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 best science fiction and fantasy book deals of the day, curated by Book Riot. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-01-08 14:54:33 UTC ]
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Short stories and anthologies can open up new horizons in reading. If you want to explore more short fiction, here are some tips. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-01-08 11:32:00 UTC ]
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The 2022 Survey of Literary Translators' Working Conditions collected data on income, royalties, copyright, and more from the responses of nearly 300 literary translators in the United States. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-01-08 05:00:00 UTC ]
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By reusing and repurposing existing writing into viral fragments on Twitter, the account functioned like today’s chatbots. The Guardian spoke to Jacob Bakkila, the human behind the accountMore than a decade before an AI-powered chatbot could do your homework, help you make dinner or pass the bar... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2024-01-03 15:00:04 UTC ]
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In October, I received an email from an editor at Toronto-based Coach House Books. It was a simple request for me to provide a blurb for the book jacket of the latest book by R.M. Vaughan, the brilliantly titled Pervatory. Except there wasn’t anything simple about it: Vaughan, who I referred to... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-12-20 09:49:37 UTC ]
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In talking about my debut story collection, House Gone Quiet, with friends and family, I’ve often found myself pitching the merits of the short story form itself. Due to habit or book marketing or a lack of exposure, it’s simply the case that most fiction readers who enter a bookstore are... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2023-12-19 12:00:00 UTC ]
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To the members of the literary community we lost this year, we say a last thank you, and goodbye. You will be missed. * “Belated literary star” Edith Pearlman, who broke out with Binocular Vision at the age of 74, died on January 1. She was 86. Suzy McKee Charnas, award-winning author of... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-12-14 09:51:11 UTC ]
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A lot of us talk the talk about what’s wrong with book publishing today—but who among us is walking the walk and actually effecting change in the world of literature? On Missing Pages, which I host for The Podglomerate, we look into past and present situations and processes (even scandals and... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2023-12-06 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Over the next six months, inmates in prisons around the country will be able to debate and vote on the winner of a new book award — the Inside Literary Prize. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-12-04 10:01:30 UTC ]
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You can read countless ebooks, listen to audiobooks, and browse comics with one of these WIRED-tested digital reading subscriptions. Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2023-12-02 14:00:00 UTC ]
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The sales are over (mostly), the pie has been eaten (mostly), the gratitude has been felt (mostly), and we’re back to work (er, completely, boss!) It’s time for Giving Tuesday, so why not consider donating a few dollars to these worthy literary organizations? Book Industry Charitable Foundation... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-11-28 17:47:34 UTC ]
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The best science fiction and fantasy book deals of the day, curated by Book Riot. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-11-27 17:18:35 UTC ]
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Categorising fiction may help to sell books, but it says little about how writers write or readers readIn her Reith lecture of 2017, recently published for the first time in a posthumous collection of nonfiction, A Memoir of My Former Self, Hilary Mantel recalled the beginnings of her career as... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-11-27 12:30:00 UTC ]
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Not unlike the 'Storytel Originals' effort to create new audiobook content in some markets, France's Vivlio is starting a 'Stories' platform. The post France’s Vivlio, 10 Years Old, Launches New Ebook Service appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2023-11-16 22:07:48 UTC ]
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The literary community holds onto empathy as a dear goal while navigating the complexities of the human experience through the eyes of characters from diverse backgrounds. Readers worldwide have long celebrated the promise of empathy as a conduit for profound understanding, and reading from... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-11-16 09:49:02 UTC ]
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Employees at D&Q, the Montreal-based literary graphic novel publisher, and its sister bookstore, Librairie Drawn & Quarterly, are unionizing. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-11-15 05:00:00 UTC ]
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It’s the middle of November, which means that, for many of us, the days are a not-quite-enviable blend of colder and shorter (why we still use Daylight Savings Time is a mystery I’ll save for elsewhere). But never fear, there’s a bit of brightness ahead: a whole slew of exciting new books to... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-11-14 10:00:13 UTC ]
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Founded in 2010, the lending library encourages literacy through bilingual story hours, book discussion groups, and film screenings. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-11-10 05:00:00 UTC ]
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The Aspen Words Literary Prize in issue-driven fiction lists its seventh season's longlist, with a winner announcement in April. The post The #35,000 Aspen Words Literary Prize Names Its 2024 Longlist appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2023-11-08 22:42:17 UTC ]
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“The world here beats faster than a hummingbird’s wings,” writes Alexandra Chang in her new collection Tomb Sweeping. Chang, the author of Days of Distraction and a National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 recipient, writes poignantly about tenuous connection. In these stories, a wealthy housewife... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2023-11-02 11:00:00 UTC ]
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