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 ]

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Going once, going twice. Literary Agents of Change is having its annual auction!

Do you find yourself in the querying spirit this spring? Or have you, perhaps, a burning question for a literary icon? If yes or yes, consider checking out the second annual auction hosted by Literary Agents of Change, a nonprofit “dedicated to providing access, education, and support to... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2024-06-06 14:24:44 UTC ]
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Major Publishers Sue Google Over Ads for Pirated Ebooks

Elsevier, Cengage Learning, Macmillan Learning, and McGraw Hill charge that Google has 'caused immeasurable harm' by advertising pirated content. The post Major Publishers Sue Google Over Ads for Pirated Ebooks appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2024-06-05 21:10:35 UTC ]
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12 Brilliant Short Stories by Asian Americans to Read For Free Online

As Asian American Pacific Islander Month comes to end, it’s important to remind ourselves that the Asian American identity is more than just race or shared affinity. Born out of political activism and the anti-war movement to protest and rally against injustice, warfare, imperialism, and... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2024-05-30 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Mircea Cărtărescu’s Solenoid has won the 2024 Dublin Literary Award.

Today, Dublin City Council announced the winner of the prestigious 2024 Dublin Literary Award: Solenoid, by Mircea Cărtărescu, translated from the Romanian by Sean Cotter. The Dublin Literary Award comes with a hefty €100,000 purse, with Cărtărescu taking home €75,000, and Cotter €25,000.... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2024-05-23 12:30:59 UTC ]
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The Ultimate Updated Guide to YA Short Stories

What short stories have your favorite YA writers published? This guide will help you find them. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2024-05-21 11:30:00 UTC ]
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Inside Reese Witherspoon’s Literary Empire

In today's book news: an in-depth look at Reese Witherspoon's book club, upcoming books that "should" be bestsellers, why you should buy yourself a bookstore gift card, and more. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2024-05-20 18:19:41 UTC ]
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Today’s Best Children’s Paperback, Hardcover, and eBook Deals

The Amazon Book Sale has tons of children's boxed set, hardcover, paperback, and ebook deals! Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2024-05-15 16:42:27 UTC ]
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Alice Munro, a Literary Alchemist Who Made Great Fiction From Humble Lives

The Nobel Prize-winning author specialized in exacting short stories that were novelistic in scope, spanning decades with intimacy and precision. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2024-05-14 16:13:08 UTC ]
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Alice Munro, Short Story Master and Nobel Laureate, Dies at 92

Canadian author Alice Munro, a master of the short story and the winner of the 2013 Nobel Prize for Literature, died at her home in Port Hope, Ontario, on May 13. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-05-14 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Taylor Swift, Adele, and Bad Bunny’s music returning to TikTok, thanks to a new UMG deal

The UMG artists’ music returns to the popular platform after a monthslong dispute. Artists from Universal Music Group, which include Taylor Swift, Drake, Adele, Bad Bunny and Billie Eilish, will be returning to TikTok as the two parties have struck a new licensing agreement following an... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2024-05-02 12:22:42 UTC ]
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Janet Reid, Influential Publishing Blogger and Literary Agent, Dies

Reid's blogs, 'Query Shark' and 'Miss Snark,' were widely read destinations for frank commentary on the publishing industry and the querying process. After a more than 20-year career as an agent, she died after a brief illness on April 14. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-05-02 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Literary Agent Richard Parks Dies at 83

Parks, who ran his own eponymous literary agency for more than 35 years, counted Jonathan Lethem, Jonathan Carroll, and Susan Straight among his clients. He died of complications from dementia on April 23. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-04-30 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Verso and other publishers are offering free ebooks in solidarity with pro-Palestine campus protests.

As students organize and resist to demand action and justice for Palestinians, publishers are offering free books on Palestine, protest, and more, in solidarity. Verso has seven ebooks available for download, including a case for sanctions against Israel, a collection on 2011’s Occupy movement,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2024-04-26 15:56:47 UTC ]
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Isabella Hammad Wins the 2024 Aspen Words Literary Prize

The US$35,000 Aspen Words Literary Prize goes to Isabella Hammad, whose 'Enter Ghost' explores the Palestinian diaspora. The post Isabella Hammad Wins the 2024 Aspen Words Literary Prize appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2024-04-26 13:34:35 UTC ]
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They Saw Dallas as a Literary Hub, Then Got to Work Making It One

“We are a literary city”: Will Evans started saying it in 2013, when he started the publisher Deep Vellum. Alongside the bookstore Wild Detectives and others, they’ve put Dallas on the literary map. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2024-04-25 09:05:49 UTC ]
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PEN America Cancels 2024 Literary Awards Ceremony

Following mass withdrawals of books from consideration, PEN America has canceled its 2024 Literary Awards ceremony, previously slated for April 29. Two cash prizes will still be conferred, and the $75,000 purse accompanying the PEN/Stein Book Award will be donated to the Palestine Children’s... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-04-22 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Portland, Ore.’s Literary Arts Plans Expansion, Transformation

Literary Arts, the Oregon nonprofit responsible for the Portland Book Festival, Portland Arts and Lectures, Oregon Book Awards, and other community programming, plans to move into a new headquarters in fall 2024. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-04-19 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Amid Mounting Criticism, PEN America Literary Awards In Limbo

Nine of the 10 longlisted authors for this year's PEN/Jean Stein Book Award have withdrawn their books for consideration for the prize, effectively rendering it unawardable, as the controversy surrounding the freedom of expression organization continues to expand in scope. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-04-18 04:00:00 UTC ]
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7 Short Story Collections Set in Nigeria

I have always loved the versatility of the short story, how it can so easily take on the forms of other things. There are playlist short stories, recipe short stories, diary and epistolary-style short stories. There are flash fiction stories, short short stories, and long short stories that... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2024-04-15 11:00:00 UTC ]
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The Literary Outsider: How Barbara Comyns Wrote Her Way to The Juniper Tree

The work of Barbara Comyns always felt like a secret, as if she were writing, speaking only to me. A literary outsider, Comyns had almost no formal training in writing, and didn’t publish her first novel until 1947 at the age of forty. She published ten novels and one short memoir, but it’s her... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2024-04-15 08:56:47 UTC ]
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