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 ]

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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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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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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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Shortlist unveiled for Republic of Consciousness Prize for Small Presses

Novels dominate this year’s shortlist for the Republic of Consciousness Prize for Small Presses.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-03-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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New at the British Book Awards: 41 Contenders in Small Presses

'An incredibly strong list of more than 50 submissions' has been winnowed to the area shortlists for the British Book Awards' new small-press category. The post New at the British Book Awards: 41 Contenders in Small Presses appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2019-02-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Shortlists for inaugural Small Press of the Year award revealed

Forty-one small presses have made it into the regional and country shortlists of The British Book Awards’ new prize for Small Presses, sponsored by the CPI Group, launched to celebrate the innovative and nimble publishers making names for themselves outside the mainstream. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-02-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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British Book Awards Expanded for 2019 in Children’s Books, Small Presses

The annual British Book Awards, with winners to be announced May 13, are widening their recognition of independent publishers and of nonfiction and illustrated work in children's books. The post British Book Awards Expanded for 2019 in Children’s Books, Small Presses appeared first on Publishing... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2018-12-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Late-Night TV Hosts Give Publicity-Starved Novelists the Star Treatment

TV coverage of literary fiction has dwindled, but Trevor Noah and Seth Meyers are exceptions. “Who would have guessed that a 700-page novel would be on national TV?” one publishing executive said. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2018-12-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Record numbers exhibit at indie presses fair

Sixty-eight small presses will be descending on Central London's Conway Hall in the second week of November, for the 17th edition of the Small Publishers' Fair. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-10-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Graham Norton: ‘In a world going to hell in a handcart, Ireland is a wonderful beacon’

The chatshow host’s new novel centres on Irish lives dominated by shame and repression. Yet, after ‘decades of darkness’, the country’s legalisation of abortion and gay marriage have made him hopefulGraham Norton’s second novel, A Keeper, had not gone to press before this interview, so his... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2018-10-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Nurturing the literary landscape

Benedicte Page reflects on the current status of literary fiction and the role of independent publishers in the book industry. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-08-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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