Publishing

The Shelf Talker: The War to Settle the Score (and the Future of Book Publishing)

Kevin Smokler | Posted 05.25.2011

Kevin Smokler

TST was the third question-asker and inquired (plainly, we thought) why publishers act with suspicion and fear towards the very technologies and people that seek to cheerlead for their books.

Book Sales Rise In Europe Amid Recession

New York Times | Eric Pfanner | Posted 05.25.2011

After a dip in the fall, the number of books sold in France rose 2 percent in December from a year earlier and 2.4 percent in January, according to Li...

John Conyers Tries [and Fails] to Explain His Opposition to Public Science Access

Michael Eisen | Posted 05.25.2011

Michael Eisen

Rep. Conyers would have us believe that it is just a coincidence that his bill would erase a government policy vehemently opposed by publishers who have contributed to his campaigns.

Pulp (Non-) Fiction: The Blagojevich Book Deal

Karen Stabiner | Posted 05.25.2011

Karen Stabiner

He's getting six figures to tell us what really happened when he didn't, he swears, do any of the things that the rest of the world seems to believe he did. A fairly cushy bully pulpit, with no one interrupting to ask embarrassing questions.

Books: The Biggest News In Publishing Since The Kindle [Updated]

Michael Giltz | Posted 05.25.2011

Michael Giltz

To read the new John Grisham any way you want, you would pay about $120. Of course, no one is going to do that, but being forced to choose what way you want to read a book is crazy.

What About the Readers?

Hugh McGuire | Posted 05.25.2011

Hugh McGuire

The question every publisher should be asking themselves is: how can we provide more value to our readers? I suspect the ones that start each day with that question will find the right answers.

Kathy Griffin Memoir Acquired For More Than $2 Million

New York Observer | Leon Neyfakh | Posted 05.25.2011

The comedian Kathy Griffin is writing a memoir, and according to three sources with knowledge of the deal, her literary agent at Endeavor, former Dutt...

Why Do Repubicans Hate Artists And Writers So Much?

Lisa Solod | Posted 05.25.2011

Lisa Solod

I don't expect Republicans to own up to having read anything more challenging than a Tom Clancy novel, but would they really deny the rest of us the opportunity to do so?

Cuban Writer Threatened Over Planned Release of Banned Book

Yoani Sanchez | Posted 05.25.2011

Yoani Sanchez

Since yesterday, an email is circulating on the intranet of the Ministry of Culture, warning us of various reprisals for the alternative release of the censored collection of stories.

Really Simple Ways To Save, So That You Can Enjoy My Luxury Service Journalism

Adam Baer | Posted 05.25.2011

Adam Baer

Here are some of my personal budget strategies to keep enjoying the Luxury Life as defined in the glossies by Yours Truly.

Amazon Kindle 2 -- I Think I'll Wait

Stephanie Vaughn Hapke | Posted 05.25.2011

Stephanie Vaughn Hapke

I love the thought of owning a Kindle. However, when I look at the overall return on my investment, I'm not so sure that it is really worth it at the current price point.

Impulse Buying for Books, Baby

Giles Slade | Posted 05.25.2011

Giles Slade

Bezos yearned to adapt such Jobsian techniques to the sale of books and to recast those sales in the same way iThings had changed MP3 downloads and then put Internet access in your pocket.

Bridges and Books: Bring Back the Federal Writers Project

Buz Teacher | Posted 05.25.2011

Buz Teacher

The entire publishing industry is contracting very quickly and there is something we should consider doing about it: Bring back the Federal Writers Project.

On Buying Books

Karen Dionne | Posted 05.25.2011

Karen Dionne

If more book-lovers become book-buyers, perhaps the publishing industry's woes will ease, and the 14% who buy more than 20 books a year will explode next time Random House takes a survey.

What Would Molly Think?

Betsy Moon | Posted 11.17.2011

Betsy Moon

Molly Ivins made us want to be our better selves and stand up and use our power. Two years after her death, she would be so proud that we finally woke up and worked to make this happen.

My Second Publisher Meeting!

Josa Young | Posted 05.25.2011

Josa Young

This morning, thanks to darling husband, I woke to find muesli with yoghurt and a cup of tea beside the bed in acknowledgment of my editorial marathon.

Bookcamp: the Books are All Right

Hugh McGuire | Posted 05.25.2011

Hugh McGuire

BookCamp London started with a blank grid: 6 time slots and 5 spaces (or 5 spaces, 6 time slots?), with participants asked to fill in the grid, adding sessions they'd like to discuss.

Glory days? They Were Gone Long Ago.

Nicole Kenealy | Posted 05.25.2011

Nicole Kenealy

Another article informing me about the impending death of the publishing industry. Like I needed a reminder? Black Wednesday wasn't so long ago that we already need a recap.

Making Books for Gadgets

Hugh McGuire | Posted 05.25.2011

Hugh McGuire

I no longer have to carry a book, because I have 75 of them sitting on my iPod, which I have anyway. The Kindle & Sony Reader both say: carry me the way you used to carry your book.

Tower of Babel?

Caryl Rivers | Posted 05.25.2011

Caryl Rivers

We need a press powerful enough to rival other power centers, like government and the corporate state. And we desperately need a new economic structure to save newspapers.

A Challenge to Publishers: Say No to Gonzo

Andrew Foster Altschul | Posted 05.25.2011

Andrew Foster Altschul

But what if the answer to publishers' problems lies not in finding the right book to publish but in finding the right book not to publish?

What If the Book Business Collapses?

Hugh McGuire | Posted 05.25.2011

Hugh McGuire

The book business has stopped caring much about books. Like all businesses with stock, the people running them have one central responsibility: to increase shareholder value.

The Axe, the Book, and the Ad

Tom Engelhardt | Posted 05.25.2011

Tom Engelhardt

As with GM, it has been easier and far more immediately profitable for big publishers to just keep selling the "SUVs" of books until their business model went into the toilet rather than try to prepare for a new world.

Dudes Don't Read: The Book Biz's Self-Fulfilling Prophecy?

Chris Goldberg | Posted 05.25.2011

Chris Goldberg

Dudes aren't reading. But is it our fault? Or have publishers just given up trying to publish and market books that we'd want to read?

Save The Books! Famous People (and Others) Tell You What Books To Buy

Glynnis MacNicol | Posted 05.25.2011

Glynnis MacNicol

I reached out to a few well-known types (Fred Armisen, Brian Williams, Arianna, to name a few) who were generous enough to offer their holiday book recommendations. Let the recommending begin!