The novelist Robert Harris was right to call the BBC’s lack of a books show a ‘disgrace’. There’s plenty the corporation could do to make a popular literary programme on TVWith injury, there is always a little insult. When a BBC spokesperson, responding to Robert Harris’s complaints at the Costa book of the year ceremony about the absence of a dedicated book show on its television channels, pointed out that the corporation was responsible for introducing readers to books by way of adaptations such as Wolf Hall and The Casual Vacancy, one might feel that Harris’s comments – in which he called the absence of a BBC TV books show an ‘absolute disgrace’ – had been somewhat misunderstood.While Hilary Mantel and JK Rowling, their publishers, agents and the book industry doubtless benefit from book adaptations, the BBC’s motive in putting them on is not altruistic. It does not broadcast these adaptations to benefit poor, garret-bound writers, nor because it thinks the publishing industry is struggling to connect with potential readers, nor because it worries that amid the hubbub of rapid-fire entertainment opportunities, the novel is becoming marginalised. It does it because the best novels - whether classic or contemporary, comic or tragic, philosophical or political or romantic - are masterpieces of narrative and entertainment. The BBC is in the debt of writers of such novels as Parade’s End, Mapp and Lucia, South Riding, Death Comes to Pemberley and The Night Watch for... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2015-01-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
If squabbles over format, pricing and Amazon have led the US publishing industry to neglect an ever more diverse audience, we have forgotten why people read books in the first placeThe true price of publishingAt the recent National Book Awards ceremony in New York City, presenter and bestselling... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-12-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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By Robert M. Sacks Do you ever wonder if the publishing industry has learned enough in the last five years to be more effective and more profitable in the next five years? Of course, effective is a relative term... Continue reading at Publishing Executive
[ Publishing Executive | 2014-12-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Backlist is more important than ever for the publishing industry and the opportunity to use backlist titles to drive the sale of frontlist titles is, according to publishers, “one of the true excitements” of the new era of digital publishing. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The author of The Gruffalo earned more than JK Rowling and Dan Brown in UK, making her the fourth biggest-selling writer in British historyA dancing chorus of giants and snails, witches and Gruffalos have propelled Julia Donaldson into uncharted territory, as the former childrens laureate... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-11-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Xerox invented Laser printing and copying less than 50 years ago and as a result revolutionized the publishing industry. This innovation was so significant during its time that the outcome was that almost every Japanese electronics product manufacturer, the likes of Canon, Konica, Ricoh and... Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2014-10-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The literary body, representing 9,000 authors, is calling on the US government to launch a competition investigation into Amazon, following the long-running dispute between the internet retailer and publisher HachetteAmericas Authors Guild has met with the US department of justice to call for an... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-10-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon Kindle is now a 'proud sponsor' of Downton Abbey. And it suits, as the show's story arc reflects the current dynamic in the publishing business. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-09-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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PW's annual salary survey reveals an eye-opening lack of diversity in the publishing industry, an enduring pay gap between men and women, and an increasingly optimistic workforce. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-09-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Stuart Applebaum, who rose from a publicist at Bantam Books to become the dean of corporate communications directors in the publishing industry, has been named emeritus executive v-p, corporate communications at Penguin Random House. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-08-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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For publishers today, data has become the key to competitive advantage. But executing against data has traditionally been a challenge. Only in recent years has the publishing industry invested in the technology required to make sense of data's complexity and volume. It speaks to a culture shift,... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2014-08-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon's leaked 'Netflix for books' plan will alarm publishers and doom old-fashioned anonymous readingOnce upon a time, 12 years ago to be precise, David Bowie said something very perceptive. "Music itself is going to become like running water or electricity," he told a New York Times... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-07-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The first half of 2014 was one of the publishing industry’s busiest six-month periods for mergers and acquisitions since the start of the Great Recession. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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As things stand, Hachette is making ebook discounts impossible, and almost everybody else stands to lose, writes Hugh HoweyNews: New Amazon terms amount to 'assisted suicide' for book industry, experts claimHow much should an ebook cost? And how should that money be split? These two questions... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Welcome to a special educational series about digital printing solutions and technology. Here, we look at the value proposition of digital printing, and take stock of the current thoughts and practices in the publishing industry in implementing a hybrid printing program. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Childrens Laureate enthusiastic about children reading digitally but thinks publishers should proceed with cautionAuthor and Childrens Laureate Malorie Blackman is enthusiastic about the potential for children to read books digitally, but thinks the publishing industry should proceed with... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-07-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The publishing industry's packaging of women's literary fiction in stereotypically girly covers makes great books seem trashy.If you take a look at the cover of Alice Munro's latest Nobel Prize-winning short fiction collection, The View From Castle Rock, you probably wouldn't guess it includes... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2014-07-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Predictions that the e-reader is done seem to be everywhere. What do those forecasts really mean for the publishing industry? Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-07-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Silkworm, written as Robert Galbraith, was advertised with long delivery delays, but web retailer appears to have backed down· Review: The Silkworm by JK Rowling as Robert Galbraith· Digested read: The Silkworm by Robert GalbraithAmazon.com appears to have bowed to consumer pressure and... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-06-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Books do furnish a room, but according to many in the publishing industry, the fear is that emails, online video texts and tweets will prevent them being read. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-06-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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