Stories should come from all parts of society – not just from the well heeled and the middle classLiterary fiction, you might think, is in wonderful health. Book festivals, from Edinburgh and Wigtown in Scotland, to Hay-on-Wye in Wales, to Cheltenham and Bath in England, are flourishing. There is certainly no shortage of people eager to become authors of literary fiction: creative writing courses have proliferated. The British, you could argue, are more at home tucked up with a decent novel than with any other artform. Britain is, after all, the country of Austen, the Brontës and Eliot; of Ian McEwan, Zadie Smith and Hilary Mantel.Look at the facts, though, and a more worrying picture emerges. It is well known that financing for the arts in Britain suffered a great blow after the global financial crisis: public funding for cultural organisations took a hit, the art market was severely knocked, and spending on theatre and concerts became impossible for many. A decade on there have been some signs of a recovery, albeit patchy and fragile. But this is not so for sales of literary fiction, which have not recovered from the recession. According to new research commissioned by Arts Council England, the problem affects literary fiction in particular. Genre fiction is doing better, dominating digital sales (the popularisation of the e-reader followed swiftly on the heels of the financial crisis; Amazon energetically promoted its Kindle for Christmas in 2010). The arrival of the... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2017-12-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Mark Mills, owner of the Plum Pudding Illustration Agency, and former Bloomsbury editor Fiz Osborne, are setting up a new children’s literary agency. Plum Literary will be based in Reigate, Surrey, and cater for writers for all kinds of children’s books, from picture books to YA. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-21 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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Authors, staff, and other supporters of the University of Akron Press expressed relief after UA president Scott Scarborough affirmed his commitment to maintaining the press' viability and rehired laid-off employees. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In advance of the Beijing Book Fair, Michael Healy of CCC and Tom Chalmers of IPR License discuss the developing rights and licensing scene in China. The post Rights and Licensing in China: Views from CCC and IPR appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-08-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Books published by independent publishers dominate this year’s Guardian First Book Award longlist, with Granta editor Max Porter’s novel among those longlisted. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Tom Avery has been promoted to editorial director of William Heinemann. Avery joined the Cornerstone imprint in 2011 as editor, and was made senior editor in 2013. Before joining William Heinemann he was at Jonathan Cape and Vintage Books. Avery publishes non-fiction and some literary... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-13 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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Not unlike climate change, it's something that digital-age writers worry about, but can't nail down. I'm not sure what effect the accepting warmth of digital communities has on our literature. I don't think encouraging people can make bad writing suddenly appeal to the masses. Are the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hachette Children’s has hired Maria B Campbell Associates as literary scouts to the group. Maria B Campbell Associates, which was already acting as a scout for YA imprint Atom Books, will now look for books for imprints Hodder Children's Books, Orchard Books, Orion Children's Books, Little,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Thriller author Steve Hamilton's decision to abruptly pull his October novel from his longtime publisher underscores a growing issue in the business: Are traditional publishers doing enough to support established authors? Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Guardian is organising a children’s literature festival – a free one-day event in London on 29th August, featuring authors such as Sarah McIntyre, Philip Reeve and Paul Strickland. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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After celebrated novelist’s death last week, Saeed Kamali Dehghan remembers an interview with him on everything from books to Iran’s copyright infringementMost famous writers don’t have a clue that their work has been translated into Persian and that they are literary celebrities in Iran. When... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-07-29 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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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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Wendy McCurdy, formerly executive editor at Berkley Publishing Group, has been named editorial director at Kensington Publishing. 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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