The big idea: should we abolish literary genres?

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 a novelist. It was the 1970s. “In those days historical fiction wasn’t respectable or respected,” she recalled. “It meant historical romance. If you read a brilliant novel like I, Claudius, you didn’t taint it with the genre label, you just thought of it as literature. So, I was shy about naming what I was doing. All the same, I began. I wanted to find a novel I liked, about the French Revolution. I couldn’t, so I started making one.”She made A Place of Greater Safety, an exceptional ensemble portrayal of the revolutionaries Danton, Robespierre and Desmoulins, but although the novel was completed in 1979, it wasn’t published until 1992 – widely rejected, as she later explained, because although she thought the French Revolution was the most interesting thing in the world, the reading public didn’t agree, or publishers had concluded they didn’t. She decided to write a contemporary novel – Every Day Is Mother’s Day – purely to get published; A Place of Greater Safety emerged only when she contributed to a Guardian piece about writers’ unpublished first novels. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2023-11-27 12:30:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #big idea #sell books #posthumous collection #interesting thing #historical fiction #memoir

Other Publishing stories related to: 'The big idea: should we abolish literary genres?'


The big idea: should we abolish literary genres?

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 ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #big idea #sell books #posthumous collection #interesting thing #historical fiction #memoir


Is the Next Big Idea Club the Next Big Thing?

Although serial entrepreneur Rufus Griscom has a background in books, he had no intention of getting into the book business when he launched a new venture, Heleo, in 2015. With the Next Big Idea Club, that's changed. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-04-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Next Big Idea Is Audio

When the Next Big Idea Club launched in 2018, the centerpiece of its offerings was a box subscription. It still offers that service, but has company has shifted gears, now operating as an “audio-first company.” Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-06-02 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Big Names in Little Magazines: On Thomas Pynchon’s Very First Literary Journal Appearance

“Thomas Pynchon is a young writer, just twenty, who has previously published fiction in Epoch. He is a Cornell graduate and now lives in Seattle.” Writers know that the time between when a piece is accepted by a literary magazine and when it is actually published can be rather protracted—my... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-12-21 09:53:25 UTC ]
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Do Literary Agents Steal Ideas? What About Editors and Publishers?

Do literary agents steal ideas? Do editors and publishers? Is there any way to protect yourself? Find the answers here. The post Do Literary Agents Steal Ideas? What About Editors and Publishers? by Robert Lee Brewer appeared first on Writer's Digest. Continue reading at Writer's Digest

[ Writer's Digest | 2020-03-11 03:44:03 UTC ]
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Big Ideas for Incremental Change and Disruption

VANCOUVER, B.C.—Publishers have been taking a hard look at several novel revenue opportunities, some borrowed from other industries but each representing incremental growth potential when spun on a magazine axis. At the recent Content Opportunity Expo, executives from large legacy groups and... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2019-11-05 16:00:49 UTC ]
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Seven big literary world stories from 2018

Say this for 2018: There wasn't a single slow news day this year. While most of this year's headlines focused on Washington, D.C., there were quite a few notable events in the world of literature as well. Here are seven of the biggest literary headlines from the last 12 months: Michelle Obama's... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2018-12-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Thames & Hudson launches Big Ideas series

Thames & Hudson is to launch a Big Ideas series on 6th September, with titles investigating capitalism, democracy, gender and space. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-08-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Carpenter wins Big Idea contest with primary school story

Jack Martin, a 23-year-old carpenter from Devon, has won this year’s Big Idea Competition with an idea based on a story he wrote in primary school. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-06-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Women write literary fiction’s big hitters. So where are their prizes? | Stephanie Merritt

The 2017 bestseller list was dominated by women, with Margaret Atwood at the top, but the Booker still favours menOn the face of it, the revelation that female writers dominated the UK literary bestseller lists in 2017 might seem cause for celebration, a long-overdue correction that seems... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2018-01-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Books: Last-minute gift ideas, a literary road trip and more

I know there are some people done with their holiday shopping; I am not one of them. If you, like me, still have some gifts to get, this newsletter may be able to help you. (Your friends and family like books, right?) I’m L.A. Times books editor Carolyn Kellogg with this week’s newsletter. YOUR... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2017-12-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Big Idea Behind Harvard Business Review’s Record Growth

How the 95-year-old magazine grew its circulation 10 percent despite reducing print frequency. The post The Big Idea Behind Harvard Business Review’s Record Growth appeared first on Folio:. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2017-08-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Vintage mines backlist to launch new 'big ideas' Minis series

Vintage is launching a new series, Vintage Minis, designed to celebrate the publisher’s extensive backlist by turning snippets from great contemporary and classic writers into small but compelling titles on "big" subjects, such as death, eating and love.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-01-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Big Idea: Why I Gambled on Print

By Ron Epstein In late 2012, I purchased a small, local publishing company. The marquee property was a magazine called L.A. Parent that distributed approximately 70,000 free copies every month, along with other... Continue reading at Publishing Executive

[ Publishing Executive | 2014-12-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Big Idea: Simplicity In Focus & Communication

By David Saabye Sometimes it's the little ideas that make a big difference. Magazine publishers have focused on many "big" ideas in recent decades, which have manifested in such projects as News Corp.'s The Daily... Continue reading at Publishing Executive

[ Publishing Executive | 2014-12-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Big Idea: Publishing Must Continue To Diversify

By Marcelle Soviero The publishing industry is busting out of business models as quickly as we can devise new ones. I think in 2015 we will see more product differentiation and more product offerings. These... Continue reading at Publishing Executive

[ Publishing Executive | 2014-12-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Big Idea Competition crowns Aeronaut concept

A story about three animals in a hot air balloon has won The Big Idea Competition, which launched earlier this year to find multi-platform story ideas. The competition was announced in June by Chicken House publisher and m.d. Barry Cunningham and agent Neil Blair. The pair wanted to find... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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PLA Preview 2014: What’s the Big Idea?

Public Library Association President Carolyn Anthony faces a dilemma. “There’s so much I’m looking forward to that it’s hard to know where to start,” she says, when asked for her perspective on the division’s upcoming biennial conference, set for March 11–15 in Indianapolis, Ind. “I look forward... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-02-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publish Faster, Publish Less: Futurebook’s “Big Ideas”

Nine publishing pros at The Bookseller's Futurebook conference offered their big ideas for the industry, which included publishing faster and publishing less. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-11-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Big Ideas from Books in Browsers IV

Books in Browsers showcased several, new big ideas for digital publishing, including 'Network Tense,' 'Collaborative Architecture,' 'Book Hacks' and more. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-10-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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