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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Alane Adams worked for years as an accountant at her family’s business, but she always believed that one day she’d get back to her first two loves: reading and writing. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-09-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Since ebook sales exploded in 2009–2010, the adult fiction category has seen the steepest drop in print units of all the major book segments as readers migrated to digital formats, particularly in such fiction genres as romance, mystery, and science fiction. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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‘There’s a lot about sex in literature,’ novelist tells Edinburgh international book festival. ‘There’s precious little about rearing children’Literature should be more about parenting and less about sex, award-winning writer Janice Galloway has said.Speaking at the Edinburgh international book... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-08-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Nick Poole, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Library & Information Professionals (CILIP), has written an open letter to Birmingham City Council, urging it to keep its libraries open and professionally staffed. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Computer-generated fiction might seem a tipping point for artificial intelligence, but it could help us to understand the world we live inIn 1983, William Chamberlain and Thomas Etter released a book called The Policeman’s Beard Is Half Constructed, described as the “early fiction” of a computer... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-08-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The University of East Anglia is publishing archived private correspondence from novelists such as Doris Lessing, JD Salinger and WG Sebald to inspire today’s students of creative writing“Don’t,” a young Doris Lessing is advised as she tries to find a publisher for her first novel, The Grass is... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-08-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Marketers continue to boost spending in the U.S. Hispanic media market, with 2014 advertising outlays growing by 12.0%, far ahead of the estimated 4.9% growth for overall U.S. major-media ad spending. As usual, internet spending (up 18.3%) and TV (up 14.7%) fueled that growth. Newspapers eked... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2015-08-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Good news for '80s kids who preferred Blane McDonough to Duckie Dale: "Pretty in Pink" star Andrew McCarthy, who went from Brat Pack actor to travel writer and television director, is coming out with his first novel. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2015-07-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Book Doctor goes right back to beginnings of YA and teen fiction in the 1950s and 1960s to investigate whether author age has anything to do with reader experienceI saw several really young writers at the Young Adult Literature Convention (Yalc) who seem to know just what their readers are... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-07-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The National Book Award lifetime achievement winner, who said she no longer has "the stamina" for classroom teaching, wants to guide aspiring writers via her Book View Cafe blog. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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US novelist E L Doctorow has died at the age of 84. Doctorow, known for works including Ragtime (Penguin Modern Classics) and The March (Abacus), passed away yesterday in New York from complications from lung cancer, his son told the New York Times. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The music played by Radio 2 is not replicated anywhere else – and then there’s our drivetime book club, children’s writing contest and moreIt is true that in the next few months, many folk will want to have their say about the BBC. It is also true that many of them will have earned good money... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-07-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This week we asked readers whether now is a good time to be in love with fiction--are great new books being written? Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Is this a good time to be a new fiction fanatic? Is great fiction of all kinds being written by new authors? PW wants to know what you think. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Recommended Reading highlights the best long-form writing on technology and more in print and on the web. Some weeks, you'll also find short reviews of books that we think are worth your time. We hope you enjoy the read. The Subversive Science Fi... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2015-07-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Books by David Levithan, Philip Reeve, Sarah McIntyre, Drew Daywalt and Oliver Jeffers were the winners of this year’s United Kingdom Literary Association (UKLA) Book Awards, announced today (10th July) at a ceremony in Nottingham. The awards are divided into three categories – 12-16+, 7-11 and... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bloomsbury Children’s Books has acquired a three-book young fiction series about a pug dog from debut author Laura James. Ellen Holgate, editorial director at Bloomsbury Children’s Books, acquired world rights from Gill McLay at the Bath Literary Agency. The first book, Captain Pug, is about... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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After a downturn in fiction sales, Abingdon is closing its fiction program and broadening its Christian Living line. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In 2016, the new prize will transition to an annual award recognizing a work translated into English. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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As the USA and Cuba reestablish diplomatic relations, literary relations are also flourishing: Restless Books will release a series of Cuban sci-fi books. The post Restless Books’ Publisher Searches for Cuban Science Fiction appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-07-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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