Category: publishing

Iceland publishes more books per capita than any other country in the world, with five titles published for every 1,000 Icelanders. But what’s really unusual is the timing: Historically, a majority of books in Iceland are sold from late September to early November. It’s a national tradition, and it has a name: Jolabokaflod, or the “Christmas Book Flood.”

“Lately scholars have stepped up the hunt for evidence of how people over time have interacted with books, newspapers, and other printed material.”

“What could it mean that so many non-natives are learning and using English imperfectly? This has less to do with the internet. Non-natives are already interacting with each other in person, in English, all around the world. It’s harder to forecast the structural changes that this could cause to standard English. But a few guesses are possible.”

“Doomsday has not arrived, at least not yet. As four of the publishers have entered into settlements with regulators and revised the way they sell e-books, prices have selectively fallen but not as broadly or drastically as anticipated.”

“Giving raves to family members is no longer acceptable. Neither is writers’ reviewing other writers. But showering five stars on a book you admittedly have not read is fine.”

“Publishers and authors say they are seeing a spurt in sales of books that fit into the young-adult genre in their length and emotional intensity, but feature slightly older characters and significantly more sex, explicitly detailed.”

“Offered 50 shades of grey, we fall back on the same old bestsellers in a few primary colors. When it comes to Cocoa Krispies and interior decorating, our lazy habits may not matter much, but when we’re shopping for books, those decisions can shape our minds.”

Anne Of Green Gables is one of the 50 most influential novels in China this year, according to the country’s national publishers association. … The first official Mandarin translation of [the book] was offered for sale in China late last year.”

“Vantage Press, one of the original ‘vanity’ publishing businesses, has closed three years after its acquisition by media investment banker David Lamb.” Says a lawyer’s letter to creditors, “Vantage does not have sufficient revenue to sustain itself as a going concern. It has, therefore, ceased all business operations.”

“The new dirty word is submission, and its arrival on every tongue is revolutionizing sexual politics even as it enriches Fifty Shades author E.L. James, her publishers and the legions of copycats whose own pornography is now clogging mainstream bestseller lists.”