At some point in college, I discovered the parts of the libraries where the fun stuff was kept. In the sort of space where you would end up after getting lost, often beyond the spread of daylight, magazines were bound and packed on shelves that ran back to the 19th century. Everything was there: the articles, the ads, the art, all unrevised by time. In the old Vanity Fair, you could find uncollected Dorothy Parker reviews, good and bad all filed together. In a yellowing New Republic, you might read the juvenilia of, say, Slate chairman Jacob Weisberg. You could seek “A Perfect Day for Bananafish” as it first ran in the New Yorker (coiled modestly around some spot art of dogs) or “Some Dreamers of the Golden Dream” as it appeared in the Saturday Evening Post (a smiling Dr. Spock on the cover, black-and-white photos across the spreads). In the classroom, I had learned to think of writing as canonic, penned by giants. In the archive, I was free to realize that the best of it was born of more human constraints: deadlines, passing news prompts, and the need to fill columns beside the latest vacuum cleaner ad. Continue reading at 'Slate'
[ Slate | 2016-09-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with:
#19th century
#vanity fair
In May 1992, we profiled several feminist bookstores across the country. Many are still in business and are providing crucial info to customers in the wake of the Supreme Court’s recent decision overturning Roe. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-07-08 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#supreme court
In July 1933, we reported on Bennett Cerf’s fight to publish Ulysses in the U.S.—11 years after it was released in France. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-07-01 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
As ALA wraps up its annual meeting in Washington, D.C., we look back at our coverage of its 2012 event. Then as now, e-book lending was a divisive issue. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-06-24 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#e-book
#e-book lending
#annual meeting
Viking Press took out a two-page ad in 'PW' in 1939 to keep sales rolling for John Steinbeck’s 'The Grapes of Wrath'. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-06-17 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#john steinbeck
#two-page ad
A federal court in New York last week ordered that motions for summary judgment be filed by early summer, meaning the fate of the closely watched copyright case could be in the court’s hands by early fall. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-06-13 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#early fall
#early summer
#summary judgment
#internet archive
#federal court
On June 1, 1940, our correspondent in London reported on the challenges British publishers faced in the early days of World War II. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-06-03 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#early days
Power beaming sounds like science fiction - but one day it may be as common as receiving a text. Continue reading at Stuff
[ Stuff | 2022-05-28 02:26:01 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#science fiction
More than a century ago, with a new copyright code set to go into effect on July 1, 1909, The Publishers Weekly devoted nearly four pages to describing the intricacies of the updated plan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-05-06 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#publishers weekly
#century ago
In April 1890, the planned merger of four school book publishers into the American Book Co. was stirring debate over the risks and benefits of consolidation. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-04-29 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#planned merger
Fifty-two years ago, the American Book Publishers Council and the American Educational Publishers Institute announced plans for the merger that created the Association of American Publishers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-04-22 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#american publishers
In April 1973, Grosset & Dunlap, which is now a Penguin children’s imprint, announced the impending publication of a very adult book: Norman Mailer’s biography of Marilyn Monroe. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-04-08 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#marilyn monroe
#norman mailer
#adult book
#penguin children
#grosset dunlap
Twenty years ago, Oprah Winfrey ended the first incarnation of Oprah’s Book Club, which made its authors instant bestsellers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-04-01 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#book club
Opening these libraries up promises to re-balance the continent’s place in world history when it comes to its intellectual life. Continue reading at The Conversation
[ The Conversation | 2022-03-29 16:12:23 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#libraries
#world history
#west africa
This summer, the courts will rule on Bertelsmann subsidiary PRH’s planned purchase of Simon & Schuster. But 24 years ago, the industry was agape over Bertelsmann’s acquisition of Random House. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-03-25 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#bertelsmann
#random house
#simon schuster
#planned purchase
Last December, the literary world mourned the loss of essayist Eve Babitz—joyful, sharp observer of Los Angeles. Now, The Huntington Library in San, Marino has announced it has acquired Babitz’s archive, meaning researchers will be able to browse drafts of Babitz’s books and articles, original... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-03-11 18:11:06 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#literary world
#personal journals
#original works
In March 2020, PW was racing to keep up with the changes to the industry unleashed by the start of the Covid pandemic. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-03-11 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#covid pandemic
In March 2016, years of legal wrangling over the DOJ’s e-book price-fixing suit against Apple and five publishers ended when the Supreme Court declined to hear Apple’s appeal. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-03-04 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#legal wrangling
#hear apple
#e-book
In 1989, Iran’s ruler, Ayatollah Khomeini, issued a fatwa against Salman Rushdie for writing The Satanic Verses. PW’s in-depth coverage looked at the industry’s response to this unprecedented situation. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-02-25 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#satanic verses
#salman rushdie
In 1877, as the outcome of the previous year’s presidential election was still being disputed, D. Appleton & Co. advertised a book that tackled the ever-thorny question, “How shall the votes be counted?” Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-02-18 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#presidential election
In February 1918, Little, Brown touted the success of a new book about WWI—in spite of freight delays and other supply chain problems. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-02-04 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |