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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President Obama on the South Lawn of the White House in July. He could earn as much as $30 million with a two- or three-book contract once his second term ends, said Raphael Sagalyn of the ICM/Sagalyn Literary Agency. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2016-09-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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After several years of angst over falling sales and shrinking fiction output, all sides seem to be looking forward at the 2016 American Christian Fiction Writer’s conference. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-08-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Actress-turned-author Lena Dunham is trying her hand at writing fiction as she prepares to release a collection of short stories next year. Continue reading at Stuff
[ Stuff | 2016-08-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Audible, The National Archives and Bloomsbury are to release In Their Own Words, an exclusive collection of largely unpublished letters from throughout history. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-08-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Beth Moore, the author of bestsellers ‘So Long, Insecurity’ and ‘Audacious,’ is breaking into Christian fiction with ‘The Undoing of Saint Silvanus.’ Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-08-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Tinder Press has acquired Letters from a Suitcase, a collection of letters spanning the "short but passionate love affair" and marriage between communist couple David and Mary Francis during the Second World War. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-08-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Author Philippa Gregory insists on a “clause” in film contracts to prevent filmmakers from changing historic facts in her work. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-08-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Essential Politics: Oil lobbyist ghost writes letter for lawmakers, Michael Bloomberg hosts Kamala Harris Senate fundraiser Aug. 17, 2016, 12:03 p.m. Welcome to Essential Politics, our daily feed on California government and politics news. Here's what we're watching: Michael Bloomberg, the former... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2016-08-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The author took to Twitter today to give an explanation for how to increase diversity in science fiction. It starts with publishing more writers of color. The post N.K. Jemisin Has a Plan for Diversity in Science Fiction appeared first on WIRED. Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2016-08-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Fireside Fiction’s report, #BlackSpecFic, finds less than 2% of SF stories published in 2015 were by black writers The world of speculative fiction publishing is plagued by “structural, institutional, personal, universal” racism, according to a new report that found less than 2% of more than... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2016-08-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bloomsbury has signed a deal to publish children’s non-fiction with the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-08-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Four independent publishers have come together to form the Northern Fiction Alliance, a cohort assembled to showcase the output of northern indie presses to the international market in an attempt to “level the playing field” and promote regional diversity in publishing. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-08-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Although it lasted two seasons, Sony's original superhero crime drama Powers unfortunately won't be returning for a third. According to series creator and comic book author Brian Michael Bendis on Twitter, "season 2 was the last. at least for now." Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2016-08-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A new book chronicles the kidnapping of Patty Hearst and its stunning aftermath. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2016-08-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The U.S. Hispanic population of 56.6 millionaccounting for 17.6% of U.S. inhabitants and 11.3% of all purchasing poweris a particularly key demographic in this presidential election year, with about 27.3 million eligible Hispanic voters who are adult U.S. citizens. Spanish-language media giant... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2016-08-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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No adult fiction title released in the January-through-June period managed to make the top 20 print bestsellers list in the first half of the year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-07-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Orion’s Rebecca Gray has been promoted to the company's head of fiction publicity. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-07-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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I first met Peter Owen in the late 1980s, when he published some short stories that I had written about Saudi Arabia. I was invited to interesting parties at his house in Holland Park, west London, and at various embassies where he would launch the many translations of literary fiction he... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2016-07-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In addition to his achievement in the literary world, Matthew Evans, Lord Evans of Temple Guiting, had a decisive impact on the work of regional museums. In 2000, in an imaginative move by Chris Smith, then secretary of state for culture, media and sport, Matthew was asked to chair a reformed... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2016-07-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Edition M, a new imprint for crime fiction, is the latest addition to Amazon Publishing in Germany. It plans to publish 60 titles by the end of 2016. The post Amazon Starts New Crime Fiction Imprint in Germany appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-07-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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