Karl Sabbagh says small publishers face with huge obstacles with selling books and even letting anyone know they exist; plus a descendant of Dr Miles Marley sets the record straightWith reference to your leader on literary fiction (28 December), as a small publisher we are faced with huge obstacles in the way of selling our books or even letting anyone know our titles exist, however good they are. Last year we published an excellent novel called To the Lake, by a Russian writer, Yana Vagner. This had sold over 100,000 copies in Russia, and is being made into a TV series there. It has won prizes throughout Europe, and been translated into half a dozen languages, with sales outside Russia running into tens of thousands. We paid an advance to the author, a fee to a translator, and typesetting, cover design and printing costs, a total of about £9,000. We sent at least 50 copies out to major periodicals, newspapers and broadcast media in the hope of getting reviews, but there were none. The one thing we couldn’t afford was advertising, at a cost of £1,000 or so for a quarter page in a literary journal and far more in widely selling newspapers. So far, we have sold 64 copies. Can anyone wonder why we don’t publish more such books?Karl SabbaghManaging director, Skyscraper Publications• Dr Christopher Goulding (Letters, 26 December) may regard Barry West’s “theory” about Dickens’ use of the name Marley as tenuous; in our family we regard it as long-established fact. I am a... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2017-12-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Non-fiction had a strong month in the Audio Download Chart, as the Harry Potter canon is displaced from Audible’s epper echelons in September by a slew of newcomers. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-11-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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On Saturday teenagers take over libraries in the West Midlands for A Place Free of Judgement with artists Blast Theory. Author Tony White talks about working on this love song to libraries. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-10-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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With over 7.8 million copies sold in the Baxter Family series alone and a new collection on the way, Christian fiction star Karen Kingsbury reflects on her writing career. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-10-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Three new independent publishers are to join the Northern Fiction Alliance which intends to position the north of England as a "centre of publishing excellence". Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-10-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Cecilia Ekbäck has won the 2016 Historical Writers' Association's Goldsboro Debut Crown for her Nordic noir thriller, Wolf Winter (Hodder). Meanwhile, the Outstanding Contribution to Historical Fiction Award was presented to Philippa Gregory. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-10-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Folio Prize is planned to return in 2017, with its remit extended to include non-fiction for the first time. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-10-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bloomsbury has acquired an “original” high concept murder mystery debut by tech journalist Stuart Turton in a hotly contested auction ahead of Frankfurt Book Fair. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-10-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Fiction and picture books are likely to take the lion’s share of sales over the Christmas period, although this year’s YA and teen offering is not as strong, according to a number of children’s booksellers. Florentyna Martin, children’s buyer at Waterstones, said younger fiction is particularly... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-10-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The new imprint will publish "commercial women’s fiction with a relationship element woven through,” Harelquin said. First titles are due out in September 2017. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-10-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Amazon-owned digital comics marketplace is launching a program to release original digital comics. The titles will be available exclusively via Comixology and the Kindle platform. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-10-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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An impressive array of fiction and nonfiction is on offer this year at Frankfurt Book Fair, as Canadian publishers' rights directors talk up their new books. The post Canadian Publishers’ Offers: New Fiction and Nonfiction at Frankfurt appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-10-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Best known for publishing nonfiction books in such areas as alternative medicine, the indie publisher is trying its hand at fiction after acquiring the rights to five novels by James Misko. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-09-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Dan Brown is publishing a new Robert Langdon thriller entitled Origin in September 2017 with Transworld. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-09-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Penguin Random House is publishing British astronaut Tim Peake's non-fiction debut, Hello, is this planet Earth? in November. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-09-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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After almost 10 years in its original Kenyan setting, Muthoni Garland's Storymoja Festival opens as an event in Accra, Ghana, newly relocated and pan-African in outlook. The post Originally Kenyan, Storymoja Book Festival Opens Its New Life in Ghana appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-09-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Kensington Publishing Corp. will begin publishing science fiction and fantasy ebooks this fall with the launch of Rebel Base Books, a digital-only imprint to be overseen by editor Martin Biro. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-09-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Clare Hey, editorial director at Simon & Schuster UK, is joining Orion Fiction as publishing director. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-09-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hachette Children’s Group is reverting to using the original Enid Blyton texts after attempts to modernise the language “didn’t work”. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-09-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hercule Poirot and Miss Marples are among golden age sleuths giving new inspiration to a genre tired of alcoholic divorcees and goth hackersForget domestic noir and put down all those books with “Girl” in the title. Crime fiction is turning back the clock to its golden age with a host of books... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2016-09-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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With two critically lauded novels under his belt, Irish author Donal Ryan returns with another scintillating tale, writes Alice O’Keeffe. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-09-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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