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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The U.S. Supreme Court has said it will weigh in on the constitutionality of a provision in the U.S. Affordable Care Act requiring most for-profit companies to offer insurance coverage for birth control to their employees. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-02-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The UK Fiction Uncovered promotion has secured £80K for 2 years of £5k grants from the Jerwood Charitable Foundation and is now open to self-published authors. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-02-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Someone really ought to weave a tale about selling Christian and inspirational fiction: the overcrowded market, the distracted readers, and the rewards for those who overcome the odds. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-02-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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#inspirational fiction
Author Martina Cole showed her support for improving adult literacy with a visit to the Marine... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-02-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Fiction Uncovered, the annual prize highlighting works by British writers, is to be renamed the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-02-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Daunt Books in Marylebone is holding its first literary festival on 27th to 28th March. Authors... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-02-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Aurum Publishing Group has appointed Rachel Williams as publisher of a new non-fiction imprint,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-01-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Innovative and energetic publishers such as And Other Stories and Dalkey Archive are finding new routes to a committed audience"We were dreaming of freedom; we woke up in capitalism," is Slovenian writer Drago Jančar's wry comment at the launch of Dalkey Archive's anthology of short stories,... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-01-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Adobe has released Adobe Digital Editions 3.0 on Windows and Mac, a major new version of its eBook manager. The tool, which helps users browse, organize and read both free and purchased eBooks in EPUB, PDF, and PDF/A formats, offers more secure DRM, improved PDF search tools and enhanced display... Continue reading at Betanews
[ Betanews | 2014-01-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Guardian, Observer and theguardian.com publisher to invest sale proceeds, thought to be £600m to £700m, in core businessGuardian Media Group is selling its 50.1% stake in Auto Trader owner Trader Media Group to private equity firm Apax Partners in a deal thought to be worth £600m to £700m to the... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-01-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The International Publishers Association (IPA) is giving its official backing to Thema, the new... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-01-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Author Vanessa Curtis, whose novels include Zelah Green and The Haunting of Tabitha Grey (both... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-01-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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For the first time the Zee Jaipur Literary Festival (JLF) has introduced a professional program to discuss the ongoing challenges to book publishing in India. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-01-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Agent Scully actress will use her 'ingrained knowledge and rhythm' for SF to pen multi-volume EarthEnd SagaAfter delving into the paranormal for years as The X-Files' resident sceptic Dr Dana Scully, actor Gillian Anderson is set to create her own science-fictional universe – but this time in... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-01-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Atlantic Books Limited has begun the year by announcing "a significant financial and organizational restructuring." Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-01-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Numerous experts from the UK publishing scene spoke with The Guardian about what evolution they anticipate for digital publishing in 2014. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-01-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Industry luminaries scry the spins ahead in the helter skelter revolution at the centre of their businessAnna Rafferty, Penguin digital managing director"I predict more digital for publishers in 2014. I'm not being (completely) facetious, I mean more digitalness in all parts of the industry,... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-01-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'The Invention of Wings' by Sue Monk Kidd is receiving rave reviews and was recently selected as the latest pick for Oprah Winfrey's revamped book club. But how much of the book actually comes from history? Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-01-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The second Twitter fiction festival, searching for authors from across the world to tell stories... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-01-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Weekday and Saturday editions of newspaper to cost 20p more as the Times also increases price by same amountThe Guardian is to raise the price of its weekday and Saturday editions by 20p, following Monday's price rise for the Times.From 11 January, the Saturday edition of the Guardian will... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-01-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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#john witherow