Category: publishing

“‘The Pale King,’ the name Wallace gave to the novel that, had he finished it, would have been his third … continues Wallace’s preoccupation with mindfulness. It is about being in the moment and paying attention to the things that matter, and centers on a group of several dozen I.R.S. agents working in the Midwest.” An excerpt from it accompanies D.T. Max’s lengthy piece on the author, who killed himself last September.

She “remains the most famous of English crime writers, comfortably outselling everyone else in the field, translated into multiple languages and the subject of numerous highly successful film and TV adaptations.”

“Rather than killing it off, modern technologies like email, social networking sites such as Facebook and online media players are helping poets reach new audiences. The grassroots scene is now growing, with live poetry readings becoming more popular and more poets getting their own pamphlets published.”

“The Sea is My Brother was described by the Beat Generation icon as ‘man’s simple revolt from society as it is, with the inequalities, frustration, and self-inflicted agonies.’ The 158-page manuscript follows the life of Wesley Martin who has a “strange, lonely love” of the sea.”

“Publishers are excited: Electronic rights are now pretty much a non-negotiable part of any author’s contract, whether defined as a primary right (that is, the equal of the printed book) or a subsidiary one (like the right for audio-books or a TV show). You want to see your book all decked out with a nice cover and stacked five deep on the shelf of your neighbourhood bookstore? Hand over electronic publishing rights.”

“The problem of neglect or insignificance evaporates in a situation in which, in spite of the vast numbers writing (800 to 1,000 books of poetry are published in the United States per year; thousands of other poets publish in journals and quarterlies), we have no minor poets. Everyone today, like those above-average children of Lake Wobegon, is brilliant and sui generis.”

“It does not sound like a recipe for publishing success: a roster of translated literary novels written mainly by Europeans, relying heavily on independent-bookstore sales, without an e-book or vampire in sight. But that is the formula that has fueled Europa Editions, a small publisher founded by a husband-and-wife team from Italy five years ago.”

“Joe the Plumber (no longer a plumber; first name actually Samuel) popped into our town yesterday evening to sell his new book and to remind people that he’s still a plain and simple guy. Mission accomplished, on at least one of his missions. About 11 people wandered into the rows of seats set up hopefully in the basement of a downtown Border’s bookstore to hear Joe speak.”

“Joseph O’Neill has won the 2009 PEN/Faulkner Award for fiction for his widely praised novel ‘Netherland.’ Set in New York after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the book has drawn repeated comparisons to ‘The Great Gatsby’ while managing to overcome American readers’ indifference to cricket, the game around which much of its narrative is built.”

“Like the awfulness of our National Anthem, the futility of the post of Poet Laureate is one of those running sores in our national culture which seem beyond healing. … Poetry doesn’t need a Poet Laureate: I’m not even sure it needs a ‘flag waver’. All poetry needs is poets, with a rich store of language to draw on.”