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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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Mon, 14/11/2011 - 08:12 Stephen Kelman's Pigeon English (Bloomsbury) has made the shortlist of the £10,000 Guardian First Book Award, equaling its achievement on the Man Booker Prize this year, with Down the Rabbit Hole by Juan Pablo Villalobos... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Caroline Horn Publication Date: Fri, 11/11/2011 - 07:30 Return to Ribblestrop by Andy Mulligan (Simon & Schuster Children's Books) has been awarded the Guardian Children's Book Award, beating off shortlisted titles including David Almond's My Name is Mina and Simon Mason's Moon... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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THE ebook revolution has gathered pace with Sydney's independent bookstores introducing ebook kiosks from today and Dymocks announcing a partnership with Google to deliver ebooks online. Continue reading at The Sydney Morning Herald
[ The Sydney Morning Herald | 2011-11-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In a major departure for Hay House, the self-help and spirituality publisher is jumping into the fiction market. Its debut mystery novel, The First Rule of Ten by psychologist Gay Hendricks and screen writer Tinker Lindsay, will be published in January. Hay House has signed up 10 additional... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-11-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 04/11/2011 - 11:09 Random House Cornerstone imprint Hutchinson is lining up books for its 2012/13 fiction lists, with publishing director Jocasta Hamilton scooping up two novelsincluding a British débutand editorial director Stephanie... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Caroline Horn Publication Date: Mon, 07/11/2011 - 08:30 Independent bookseller Ron Johns is moving into childrens fiction publishing, following a number of successes as a publisher of picture books and coffee-table books under the Mabecron Books imprint. Johns, who owns bookshops... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Caroline Horn Publication Date: Fri, 04/11/2011 - 15:21 Independent bookseller Ron Johns is moving into childrens fiction publishing, following a number of successes as a publisher of picture books and coffee-table books under the Mabecron Books imprint. Johns, who owns bookshops... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Tue, 01/11/2011 - 15:42 Avon has become the latest publisher to acquire a book tying into the 100th anniversary of the Titanic disaster. Editorial director Claire Bord bought world English rights to two novels by Gill Paul from Vivien Green at Shiel... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Fri, 28/10/2011 - 10:53 Actress and Loose Women co-presenter Lynda Bellingham has signed a two-book deal with Simon & Schuster to write commercial women's fiction. Publishing director Suzanne Baboneau signed the deal with Gordon Wise at Curtis... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Thu, 27/10/2011 - 08:15 HarperCollins has appointed Katrina Troy, currently head of commercial affairs for Vintage and Mainstream Publishing, as its commercial director for its fiction division. Troy will join in January 2012 and report to group... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Mon, 24/10/2011 - 09:25 Educational publishers have been accused of not providing enough support to help independent bookshops stay on the high street, as owners call for more discounts. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Mon, 24/10/2011 - 08:25 Educational publishers have been accused of not providing enough support to help independent bookshops stay on the high street, as owners call for more discounts. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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SPIN Media announced three new changes to its editorial staff: Caryn Ganz as online editor-in-chief, Christopher R. Weingarten as senior editor and David Bevan as associate editor. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2011-10-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Thu, 29/09/2011 - 13:55 A guide to independent bookshops will be given away in this Saturday's Guardian [1st October], with more than 350 indies included. The Independent Bookshops Directory is a 74-page A5 guide, with bookshops picked by the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publication Date: Wed, 28/09/2011 - 15:20 Google is to support a new family arts and literature festival, which is taking place during autumn half term in London. The internet giant will make 300 tickets to main theatre events at Word Up! available to low-income families referred to organisers... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Mon, 26/09/2011 - 08:50 Amazon c.e.o. Jeff Bezos has been named as the most powerful man in books in a Guardian and Observer "power list" of the 100 key people in the trade. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Tue, 20/09/2011 - 13:00 Pan Macmillan has pre-empted rights in a debut novel about a young black hairdresser called Dorrie in present-day Texas, for a five-figure sum. Editorial director for fiction Jenny Geras bought UK and Commonwealth rights... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Tue, 20/09/2011 - 08:35 Transworld has appointed Michelle Signore, currently editor-in-chief at John Blake, to the role of editorial director. Signore will join Transworld on 17th October, and will report to publishing director Doug Young.... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Fri, 16/09/2011 - 08:30 Publishers have heeded warnings that academic booksellers had "months to survive" by offering greater support during this year's academic season, the m.d. of Blackwell has reported. David Prescott said publishers have been... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Fri, 16/09/2011 - 08:30 Publishers have heeded warnings that academic booksellers had "months to survive" by offering greater support during this year's academic season, the m.d. of Blackwell's has reported. David Prescott said publishers have been... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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