Category: publishing

Three years ago, Ruth Lilly left $175 million to Poetry Magazine, making it the richest literary magazine in the world. So what’s happened since to the cause of poetry?

“Is there really anything to it, or is Second Novel Syndrome a myth? Reviewers who fall for the schematic over the actual will lament the ‘disappointing second novel’ just as they will damn a debut with the faint praise of ‘an author to watch in the future’. But, as with much in reviewing, this can be based on a preconceived idea rather than reality.”

James Frey’s publisher says it doesn’t matter if some of the author’s work isn’t true. “Memoir is a personal history whose aim is to illuminate, by way of example, events and issues of broader social consequence. By definition, it is highly personal. In the case of Mr. Frey, we decided ‘A Million Little Pieces’ was his story, told in his own way, and he represented to us that his version of events was true to his recollections. Recent accusations against him notwithstanding, the power of the overall reading experience is such that the book remains a deeply inspiring and redemptive story for millions of readers.”

Charges that James Frey’s best-selling memoir ”A Million Little Pieces” contains numerous ”wholly fabricated or wildly embellished” details are dogging the book. “It’s unclear what effect the allegations will have on readers. The Oprah’s Book Club edition of ”A Million Little Pieces” was the best-selling book on Amazon.com yesterday.”

The latest installment of Harry Potter was the best-selling book of 2005. “Proving its enduring popularity, which is likely to continue with the release of a movie adaptation this year, Dan Brown’s “The Da Vinci Code” was the fifth highest U.S. seller of the year.”

“Take One Magazine, the national film magazine since 1992, has announced that it has suspended publication. Despite the magazine’s being run as a not-for-profit organization, founding publisher and editor Wyndham Wise says Take One had run into cash-flow problems that were becoming too difficult to contend with.”

Questions have been raised about the truth of James Frey’s best-selling memoir, “A Million Little Pieces.” “The book, originally published in 2003 by the Nan A. Talese imprint of Doubleday, soared to the top of the best-seller lists in the fall after it was chosen by Oprah Winfrey for her television book club. Ms. Winfrey’s enthusiastic endorsement helped the book to sell more than two million copies last year, making it the second-highest-selling book of 2005, behind only “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.”

Every type of entertainment seems to be available on-demand these days, so why not literature? (Yes, yes, we know, books are technically an on-demand content delivery device, but just humor us.) One well-known Canadian author has launched an online subscription service for his work, e-mailing three stories per month directly to readers in exchange for an $8 annual fee. “The benefits to the author are obvious. In addition to the enforced deadlines and the built-in revenue stream (he makes about $275 a month, in addition to direct-marketed book sales and speaking engagements related to his subscription list), Rogers has found a way to overcome one of the most vexing problems faced by writers: launching their words into a void.”

Concerned about information getting out about how the CIA operates, agency director Porter Goss is trying to discourage books about the agency by former employees. “Goss is concerned about the potential effects of books written by those with inside knowledge of agency operations.”

The publisher of the Da Vinci Code is printing 5 million copies in paperback. “Even though the book is one of the best sellers in hardcover history with 12 million copies in print in North America, Random House, a division of Bertelsmann of Germany, is operating on the assumption that many readers have been waiting for a less-expensive paperback version and that the film will generate new interest.”