Category: publishing

“By the end of the century, linguists predict, half of the world’s languages will be dead, victims of globalization. English is the major culprit, slowly extinguishing the other tongues that lie in its path… In the next two weeks, however, some of these endangered idioms can be heard at two international literary festivals that celebrate languages big and small, as well as the power and resilience of words themselves.”

“Kaavya Viswanathan, the Harvard sophomore accused of plagiarizing parts of her recently published chick-lit novel, acknowledged yesterday that she had borrowed language from another writer’s books, but called the copying ‘unintentional and unconscious.’… On Sunday, The Harvard Crimson reported that Ms. Viswanathan, who received $500,000 as part of a deal for [two books,] had seemingly plagiarized language from two novels by Megan McCafferty, an author of popular young-adult books.”

Over the past 17 years Irwin Herman has given away 8 million books in San Diego. “My entire budget is $60,000. We give away half a million books a year, and nobody takes a dime out of it. When we come up short, somebody tosses something in. People bring us books. They bring us great stuff, and they bring us a lot of crap. Bring us your good books. Don’t throw your crap in the garbage – bring it to us, we’ll put it in recycling.”

“Universities across the country are cashing in on the glamorous new image, with 85 offering postgraduate creative writing courses, compared with fewer than 10 a decade ago. Lucrative book deals and the new breed of celebrity author have led to a surge of interest in a potential career in writing. “

The founder of UK book chain Waterstone’s has made an offer to buy back the company from HMV. “Mr Waterstone conceded that he was paying a very full price to regain control, especially as Waterstone’s was facing an uphill struggle to win back market share from online booksellers such as Amazon and supermarkets. But relationships with the publishing industry had been badly damaged by the bid battle for Ottakar’s and HMV would not be as well-placed to repair them, he said.”

China and India – already braced to become two of the world’s greatest economic powers – are now expected to become two of its most important academic powerhouses. The British Library – renowned for collecting books, journals and artefacts from across the globe – is set to shift its focus from Western Europe towards China and India, to ensure Britons have access to the most important research. Staff will outline the new strategy on Tuesday along with their predictions that the two countries could overtake the West as intellectual and cultural hotspots.”

DaVinci Code fanatics will have to wait a while longer for Dan Brown’s much-anticipated sequel. The Solomon Key, which was originally expected to be released this spring, will now be delayed until sometime in 2007.

Some Atlanta area parents are leading a campaign to have the Harry Potter books banned from local school libraries. “People who love the books say they are happy that kids are reading the books as much as they are. They say that the books are ultimately about good versus evil. But opponents say that the books with their magic wands and spells are all about evil.”

“A novelist from Turkmenistan whose books have been banned and who has been under house arrest for two years became the first writer in 20 years to personally accept a Freedom to Write award from PEN American Center, the writers organization, at its gala dinner Tuesday evening in New York. His appearance was a last-minute surprise. Until Friday, government authorities had told the writer, Rakhim Esenov, 78, that he would not be allowed to leave the country.”

When Random House handed author Charles Frazier (of “Cold Mountain” fame) an $8 million advance for his next novel four years ago, the publishing industry gasped. “With just a one-page outline of the planned work, [Frazier] sold the second novel in an auction, and in so doing left behind the editor, Elisabeth Schmitz of Grove/Atlantic, who had discovered and nurtured him to success.” The amount of the advance was unprecedented for such a new author, and now, as Frazier begins to hand in his manuscript, the industry will be watching closely to see whether Random House’s investment was worth it.