Whither the Midlist Publisher?

For nearly a decade, some say even longer, people in the publishing industry have been decrying the death of the midlist. As the story goes, the industry consolidated—smaller and midsize publishers were gobbled up and brought together into six large houses that themselves are small pieces of bigger media conglomerates—and the expectations for a title’s sales and revenue rose. With consolidation, the big players began swinging for the fences, focusing on acquiring big bestsellers (or at least books they thought they could turn into big bestsellers), abandoning a model in which they could make small amounts of money on books for audiences of varying sizes. Now, as a result of these changes, the sea of authors who sold modestly at the big six are increasingly being turned away. While a cluster of small presses have sprung up that trade in specialized categories and literary fiction, more commercial authors, abandoned by their big publishers, are finding there aren’t many options in the middle. Continue reading at 'Publishers Weekly'

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-11-04 00:00:00 UTC ]

Other news stories related to: "Whither the Midlist Publisher?"


Beginning with Abortion

ALMOST NO CONTEMPORARY literary fiction recounts the experience of getting an abortion. Perhaps this is because it can seem politically suspect to write in a nuanced way about its difficulties; opponents of legal abortion are all too eager to turn any mention of these difficulties into evidence... Continue reading at Los Angeles Review of Books

[ Los Angeles Review of Books | 2019-11-07 13:30:09 UTC ]
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8 Eerie Reads From the Literary Fiction Shelves

While you're perusing the literary fiction shelves, create a haunting atmosphere with these eerie literary fiction titles for Halloween and beyond. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2019-10-31 10:40:16 UTC ]
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For Some Horror Writers, Nothing Is Scarier Than a Changing Planet

While literary fiction often sidesteps the climate crisis, eco-horror is filling the breach. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2019-10-19 09:00:04 UTC ]
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Aging Gently, Messily: On Elizabeth Strout’s “Olive, Again”

SEQUELS IN LITERARY FICTION are rare. There’s a risk in returning to characters whose arcs have been resolved or purposely left in ambiguity. A second book may rob readers of the pleasure of imagination, thus undoing some of the magic of the original novel. But sometimes a character so compels... Continue reading at Los Angeles Review of Books

[ Los Angeles Review of Books | 2019-10-16 17:00:57 UTC ]
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Ed Needham: ‘Top editors’ jobs have all vanished’

The founder and editor of literary magazine Strong Words on his appetite for tales of financial chicanery and why he won’t be returning to Jane AustenEd Needham is the editor of Strong Words, a magazine about books that he writes and edits on his own from his flat in Camden Town, a feat that has... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2019-10-05 17:00:51 UTC ]
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Hamish Hamilton scoops Avni Doshi's 'sharp' betrayal novel

Hamish Hamilton has bought a book by author Avni Doshi, billed as “a sly and searing debut from an unmissable new voice in literary fiction”. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-09-13 07:57:52 UTC ]
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Republic of Consciousness Prize for Small Presses granted Arts Council funding

The Republic of Consciousness Prize for Small Presses has been granted Arts Council funding for the next two years.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-27 08:51:41 UTC ]
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12 Books That Prove the Literary/Genre Distinction is Bogus

When I first joined a workshop in 1994, American literary fiction was dominated by and continually lauded a “quiet” kind of writer, one often influenced by J.D. Salinger, Ernest Hemingway, or Raymond Carver. I loved literary fiction—I’d been reading, writing, and submitting it since high school.... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2019-08-16 11:00:22 UTC ]
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Who Needs an MFA When You Have This Literary Fiction Trope Checklist?

Writing literary fiction stories? Forget what you’ve learned about complex characters and earned endings. What you really need is to include the required tropes. To help you out, we’ve created this handy checklist. Literary Fiction Trope Checklist _____ 1. Starts with character waking up _____... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2019-07-26 11:00:50 UTC ]
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Literary Fiction Literary Agents Open to Submissions

Literary agents are gatekeepers of the publishing industry. Find literary fiction literary agents open to submissions in this post. List will be updated regularly. The post Literary Fiction Literary Agents Open to Submissions by Robert Lee Brewer appeared first on Writer's Digest. Continue reading at Writer's Digest

[ Writer's Digest | 2019-07-26 11:00:18 UTC ]
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8 Beer and Book Pairings

It’s a cliché among authors that we write the books we wish existed, but two of the many reasons I set out to write The Lager Queen of Minnesota was because I wanted to read literary fiction set in a brewery, and frankly, I also wanted a reason to bum around the country researching contemporary... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2019-07-19 11:00:19 UTC ]
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#BookstoresAgainstBorders Raises $30,000 and Counting

Money raised by the participating indie bookstores, small presses, and other literary organizations participating in this past weekend's fundraising campaign will benefit the refugee aid nonprofit RAICES. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-07-08 04:00:00 UTC ]
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What to Expect When You’re Expecting Evil

Literary fiction is increasingly borrowing from the horror genre to explore the fears and anxieties of modern motherhood. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2019-07-06 09:00:14 UTC ]
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How the New York Public Library Brought Novels to Instagram With Unexpectedly Huge Results

The idea makes practically no sense at all. Full works of long-form literary fiction uploaded to ... Instagram? And specifically to Instagram Stories, a format known for its fast and fleeting posts about nights on the town and outfits of the day? But the New York Public Library pulled it off,... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2019-06-14 20:20:07 UTC ]
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BookExpo 2019: Literary Fiction Gets the Buzz

Indie booksellers raved about both fall/winter fiction and nonfiction offerings at BookExpo, but literary fiction with plots inspired by today's news headlines is what they were most excited about. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-05-30 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Indies dominate Shirley Jackson Awards shortlists

The shortlists for this year’s Shirley Jackson Awards have been announced, featuring a host of titles published by small presses. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-05-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Creative writing graduates will 'never make a living as novelists', says Self

Will Self has declared literature to be "morphing into a giant quilting exercise", suggesting that no current creative writing graduates will make a living from literary fiction. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-05-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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IPG Independent Publishers Awards shortlists see 10 new names for 2019

The Independent Publishers Guild (IPG) has announced the 12 shortlists for its annual awards, with five small presses up for at least two prizes and 10 featuring for the first time. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-04-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Galley Beggar Press and CB Editions jointly win Republic of Consciousness Prize

Galley Beggar Press and CB Editions have both won this year’s Republic of Consciousness Prize for Small Presses, as its founder announced the contest would no longer be restricted to just one winner. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-03-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book prize names two winners as it criticises 'false hierarchy' of awards

Republic of Consciousness prize honours Will Eaves and Alex Pheby, but says awards make us wrongly consider a sole winner ‘the best’A novel about James Joyce’s troubled daughter, Lucia, and a reimagining of the chemical castration of Alan Turing have been named the joint winners of the Republic... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2019-03-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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