Category: publishing

“One measure of the nation’s economic woes may be in billions and billions of bailout money, but another is in dimes. Starting Jan. 1, the city of Chicago will charge 20 cents a day for overdue library books instead of a dime.” It’s still a bargain compared to New York and Los Angeles.

“Paintings by some of Canada’s most venerated artists – among them Tom Thomson, Emily Carr, Jean-Paul Lemieux and A.Y. Jackson – failed to find buyers Tuesday night at the Joyner Waddington’s auction in Toronto.”

“Talk about a business of extremes. In less than a week the book publishing industry has been set abuzz by the news that one publisher is so uncertain about the economic climate that it has temporarily shut its doors to most manuscripts while another is celebrating a banner year by handing out extra bonuses to all its employees.”

“Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, the publisher of authors including Philip Roth, Jonathan Safran Foer, Günter Grass and J. R. R. Tolkien, has temporarily suspended acquisitions of new manuscripts, a company spokesman said Monday.”

The rush to books about FDR that Barack Obama set off follows a tradition among American presidents. JFK turned Ian Fleming into an overnight best seller, and Bill Clinton changed Walter Mosley’s career.

“The Canada Council, which administers the Governor General’s Literary Awards, is standing by the decision of its jury to award this year’s poetry prize to Jacob Scheier in the face of complaints by some critics that the decision is tainted by conflict of interest. Scheier, a 28-year-old Toronto poet living in Brooklyn, N.Y., won for his debut, More to Keep Us Warm. In the acknowledgements, Scheier thanks two of the three jury members….”

“The search to find the next poet laureate has been launched, with the British public to have their say for the first time. The reign of Andrew Motion, the first laureate to be appointed for a fixed 10-year term, runs out next year. The government will seek advice on a replacement from academics, poetry specialists and the public.”

“Whether you loathed him, liked him, or merely tolerated his face in your peripheral vision, George W Bush was a success in one respect: at the American bookstore. Since the contested election of 2000, current events and political titles have helped prop up America’s sagging publishing industry, proving to be the fastest growing sellers at chain stores.” It’s a different game now for publishers and readers.

“Since 1964, when her first novel debuted, she has published 54. Then there are the 31 collections of short stories, as well as the volumes of essays, plays and poetry. By the most conservative estimate, that’s two-plus books a year. Just how does she do it? To Oates, her level of production isn’t all that mysterious.”

“Readers order books online and receive them through the mail. They can choose among plans that would allow them to receive from three to 11 books at a time. These books can be kept for as long as the reader likes with no late fees. When finished with at least two books, the reader sends them back to BookSwim in a pre-paid return bag that comes with every shipment.”