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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Roger Tagholm imagines how other characters from fiction would react to the news that Harper Lee is giving Scout Finch a second chance at life. The post How Are Famous Fictional Characters Reacting to Scout’s Return? appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-02-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Jane Harris is to join the Bonnier Publishing Fiction division as executive director for children's fiction. Harris will report to recently appointed Bonnier Publishing Fiction c.e.o. Mark Smith, and will be responsible for all the company's children's fiction output, including imprints Hot Key... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-02-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Anne Enright has been appointed the first Laureate for Irish Fiction. The author receives €150,000 over the three-year term of her Laureateship, during which she will continue her own work as a creative artist, teach creative writing at University College Dublin and New York University, and... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Times of India recently examined the problems facing Hindi pulp fiction in the era of ebooks, which may be killing off cheap pocket editions. The post HarperCollins India Tries To Save Hindi Pulp Fiction appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-01-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Has the editor of The Bookseller compared the fall of print sales of adult fiction since 2009 by more than £150m with the massively declined budgets of public libraries over the same five-year period (The writing’s on the wall for adult fiction in print, 14 January). This is also conditioned by... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-01-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In the latest episode of Geek's Guide to the Galaxy the panel discusses the Kickstarter campaign to fund Queers Destroy Science Fiction!, a special issue of Lightspeed magazine written by queer creators. The post Crowdfunded Magazine Celebrates Queer Science Fiction appeared first on WIRED. Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2015-01-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Little, Brown Book Group has hired Maddie West as the new deputy publisher for its Sphere Fiction imprint, replacing Rebecca Saunders. West, who is currently editorial director at Atlantic imprint Corvus, will focus on publishing commercial women’s fiction for the list. Saunders, previously... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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John Murray Publishers is to launch a new list this year, focussing on “fresh and distinctive writing” and books that “provoke and entertain”. JM Originals will publish its first two titles in July, and is today opening a competition to the public to launch the covers for the books. The list... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In the latest episode of Geek's Guide to the Galaxy, writer Naomi Klein discusses dystopian fiction and her new capitalism-vs.-the-climate nonfiction book This Changes Everything. The post Dystopian Fiction’s Popularity Is a Warning Sign for the Future appeared first on WIRED. Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2014-12-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Three Percent and Open Letter Books publisher Chad Post talks with Caitlyn Christensen at Sampsonia Way about the contemporary literary scene, publishing and translation. The post Open Letter Book’s Chad Post on the State of Translation appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-12-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Mark Smith, founder and former CEO of Quercus, has been named CEO of Bonnier Publishing Fiction in London, covering both adult and children’s lists. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-12-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This past November, author Laura Hillenbrand published a young adult version of her 2010 bestseller 'Unbroken' (itself still on bestseller lists). The book for younger readers is also selling well, though reviewers disagree on whether it's necessary. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-12-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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William Heinemann has acquired a “significant” collection of erotic letters from a young woman to her lover dating from the 1920s. Selina Walker, publisher at Century and Arrow, bought UK and Commonwealth (excluding Australia New Zealand) rights to the collection, edited by Jean Yves Berthault... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Audible has released an original audio drama written by Matt J Arlidge and starring actors Andrew Scott, Freema Agyeman and Hermione Norris. "Six Degrees of Assassination" is a five-hour political thriller series written specifically for Audible and following an MI5 investigation into the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Young adults dominate the Arabic book market, but publishers are acutely sensitive to the slightest challenge to conservative etiquetteThe boom in young adult fiction has left the Arab publishing world playing catch-up, as authors try to compete with Twilight and The Hunger Games without... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-11-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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China's crack down "slash fiction" and pornographic graphic novels hasn't stifled the flow of material — or its popularity. The post “Slash Fiction” Thrives in China, Despite Government Crackdowns appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-11-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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September Publishing has acquired a book by Sharon Blackie on Celtic woman and empowerment. Publisher Hannah MacDonald (pictured) acquired world English language rights to If Women Rose Rooted, Like Tress from Kirsty McLachlan at DGA Ltd. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Conde Nast of old aimed to sign star scribes like Christopher Hitchens and photographers like Annie Lebowitz. The Conde Nast of now has its sights set on YouTube stars.To meet the content demands of its growing millennial audience, the magazine publisher's digital-video division, Conde Nast... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2014-11-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Piers Torday has won the Guardian Children’s Fiction Award 2014. Torday won the award for The Dark Wild (Quercus), a story about 12-year-old Kester and his adventures amongst some of the last wild animals in the land. The animals believe the time is right to rise up against their human enemies... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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