Category: publishing

“Rochester, the lead male character in Jane Eyre, published in 1847, topped the Mills & Boon survey despite his moodiness and lack of good looks.”

Nick Barley, former chief executive of Glasgow’s Lighthouse architecture and design center, “said he wanted to take ‘a more strongly editorial approach’ to the book festival, creating themed strands in the programme that reflect the way that the world is seen by writers.”

Fear of change “followed news that Vroman’s bookstore in Pasadena has signed an agreement to purchase Book Soup,” a West Hollywood institution, whose founder died in January. “Customers’ worries were exacerbated by the continuing struggle [facing] independents….”

There’s only one consolation for an author who hears that her book has been remaindered: the knowledge that it’s secure at the library. “Were it not for libraries, there would be no safe harbor for characters and stories, nowhere for them to wait out disasters and economic storms.”

“The room contains a performance space, sound recording equipment, cameras and more than 100 laptop and desktop computers with media creation tools and software. Mentors teach kids how to work the equipment and do projects, and visiting artists offer free workshops. The space has more than a thousand books, too, and library officials say kids who use the space check out a lot of books.”

“In this confrontation-averse age of parenting, in which the “escalation” of emotions is considered a mark of failure, a favorite way of inculcating discipline is the reading of picture books. The language of a good children’s story is precise and consistent, offering a genial way for parents to address misbehavior. Many new picture books tout themselves as disciplinary tools.”

“In her weekly video podcast, before the opening of the Frankfurt Book Fair this week, Merkel appealed for more international co-operation on copyright protection and said her government opposed Google’s drive to create online libraries full of scanned books.”

“Several hundred UC Berkeley students took over the anthropology library for 24 hours this weekend to protest UC-wide budget cuts, in particular Saturday closures of small campus libraries that students use for studying and research.”

“Frankfurt may almost buck the global recession trend by not contracting in size or scope in 2009. The same number of attendees as last year- 7,000 exhibitors from more than 100 countries, with nearly 300,000 visitors – are expected to be present.”

“The culture minister Margaret Hodge’s suggestion that libraries should start selling books as well as lending them has been greeted with outrage by embattled booksellers.”