By Hannah Johnson Here are two of my favorite stores to find gifts in Frankfurt (they are tried-and-true crowd pleasers): Marimekko Store Marimekko is a Finnish textile and clothing design company. Their patterns are bold and colorful. These patterns inspire the design for Marimekko’s range of kitchen and household items, as well as bags and clothing. The Frankfurt store sells …
Bakkers “The Twin” Wins €100,000 IMPAC Prize
By Edward Nawotka The Twin by Dutch writer Gerbrand Bakker has won the 2010 International IMPAC DUBLIN Literary Award. The prize is touted as being among the richest book prizes in the world, with €100,000 awarded to the winning author. In this case, since the book was translated, Bakker receives €75,000 and the translator, David Colmer, wins €25,000. The Twin …
Twisted Spoon Press on “Trickle-Up Publishing”
By Amanda DeMarco PRAGUE: In an April 15th New York Times Op-Ed piece, Olga Tokarczuk ruminated on Polish public response to the recent plane crash that had killed the Polish president and 95 other people: “…sometimes I fear that the people of my country can unite only beside victims’ bodies, over coffins and in cemeteries…I dream of Poland becoming a …
€100,000 Dublin IMPAC Shortlist Includes Three Brits, Two Debuts, One Irish Dutchman
by Ed Nawotka The shortlist for the annual Dublin IMPAC award was announced in Dublin today and includes eight titles (though the judges may nominate as many as ten). The list includes three Brits, two debuts (Bakker, Raisin), and O’Neill, whom the Irish are claiming as their own (though he spent as much, if not much more of his life …
Have Passport, Will Publish: Publishing Expats in Prague and West Australia
By Daniel Kalder In part two of Publishing Perspectives’ series on publishing professionals working abroad, Daniel Kalder, himself a Scot transplanted to Texas via Moscow — talks to two Americans who discuss their experiences working in publishing abroad and how it has enhanced their careers. Walnut Liquor to Warm You Up Erin Ferretti Slattery is managing editor at Channel V …
My Publisher, My Wing Man
By Franz Wisner Why stop at piddly promotions or insufficient inventory when you can blame your publisher for every setback in life? A cavity? The scoundrels diverted me from quality floss time. Bounced check? Sorry, Mr. Banker. I used publisher math. With my latest book, How the World Makes Love, I had a change of heart. My publisher gave me an assist …
Light a Candle for Liu Xiaobo
By Edward Nawotka We’ve been remiss in not writing about the trial and sentencing of literary critic and political commentator Liu Xiaobo (please forgive us), which took place over the holidays. For a year Liu Xiaobo has been under arrest — at first, with no formal charge, then in July on the ominous charge of “inciting subversion of state power” …
Global Trade Talk: PEN Prioritizes Indigenous Language Preservation; Club Bertelsmann Becomes Zeilenreich; Amazon International Profits Up
By Edward Nawotka and Siobhan O’Leary Last Wednesday, London-based International PEN elected Canadian writer John Ralston Saul as the organization’s new director, replacing Czech writer Jirí Grušá who has held the position for the last six years. In an interview with CBC Radio, Saul said that in addition to PEN’s traditional role of fighting for freedom of expression, he would try …
Bonus Material: USA’s Thomas Wins £100,000 Dublin IMPAC Prize
DUBLIN: Michael Thomas’ 2007 novel Man Gone Down won this years £100,000 Dublin IMPAC Literary award, reputed to be the richest single prize offered for fiction in the world. The book is more than appropriate for these tyring times, as it tells the story of a down-on-his-luck man with just four days to raise enough money to keep his family …
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 …