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 ]
News tagged with:
#won prizes
#dozen languages
#cover design
#printing costs
#broadcast media
#literary journal
First-time novelists are joined by two former winners on the diverse list, as the six ‘ambitious and hard-hitting’ contenders are revealed• ‘We were blown away’: how we chose the Women’s prize shortlistThree debut novels will compete against books by two former winners for this year’s Women’s... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-04-26 06:30:01 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#fiction shortlist
#first-time novelists
#diverse list
#jacqueline crooks
#louise kennedy
#novelists
Award launched at London book fair aims to help older authors take the plunge and submit a first workLondon book fair, which concluded earlier this month, always brings with it a flurry of headlines about debut authors signing six-figure publishing deals. Most of these have at least one thing in... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-04-23 09:00:35 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#write fiction
#london book fair
The Booker Prize Foundation reveals a Nielsen study's data on consumers of translated fiction in the United Kingdom. The post London Book Fair: New Data on UK Readers of Translated Fiction appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2023-04-19 03:19:31 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#uk readers
#translated fiction
#united kingdom
#nielsen
Pick your favorite period piece films and drama in this quiz to get a recommendation for a matching historical novel! Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-04-18 10:35:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#historical fiction
These compelling Indigenous historical fiction books cover hundreds of years and take place all across North America. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-04-11 10:36:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#historical fiction
Science fiction has always been good at predicting distant futures and now governments are turning to them to ward off possible threats. Continue reading at The Conversation
[ The Conversation | 2023-04-10 13:17:28 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#science fiction
These hefty books explore the lives of a former poet, a polarizing artist and a Scottish rebel from unexpected angles. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-03-30 09:00:12 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#historical fiction
There’s a reason that people hide their diaries: they’re private conversations with close, and silent confidants. That’s also the reason people want to read them. No self-respecting teenager who discovers a sibling’s secret diary under a loose bedroom floorboard opens it hoping to discover what... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-03-27 08:52:31 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#secret diary
Red your way into the best realistic science fiction, ranging from well-known classics to lesser known gems. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-03-24 10:35:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#science fiction
Inspirational and faith-based fiction expands its subgenres and finds a ripe market of readers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-03-24 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Religion publishers discuss an evolution in Christian novels, determining that clean is still king, but faith-based content can vary. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-03-24 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#faith-based content
Writers, publishers and agents pay tribute to a warm, generous figure, author of more than 50 books ranging from SFF to crime to children’s literatureEric Brown, a prolific, award-winning author who published more than 50 novels, children’s books and short story collections, and who was the... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-03-23 13:58:10 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#west yorkshire
#award-winning author
#science fiction
From sweeping epics of ancient history to stories set in the 1990s, here are 20 beautiful Chinese historical fiction books to read now. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-03-16 10:31:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#stories set
#historical fiction
I first connected with Jennifer Rosner as fellow debut authors in early 2020 (you might recall what happened next). Historical fiction authors trip upon, excavate and fictionalize stories from the past that in turn inspire each other. I loved Jennifer’s brilliant debut The Yellow Bird Sings and... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-03-16 08:52:55 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#historical fiction
Letters to Trump will contain 150 private letters written over more than 40 years, including correspondence with North Korean leaderDonald Trump has not yet announced a deal to write a White House memoir but he will publish a second post-presidential book next month – reportedly including... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-03-09 12:58:59 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#kim jong-
#oprah winfrey
#including correspondence
#north korea
#richard nixon
#memoir
#publish book
This exciting mix of new science fiction and fantasy novels out in March 2023 will help you finish off the worst of the winter. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-03-09 11:34:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#fantasy books
#fantasy novels
#science fiction
It is one thing to treat AI as a tool when it has no scope for emotion. It is quite another when AI has a full suite of emotional responses. Continue reading at The Conversation
[ The Conversation | 2023-03-05 19:19:51 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#science fiction
In a test of planetary defense capabilities, NASA and Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory crashed a spacecraft to alter an object’s orbit. NASA is No. 17 on Fast Company’s list of the World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies of 2023. Explore the full list of companies that are reshaping... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2023-03-02 07:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#innovative companies
#full list
#dart mission
#fast company
#science fiction
Though the adult fiction segment was the only category to post a sales increase over 2022 last week, its 12% gain was enough to increase total sales of print books by 0.6%. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-03-02 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#adult fiction
#sales increase
#print books
Sue Bradley on her conversation with the late Marni Hodgkin about the ‘malicious quality’ to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant PeachRe the letters criticising Roald Dahl’s works (Roald Dahl’s mean and nasty books don’t deserve all this attention, 23 February), in an oral... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-03-01 17:24:42 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#chocolate factory
#giant peach
#ve read
#letters section
#books editor