Essay Photo by Tyler Quiring / Unsplash Ismail Kadare has a remarkable quality of saying a great deal and with much clarity, but in an elusive, oblique, and allegorical way. Peter Constantine situates Kadare’s work in the long history of the Balkans and in the broader tradition of writers who practice their craft under the constraints of censorship. Anton Chekhov, in his comical short story “The Cross,” which he wrote in 1883, sets the scene in a high-society Moscow salon: a gathering of elegant Muscovites is crowding around a poet who, it seems, has just received a medal for his work. Is it a Stanislav Cross for the valor of his latest book of poetry? Is it an Order of Saint Anna Cross for patriotic stanzas in service of Imperial Russia? The tension mounts until the poet holds up his book and the guests see the large red cross of the czar’s censorship bureau. The poet’s latest book of poems has been banned. The eye of the imperial censor was severe, and some of its censors, such as Ivan Goncharov, were literary celebrities in their own right. All the great authors of the Russian literary canon of the nineteenth century—Pushkin, Dostoevsky, Gogol, Chekhov—had to set pen to paper with great care to avoid the censor’s red cross, and the problems that might follow in its wake. They each developed a personal way of self-censoring, a way of saying things without actually saying them, perhaps crossing the line occasionally, but... Continue reading at 'World Literature Today'
[ World Literature Today | 2021-02-18 14:09:58 UTC ]
Aspiring writers and directors now have a rare chance to impress producers and publishers with time on their handsCameras have stopped rolling, book launches are postponed and actors are all “resting”. It looks as if nothing is moving in the world of entertainment and storytelling, yet from... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-04-18 13:05:09 UTC ]
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The smoke has been spotted at the corner of Broadway and 56th Street, and Reagan Arthur has been announced as the new publisher of Knopf. Amazingly, Arthur is only the fourth person to helm one of the most important publishing houses in America in its 105-year history, following an impressive... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-01-23 16:20:54 UTC ]
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Seven publishers had sued the audiobook giant last July, claiming that its audio-to-text service Captions was unauthorisedAfter months of back and forth, Audible has settled in a copyright lawsuit with major publishers over its plan to introduce captions to their recordings, a proposal that the... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-01-15 14:00:06 UTC ]
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Events should be used to build long-term audiences for writers and their books rather than just being built around publication dates and sales, a Futurebook panel has heard. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-11-24 19:17:49 UTC ]
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Lowborn by Kerry HudsonKerry Hudson is best known for her award-winning fiction. Her first book, Tony Hogan Bought Me An Ice-cream Float Before He Stole My Ma, won the Scottish First Book Award and earned her a place on the Granta Best of Young British Novelists list. Her latest book, Lowborn,... Continue reading at British Council global
[ British Council global | 2019-08-30 08:51:45 UTC ]
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Penguin group rejects claim of censorship after halting publication of Simon Akam’s The Changing of the GuardAfter beating four other publishing houses in an auction, William Heinemann was in no doubt that The Changing of the Guard would more than reward the five-figure advance it paid to its... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2019-08-18 06:59:05 UTC ]
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One of the most interesting things about book publishing, as an industry, is the way imprints and publishing houses develop over time—shifting focus to keep up with public interest, taking on personalities along with personnel, changing hands ad nauseam and merging like no one’s watching.... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2019-08-15 09:36:09 UTC ]
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They turned down Ulysses and Animal Farm, but still shaped 20th‑century literatureAll publishing houses have archives, but for anyone interested in 20th-century literature the archive of Faber & Faber is a fabled treasure house. This is the firm that was, as Toby Faber puts it, “midwife at... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2019-06-20 11:00:08 UTC ]
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Michelle Lewy, who held executive spots at a number of publishing houses, died May 7. She was 62. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-05-13 04:00:00 UTC ]
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On the heels of the rapper’s deal with Random House, a look at the stars dipping their toes into publishing with imprints of their ownWith the launch of his new book imprint with publishing giant Random House, announced on Thursday via Instagram, the grime rapper Stormzy joined a growing list of... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2018-07-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Taking to the streets on Lithuania's annual 'Day of the Book Smugglers,' a team of fashionable book 'smugglers' delivered Lithuanian writings to agents' offices, publishing houses, and media newsrooms ahead of London Book Fair's Market Focus on the Baltics. The post Lithuania’s ‘Day of the Book... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2018-03-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The agency, formed by three publishing houses, this year has captured both the 'adult' Finlandia Prize and the junior prize in children's literature. The post Helsinki Literary Agency Authors Win Both the Finlandia Prize and the Junior Prize appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2017-12-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Canadian retailer Indigo Books & Music is in discussions to expand operations to the United States as early 2018, according to several high level executives at publishing houses in both Canada and the United States. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-07-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The goal of the survey, which publisher Lee & Low created and is overseeing, is to gather statistics about the staff makeup of both publishing houses and review journals based on gender, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, and disability. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-09-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Perle, who served as publisher of William Morrow, among other top level positions across publishing houses, died August 20 at the age of 59, after living with breast cancer for more than eight years. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Simon & Schuster imprint Touchstone has created Glommable, a site that will curate content from Internet personalities and authors from across publishing houses. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The changing nature of the worldwide book industry is sharply demonstrated in the upper echelons of the 2015 edition of the Global Ranking of the Publishing Industry: for the first time, publishing houses from outside Europe and North America have cracked the top 10. Both the groups—Phoenix... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-06-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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US tech sector’s problems with Brussels deepen as competition chief focuses on allegedly restrictive contract clausesThe European commission has launched a competition inquiry into Amazon’s dominant market position in ebooks, as Brussels steps up its scrutiny of US tech groups. The EU’s... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-06-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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McGraw-Hill’s Kevin Watt will join digital textbook platform Kortext as business development director at the end of April. Watt is moving from his position as head of sales for the UK, Ireland, Northern Europe and Southern Africa at McGraw-Hill Education. In his new role at Kortext, Watt will... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-04-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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