Electric Lit is aiming for 1,000 members by 2020, and we want you to be one of them. Your membership gets you... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2019-12-03 12:00:00 UTC ]
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It’s a writerly dream come true: a cocktail based on your book, prepared by a dedicated bookseller who has pored over your pages for references to alcohol or even flavors and scents he can interpret to concoct the drink. Nick Petrulakis of Booksmith in Brookline is the literary bartender in this... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2019-12-03 09:49:31 UTC ]
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The Bad Sex in Fiction Award has gone to dual winners Didier Decoin and John Harvey in a Booker-style decision by the judges. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-12-02 20:10:24 UTC ]
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Lina Langlee has been promoted to literary agent at the Kate Nash Literary Agency, while Robbie Guillory also steps up in a series of changes at the firm. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-12-02 12:10:24 UTC ]
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We look inside the bookish Northeast, where publishers with deep roots turn innovation into tradition. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-12-01 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Send your friends, family, and favorite bookstore and library workers warm holiday greetings with these 20 literary holiday cards! Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2019-11-29 11:34:57 UTC ]
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