Category: publishing

Benjamin Kunkel’s debut novel, Indecision “is the latest in a spate of books that have collectively been dubbed “lad lit,” the male riposte to “chick lit” — that juggernaut spearheaded by Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones’s Diary in 1996, which sold two million copies and spawned both a sequel and a companion book, two films, and countless imitators. Each of the recent lad novels is a sort of anti-bildungsroman, in which a sardonic, clever, unapologetic slacker refuses to grow up, get a meaningful job, commit to relationships, or find any meaning in life.”

“Canada’s writers, on average, earn less than $9,000 annually, according to a 2003 study for the Department of Canadian Heritage. “This week, the Writers’ Trust of Canada will add a little fat to the bones thanks to a $1.87-million bequest — said to be the largest cash gift to writers in Canadian history — from the estate of literary giant George Woodcock and his wife Ingeborg.”

“Biographer Stacy Schiff has won the second annual George Washington Book Prize for “A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America” — walking away with $50,000 and proving once again that the Founding Father industry is alive and well.”

“Saturday afternoon at the huge new Convention Center here, filled to capacity this past weekend by that massive annual trade show of the book biz called BEA (BookExpo America), a group of conservative editors and sales execs took a chance. They gathered in their chosen venue, Room 203AB, for a panel on ‘Selling and Promoting Right of Center Books Via Left of Center Channels’.”

Canadian book giant Indigo had a terrific year, with big gains in sales. “Revenue growth was led by its superstores, where comparable store sales increased 10.2% and at its online arm, chapters.indigo.ca, which had a 22.8% sales increase to C$79.5 million. Same store sales even rose at Indigo’s smaller store, rising 4.3%.”

“The latest trend in book design is similar to fashions in clothing and decor. There is an abundance of lyrical, embellished covers with elaborate vintage typefaces. Almost an overabundance…”

Not so very long ago, libraries housed books, microfiche, frequently impenetrable card catalogs, and not much else. And it was fine, really. No one complained. But as the internet age came and flourished, libraries had a hard time keeping up, and many of the services they provided became easier to find online. But today, libraries around the world (or at least, those lucky enough to have the resources) have begun to reinvent themselves as multipurpose facilities that are once again relevant to students, scholars, and anyone looking for an answer.

Assessing the impact of the internet on the publishing world has become a cottage industry in itself, and even more than a decade into the online age, no one is truly sure of what the eventual balance between paper and screen will be, and the battle between the “technorati” and the “literati” is raging behind the scenes. This weekend, at one of the publishing industry’s biggest annual events, the oft-subsumed debate exploded into the open, courtesy of the mouth of author John Updike.

BookExpo America is a massive event, bringing together “some 25,000 publishers, booksellers, authors and agents.” With a crowd like that, you’d suppose that an up-and-coming author looking for a book deal couldn’t help but strike pay dirt. You’d suppose wrong. “Getting the attention of the booksellers, who are besieged by the blitzkrieg campaigns of the large and medium-size publishers, is particularly difficult for small presses or self-published authors, who often must overcome negative perceptions.”

Amazon.com has enlisted the service of comedian Bill Maher to host a new online talk show intended to help sell the books and music Amazon proffers. But will Maher (who is one of the most vocally political comedians since Bill Hicks) be able to keep his political views out of the program and avoid alienating a sizable demographic? Amazon is banking on it…