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 ]
'Heart,' the nonfiction story of the Native American leader Red Cloud, was well-received critically upon its release and has now become a bestseller in its paperback format. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-10-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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More brands are publishing video directly to Facebook instead of to YouTube and then using Facebook for distribution. The post Facebook video isn’t killing off YouTube — yet appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2014-10-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A starred review for Rob and Kristen Bell's new book on marriage; the best examination to date of Pope Francis, who he is, and what to expect. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-10-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Author Emily Perkins about imaginary worlds, acting and the ebooks v print debate. Continue reading at Stuff
[ Stuff | 2014-10-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Country musician Jimmy Wayne tells the affecting story of his own youth as a foster kid; American Christian men examine their approaches to faith and fatherhood. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-10-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Literary agent Barbara J. Zitwer reflects on the pivotal role the Frankfurt Book Fair has played in her life and career. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-10-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Dunham's book 'Not That Kind of Girl' is being praised for its voice and humor, though some critics note her show 'Girls' isn't mentioned much. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-09-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Literary world praises Miller for his intelligence, wit and literary acumen, and lasting pride in his Scottish rootsKarl Miller, founding editor of the London Review of Books, critic and award-winning author, has died, aged 83.After stints as literary editor of both the Spectator and the New... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-09-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A dying woman writes a book about life's end; a psychotherapist explores the untapped power of the will. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-09-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Online giant operates a rapacious near monopoly, the Observer columnist and Peep Show star tells Booksellers conferencePeep Show star David Mitchell blasted the monopolistic, cynical and frankly life-crushing way that Amazon operates to a roomful of booksellers.The comedian was giving the... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-09-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amis's French and German publishers passed on his novel about the Holocaust, but another French company will be releasing the book and Amis's agent said there will most likely be a new German publisher that is willing to publish it. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-09-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Earlier this year, Felice Cavallaro, a highly regarded journalist from the Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera, launched the Road of Writers—a project to rediscover and celebrate Sicily’s great writers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-09-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Too little information is available to aspiring writers in the UK regarding literary agents, argues Harry Bingham, so a movement has started to bring transparency. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-09-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Claudia Wittman, literary agent and founder of the Wittman Agency in Germany, talks about how her rights business manages the massive changes in the book publishing industry. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-09-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Marleen Seegers, co-founder of the 2 Seas Agency in California, talks about the challenge of building a literary agency brand, hot territories for foreign rights, and digital-first books in translation. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-09-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ikea's parody of Apple marketing -- the ad that gushes over the eternal battery life and instantaneous page loading of the Swedish retailer's ordinary paper catalog -- has gone viral. ("It's not a digital book, or an ebook it's a bookbook.")Created by BBH Asia Pacific for Singapore and... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2014-09-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Joel Osteen offers more encouragement in his newest book; James Carroll explores the meaning of Jesus for today. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-09-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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UK literary agency Andrew Lownie outlines the range of activities he is involved with in a typical agency week, from the mundane and routine, to the offbeat and extraordinary. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-09-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Stephan J Harper's litany of angry comments about a critic is a textbook demonstration of the reasons why wounded writers should keep shtumIf it's not the craziest response ever by a novelist to a negative review, it's almost certainly the longest, most obsessive and most ridiculous. When... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-09-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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I don’t have any do’s for writing book reviews on slavery—I don’t have any do’s for writing book reviews, period—but I have a few don’ts, courtesy of the Economist’s now-withdrawn review of The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism, a new book from Cornell... Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2014-09-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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