Category: publishing

“In embracing the term, the publishing industry helps itself to some Hollywood glamour. And in avoiding the most obviously appropriate word for these commercials–that is, commercials–sacrosanct literature keeps grubby commerce at an arm’s length.”

“‘Twilight’ came for the tweens, then for the moms of tweens, then for the co-workers who started wearing those ridiculous Team Jacob shirts, and the resisters said nothing, because they thought ‘Twilight’ could not come for them. They were too literary. They didn’t do vampires. They were feminists. Then something happened: the release of the ‘Twilight’ movie….”

The 68-year-old LeClerc “has presided over the sprawling library system during a revolutionary period of change, as the world has shifted to the digital era. When he first came to the position in December 1993, the library did not even have a Web site.”

Prizes have now taken the place of reviews as “the means by which many people now decide which books to buy, when they bother to buy books at all.” So supply meets demand: we have the National Best Book Awards (resemblance intentional), which has “150 active categories” and for which every book entered (fee $69 per category) becomes a finalist.

“Jim Caviezel (Jesus), Malcolm McDowell (King Solomon) and Richard Dreyfuss (Moses) were among hundreds of actors who lined up to create ‘The Word of Promise Audio Bible,’ all 98 hours and 79 CDs of it.” Other boldface participants: Max von Sydow as Noah, Gary Sinise as David, Marisa Tomei as Mary Magdalene and Jason Alexander as Joseph.

“The self-published novels won’t be sold under the Harlequin brand, but Harlequin, which sells about 1,500 romances every year, is hoping it could become a grooming ground for future authors.” That’s in keeping with tradition: Over the last decade, Harlequin says, “at least 50 of its authors have come from the ranks of its readers.”

“People once scoffed at the idea of reading a book on a 3.5-inch mobile screen. For many readers, though, sheer convenience trumps everything else.”

“Google has scaled back its digital book plans after submitting a revised settlement with industry regulators following pressure from European and Asian governments. The amended settlement proposes Google will only digitise books copy-protected in the US or published in the UK, Canada and Australia – a significant reduction on its original plans.” (New Zealand is ticked off.)

“German book publishers – angered at being included in the Google Books Settlement without being consulted – voiced concern Sunday that they had now been excluded.”

“The people behind a controversial movement known as ‘flarf’ believe phrases found on the Internet and strung together into poetry provide a critical social commentary. Others,” needless to say, “think it’s worthless drivel.”