By Edward Nawotka LONDON: “It’s the least bad outcome from where we got started,” says Simon Juden, Chief Executive Officer of the UK Publishers Association, with regard to the Google Books Settlement. “That is,” he reminds me, “a personal opinion.” “In continental Europe there is almost a religious opposition to the settlement,” continues Juden, “The UK reaction is much more …
Bonus Material: Away We Go
By Edward Nawotka In 2007 the indie movie Juno, about a quirky pregnant teenager, went on to earn an astonishing $250 million worldwide. Away We Go could easily be its sequel: The film stars John Krasinski (from the American version of The Office television show) and comedienne Maya Rudolph as a thirtysomething couple who, six months pregnant with their first …
The European Point of View on BEA
By Edward Nawotka Next year BEA will return to New York City, where it will remain at least through 2012. On the face of it, the decision to stop moving it around seems like a good idea, particularly as travel to New York is cheaper than it has been in recent memory. As a consequence, one constituency Americans may see …
Obama’s Super Secret BEA Party, Small Publishers Schadenfreude
By Edward Nawotka NEW YORK: On Saturday, US president Barack Obama arrived in New York City to take his wife Michelle to see August Wilson’s play Joe Turner’s Come and Gone on Broadway. Soon, the rumor spread that the President planned to visit Random House, his book publisher, for a super-secret party. True or not — we couldn’t get confirmation …
Social Media Gurus Advise “Listen First, Sell Second”
By Edward Nawotka NEW YORK: “When you search for something on Google, 95% of the time it returns the same results for everybody,” said Erik Qualman, author of Socialnomics: How Social Media Transforms the Way We Live and Do Business, due from Wiley in the United States in August. “Now, imagine what would happen if you searched for information among …
BEA So Far: More Questions Than Answers
By Edward Nawotka NEW YORK: “Oh, I love Tina Fey!” said one conventioneer, in response to an invitation from a friend to attend a panel being moderated by publisher Tina Brown in a nearby room. The mistake – confusing Fey, a television comedienne, for Brown, the former New Yorker editor and Web mistress – is unfortunate, though not entirely inexcusable. …
Pre-BEA: Defying Cynicism, Insiders Expect Biz as Usual
By Edward Nawotka “Today’s reports about the demise of book publishing are no different than the same things that have been said throughout the history of the printed word,” said Geoffrey Kloske [at left], VP and publisher of Riverhead Books, an imprint of Penguin Group, speaking on the eve of Book Expo America. “And yet good books still get published, …
An American Eyes New African Lit
By Edward Nawotka On the face of it, Rob Spillman is an unlikely candidate to be editor of Gods and Soldiers: The Penguin Anthology of Contemporary African Writing. He is, after all, a white guy from Brooklyn. “A few years ago I published an international issue of Tin House, the literary journal I edit,” says Spillman. “For six months I …
BEA, Swine Flu and You
“The publishing industry should take note,” said the books editor of one major American newspaper. “There are a lot of lessons to be learned about marketing from the swine flu. First, differentiate yourself from the pack early. Second, come up with a snappy brand name. Third, find a way to hook the media. Once you have the undivided attention of …
New Prize Urges Arabic Kid’s Publishers to Compete
SHARJAH: “The Arab-speaking world does not have a reading culture per se as in the West,” says Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi, daughter of the ruler of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. “Parents don’t read bedtime stories to their children and there is a tendency for parents to rely on schools to give their children their first reading experience.” As …