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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CI4: Big Presence for Small Presses at Show

Support from presses of all sizes has been key to CI's success, but this year even more small presses than usual will be at the conference. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-06-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BEA 2016: Big Books from Small Presses Create a Buzz

While the five books presented at the BEA Selects: Children's panel session were from small presses, they all made a big impression on the audience. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BEA 2016: Justin Cronin: A Red-Headed Inspiration

Ten years and 800,000 words ago, Justin Cronin, at the time a well-regarded, if largely unknown, author of literary fiction and a recipient of the PEN/Hemingway Award, started telling a story—one that he didn’t think would be published. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Radical lists primed for fair play

Independent publishers, small presses and zine-makers are primed to come together at the London Radical Book Fair, an event created to support the radical book trade and provide an organisational structure for the “reviving movement”. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-05-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Portugal’s Book Market: A Few Words With Patricia Seibel

While taking stock of lagging literacy rates and persistent economic challenges, literary agent Patricia Seibel still sees quality and a loyalty to literary fiction as hallmarks of Portugal's resilient market. The post Portugal’s Book Market: A Few Words With Patricia Seibel appeared first on... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-03-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Harry Potter's female readers now driving the boom in 'grip lit'

Millennial women who grew up reading JK Rowling’s wizard series are driving sales in other genres as they reach their 20s and 30s, according to recent researchThe women switched on to books by Harry Potter are shaping the literary world, according to new research, boosting the market in... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2016-03-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'We need small presses': author launches new award to support fiction from small publishers

The Republic of Consciousness prize has been launched by novelist Neil Griffiths, who intends to ‘guilt trip’ bestselling authors into contributingThe award-winning novelist Neil Griffiths is launching a new literary prize celebrating the “small presses producing brilliant and brave literary... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2016-02-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Winter Institute 11: Small Presses Take the Spotlight on Day Three

On the final day of the show, small and university presses promoted their offerings to booksellers at a luncheon and closing reception. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-01-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Seattle’s Arundel Books Launches Small Press

The bookstore/art gallery is adding a trade imprint, Chatwin Books, focused on literary fiction and poetry. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-10-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Little Book Distributor That Could

Small Press Distribution has carved out an important role in the distribution landscape, filling spaces overlooked by the bigger players through its commitment to independent and small presses. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-09-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Avery made editorial director at William Heinemann

Tom Avery has been promoted to editorial director of William Heinemann. Avery joined the Cornerstone imprint in 2011 as editor, and was made senior editor in 2013. Before joining William Heinemann he was at Jonathan Cape and Vintage Books. Avery publishes non-fiction and some literary... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In 2018, this publisher will only release books by women. Here's why.

After attending a panel discussion on 'The Crisis of American Fiction,' in which an all-male panel discussed only male authors for an entire hour, author Kamila Shamsie began to research the dearth of women in publishing and literary fiction. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-06-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Dealmaking at the Buenos Aires Book Fair

Nicole Witt of the Mertin Literary Agency reports on rights deals from the Buenos Aires Book Fair, where literary fiction is always a highlight. The post Dealmaking at the Buenos Aires Book Fair appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-05-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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ABA Winter Institute 2015: Conversations with Keynoters

Winter Institute offers many ways for booksellers to interact with authors, with dozens participating in Tuesday evening’s author reception and Wednesday’s closing event with writers from small presses and university presses. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-01-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Shandler Lands Top Spot at New Harper Imprint

Former Little, Brown editor-in-chief Geoff Shandler will be overseeing the nonfiction side of a new line featuring nonfiction and literary fiction under HC's William Morrow division. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-01-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hot Book Trends from the Göteborg Book Fair

Saskia Vogel documents the hot book trends from the Goteborg Book Fair, including feminist texts, literary fiction, and more. The post Hot Book Trends from the Göteborg Book Fair appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-10-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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JukePop Wants To Bring Indie Titles To More Libraries

Finding authors from small presses might be getting easier.It's tough being an indie author. These writers lack the marketing resources of those working with big publishing houses, making it difficult to get their works on the shelves of bookstores and libraries. Readers, meanwhile, often have... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2014-09-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hard books for hard times: literary experimentation gains popularity

For some authors, a demanding era for publishing calls for complicated stories not cautious and conservative ones and they're finding readersBetween the decline of the traditional bookshop and the internet wrecking our concentration, many thought the novel was on its last legs. With all the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-08-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Distribution Engine Brings U.K. Small Press Graphic Novels to the U.S.

Seven U.K. Small Presses have banded together to bring wider retail distribution and greater sales to their graphic novels in the U.S. comics market. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-08-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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How Tarted-Up Book Covers Belittle Women's Fiction

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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