The truth about book prizes, why Amazon is like an old-fashioned library and how much famous writers really earned from their journalism …Periodically, signs go up saying that Grub Street is closed to through traffic. Observers speculate that the street is being redeveloped as gentrification forces the former inhabitants to move out, or else that the closure may be due to the expansion of the neighbouring university’s English department. Older heads are shaken in what had been the local pub but is now a coffee’n’crafts shop: there used to be more life in the place, they mourn, when bohemian writers could dash off a review against the clock to pay for their round. Even if Grub Street is eventually reopened, it will never be the same again, and anyway it will probably have been renamed “Creatives Crescent”.Such cliches and exaggerations are characteristic of this genre of lament. Like most keening for the good old days, these threnodies are not pieces of dispassionate historical analysis: they are attempts to compensate for so much that is disagreeable about one’s own time by inventing a more or less idealised version of the past. Still, it is worth wondering why “Grub Street” should be the form taken by paradise lost in this case. After all, the street originally so named in London (it was real before it was metaphorical) came to be the home of that kind of “grub” defined by the OED as “a person of mean abilities; a dull industrious drudge; a literary hack”. Even allowing... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2016-01-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
Besides sharing years of experience in traditional publishing, the trio of Pat Mulcahy, Philip Turner, and Joan Hilty have other things in common. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-01-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#traditional publishing
Want to know when your favourite author has a new book out? What festivals are lighting up your holidays? When the awards are being dished out? Check out our literary calendar for 2015, the year the new Children’s Laureate is announced…Have we missed anything? Email us at... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-01-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#@gdnchildrensbks
#ll add
#matt haig
#jennifer niven
#nicola morgan
#sita brahmachari
#gayle forman
#james dawson
For eight years, the journalist Roberto Saviano has faced constant threat of death for exposing the secrets of the Naples mafia in his book Gomorrah. Is the price of life under armed guard too much for a writer to pay?As a young writer growing up in Caserta, a suburb of Naples, I felt myself... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-01-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#instant bestseller
#school year
#public transport
#international bestseller
#huge number
A call to nonviolent action with examples from history; stories of the quest for grace. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-01-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#forthcoming religion
#spirituality books
After the attack at 'Charlie Hebdo,' PEN called for renewed efforts to protect "those working on the front lines of free expression.” Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-01-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#charlie hebdo
#renewed efforts
#front lines
#free expression
In 2014 the number of titles available via Smashwords grew to more than 300,000, and the site now distributes more than 100,000 authors and indie presses. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-01-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#indie presses
Ruth Bridget Coughlin, former book editor at the 'Detroit News,' passed away on December 25 in Dover, N.J. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-01-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#book editor
#detroit news
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) and other business groups are to meet the Treasury this month to discuss concerns over the government’s proposed review of business rates, according to the Telegraph. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#business rates
When PW did a review at the end of 2013 on how more than 30 industry startups had performed over the last few years, we found that while several had “pivoted” and one had been sold, for the most part companies were still in business and hopeful that sustainable growth was just around the corner. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-01-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Here are the reviews of adult titles that were read the most on publishersweekly.com this year—an intriguing mix of backlist titles and contemporary hits. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-12-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#adult titles
#backlist titles
Here is a book review of Randall Munroe's What If? Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Questions. Overall, a great book. I recommend it. The post Book Review: What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions appeared first on WIRED. Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2014-12-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#book review
#scientific answers
#randall munroe
#great book
Imagine never being able to turn around but only being able to walk in a straight line your entire life. That’s the problem facing the square crabs in 'The March of the Crabs Vol. 1: The Crabby Condition' by Arthur De Pins. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-12-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#entire life
A charming French novel about an old-school publisher trying to get to grips with the digital ageAt more than one point in this novel I found myself asking: could this be any more French? Early on we meet a character described thus: “She used to be incredibly good-looking and now at... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-12-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#electronic readers
#attention span
#tax breaks
Last year marked our first round up of the numerous “books of the year” features across the media. It saw a total of 660 books being touted by various critics, writers and celebrities. This year, our spreadsheet collating the reviews boasts 910 titles that have been recommended across several... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#year features
#year marked
We all know that it's against the law to sell copyrighted material, but is it also illegal to tell people about software that can strip DRM off ebooks without the intention to distribute? New York Judge Denise Cote has recently ruled that it's not. .. Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2014-12-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
In the course of the last console generation, Ubisoft has gone from "the French publisher behind the Tom Clancy games" to the world's leading creator of lucrative open-world sandbox franchises (by quantity, if not quality). This success hinges on a s... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2014-12-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#french publisher
New titles include a look at how the experience of Holocaust survivors has influenced the faith of their descendants. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-12-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#forthcoming religion
#spirituality books
#titles include
#holocaust survivors
If you are looking for an entertaining book that explores the nature of science, I recommend Chad Orzel's Eureka! Discovering Your Inner Scientist. The post Book Review: Eureka! Discovering Your Inner Scientist appeared first on WIRED. Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2014-12-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#book review
PW reviewers were impressed with these spirituality and religion books published in 2014. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-12-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Everyone poops.It's not just the name of a children's book by Taro Gomi, it's a simple fact of life. But it's not something you'd pick up if you watched toilet-related advertising. Take toilet paper, for example. If you were an alien anthropologist who sat through three decades of toilet paper... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2014-12-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#simple fact
#recent memory