Thomas Wolfe’s new book is on the bestseller lists to be sure. But crappy reviews have translated into sales of “only” 250,000, far below the announced first printing of 1.5 million. “Despite its continued tenure on most national best-seller lists, “I Am Charlotte Simmons” is being discounted by 50 percent or more at bookstores and online, a move publishers often make to try to recoup some of their investment in a book that has not met expectations.”
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Tate Breaks Tcket Sales Record
“A record 21,000 people have booked tickets to see the new Turner Whistler Monet exhibition at Tate Britain, the largest advance booking for a Tate show. The previous record was set by the Hopper exhibition at Tate Modern last summer, which had advance sales of 13,500 tickets.”
How A South Dakota Library Stuck Up For Imprisoned Cuban Librarians
In March 2003, Castro’s State Security police arrested independent librarians who provided access to books excluded from Cuba’s censored library system. “These ‘subversive’ independent public librarians were sent to Castro’s foul prisons, along with the other dissenters. During the raids on these independent libraries, the offending books were confiscated, and many of them burned.” A tiny library in South Dakota “adopted” a Cuban library, sending books and drawing attention to the plight of the librarians…
Armed Conflict – Coming To A Screen Near You
Get ready for a slew of films and TV shows about war on American TV. “Not since World War II has Hollywood so embraced an ongoing conflict. It took years for pop culture to tackle the Korean and Vietnam wars, and it took time before the country was ready to be entertained by those politically charged conflicts. With Iraq, however, and after 9/11, all bets are off.”
Top Of The Pops – New Charts Redefine “Bestseller”
What are the most popular songs in the land? As the music business has changed, it’s been harder and harder to tell. Some songs have made the bestseller list for sales of only 5,000 copies. “This week, Billboard began figuring in download sales in its main pop singles list, mixed with the two other factors it long leaned on — radio play and retail sales. At the same time, the magazine has introduced a new, download-enhanced chart that more accurately measures those songs that truly are the most popular.”
Indie Musicians And The Benefits Of The Web
All this shouting by recording companies about getting paid and protecting the rights of the artists. Somehow, writes Lawrence Lessig, the voices of independent musicians have been lost. Take the band Wilco, which dumped its label, went to the net, and found themselves more popular (and profitable) than they had ever been…
Wright Starts Poetry Press
Charlie Wright is chairman of timber and development company R.D. Merrill is known in art circles for restoring solvency to the New York-based Dia Foundation. Now he’s turning to another big interest – poetry – and starting a new publishing house. “We’ll be focused on mid-career American poets. There will be some exposure to emerging poets, also reprints and translations – sort of a mixed bag.”
NY Comics Smiling About Raises
In December New York comedians got together to form an organization to negotiate higher pay from comedy clubs. “Two months ago it sent letters to the owners of 11 clubs around the city asking for raises, and as of last week all but 4 of the clubs had acquiesced and submitted proposals for a new pay scale. Yesterday the union made contact with the four remaining clubs and today will meet with their representatives.”
Oscars Change Presentation Procedures
The Oscars are changing the way some of its awards are presented. “Some winners will not go on stage to pick up their awards – while in other categories, all five nominees will get on stage before being told who has won. The traditional system where the winner walks up to the podium after their name is read out will also still be used.”
Kipen: New American Lit Awards Have A Conflict
So there’s to be an Oscars for the book world – the Quill Awards. Televised on TV too. But David Kipen has a problem with one of the overseers of the awards – Reed Business International, the company that owns Publishers Weekly: “Now, PW is a pleasant and frequently useful publication. Unaccountably — maybe by mistake? — it’s even hired a gifted and energetic literary journalist, Sara Nelson, to become its new editor. But still, in co- administering an annual awards ceremony honoring the very industry PW covers, the magazine’s conflicts of interest are, not to put too fine a point on it, ripe for the plucking.”