The publishers' year: hits and misses of 2013

Publishers choose their books of the year, and the ones that got awayRobin Robertson Deputy publishing director, Jonathan CapeThe book that made my year: Many years ago, I was sitting in Blake's bar in Enniskillen with John McGahern and he recommended an American novel from the 60s, written by John Williams: a book called Stoner. I thought it was astonishing, and I passed it to vintage, who brought it out in 2003 with John's introduction. Like so many great books, it promptly disappeared, again – only to come back this year, miraculously, and succeed.Our book that deserved to do better: Chamber Music by Tom Benn. It's the late 1990s, in the middle of the drug wars on the estates of Manchester, and complicated antihero Bane is pitched against a Yardie called Hagfish, whose weapon of choice is a Komodo dragon. Tom Benn – still only 26 – is writing these amazing dialogue-driven noir literary thrillers that, as the blurb says, "do for low-life Manchester what Trainspotting did for Leith", and no one is paying attention.I wish I'd published: Cormac McCarthy, as usual. Even a screenplay by Cormac McCarthy, like The Counsellor (Picador).Alexandra Pringle Editor-in-chief, BloomsburyThe book that made my year: In a year that included fiction by George Saunders, Aminatta Forna, Colum McCann, Jhumpa Lahiri, Margaret Atwood, Elizabeth Gilbert and Khaled Hosseini, how can I choose? But perhaps in the end it will be 21-year-old Samantha Shannon's debut The Bone Season, which hit the... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2013-12-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Global woes unlikely to hit US business at Frankfurt

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Mon, 10/10/2011 - 08:43 Leading US publishers are looking forward to this week's Frankfurt Book Fair, with both Simon & Schuster and Hachette bringing more editors than they did last year. Hachette US chairman and c.e.o. David Young will be... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Content Marketing Has Arrived. Should Publishers Be Worried?

September 6th was a coming out party for content marketing. Over 600 marketing professionals came together in Cleveland from 18 different countries for Content Marketing World to learn how to create and grow their own publishing and storytelling platforms. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-10-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Waterstone's strikes publishers' agreement

Written By: Benedicte Page and Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Fri, 07/10/2011 - 08:30 A "gentleman's agreement" is allowing trade to continue over the crucial pre-Christmas period between Waterstone's and publishers with which it has not yet agreed terms. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Children's publishers positive about FBF deals

Written By: Caroline Horn Publication Date: Fri, 07/10/2011 - 08:05 Children's publishers are upbeat about this year's Frankfurt Book Fair, despite the turbulent impact of the uncertain financial markets across Europe. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishers ready Diamond Jubilee titles

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 07/10/2011 - 14:31 Publishers are preparing a raft of titles ahead of the Queen’s diamond jubilee in 2013. Big names will be penning their take on the Queen’s 60-year reign, with broadcaster Andrew Marr’s title The Diamond Queen (27th... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Digital sales 'could be 15%' by year's end

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 07/10/2011 - 14:39 Independent publishers are predicting that ebook sales may make up as much as 15% of their total sales by the end of 2011, as FutureBook's Digital Census reveals that a quarter of UK publishers now have ebook sales which... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Adobe Releases Single Edition in Digital Publishing Suite

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[ Folio Magazine | 2011-10-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishing Scotland to launch digital fund for indies

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Wed, 05/10/2011 - 15:21 Publishing Scotland has launched a "Go-Digital Fund" to support Scottish-based book publishers develop their digital programmes and bring their books to a new digital audience. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Perseus launches self-publishing ebook service

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Mon, 03/10/2011 - 08:01 US independent publisher Perseus Books Group has launched a distribution and marketing service for authors wanting to self-publish their own ebooks, offering a 70% royalty rate to the author. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Perseus Creates New Service for Authors Seeking to Self-Publish

David Steinberger of Perseus, which will offer distribution and marketing to authors. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2011-10-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Canongate sells controlling stake in Text Publishing

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Mon, 03/10/2011 - 15:21 Canongate has sold its controlling stake in Australian publisher Text Publishing to Maureen and Tony Wheeler, the founders of Lonely Planet. The deal, for an undisclosed sum, generates a "sizeable" amount of cash to invest into... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Another Rodale Exec’s Exit Points to Changes at Publisher

Gregg Michaelson, the integrated marketing president and chief marketing office with Rodale, has left the company. Michaelson was with the publisher since 2001, beginning his tenure with Rodale’s book division. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-09-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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British Museum to publish first manga title

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 30/09/2011 - 15:26 The British Museum Press is teaming up with Japanese star Hoshino Yukinobu to publish its first manga book, featuring the artist’s most famous character, Professor Munakata. Marketing and publicity executive Sarah Morgan... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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How Publishers Are Reacting to Facebook’s New Features

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[ Folio Magazine | 2011-09-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Assange misses chart as September slump continues

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[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Most – But Not All – Big Magazine Publishers Sign On For Amazon's Tablet

Conde Nast, Hearst and Meredith are in for Wednesday's launch. Time Inc. isn't, and may not get there for a while. Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2011-09-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishers gear up for Super Thursday

Written By: Charlotte Williams and Philip Stone Publication Date: Mon, 26/09/2011 - 09:00 Publishers are looking to make their mark with blockbuster titles from day one of release, as the most important day of autumn hardback releases, Super Thursday, looms this week. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Women's brands hard hit by downturn

Written By: Benedicte Page, Felicity Wood and Philip Stone Publication Date: Fri, 23/09/2011 - 10:15 A squeeze on consumer spending in supermarkets and the migration to digital are being blamed for the spectacular falls in sales suffered by many of the UK’s biggest commercial women’s novelists... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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HC to publish Christie's Grand Tour

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Thu, 22/09/2011 - 08:50 HarperCollins is publishing a collection of letters and photographs by Agatha Christie from a year-long trip she took around the world in a new book lined up for next year. The publisher signed a worldwide deal with Christie's... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Get author consent in writing, publisher agents told

Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Thu, 22/09/2011 - 15:46 Agents who wish to publish their clients’ work must offer them a detailed explanation of what they will personally gain from the arrangement and obtain their full and written agreement, the president of the Association of... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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