By Edward Nawotka and Liz Bury (This story originally appeared in the Publishing Perspectives show daily at the Frankfurt Book Fair on 6 October 2010. Download the complete, 32-page show daily here or click on the image to view the online version.) “There is an ocean of stories out there, with endless potential,” noted Frankfurt Book Fair director Juergen Boos …
Unraveling the Mysteries of Nordic Publishing in Göteborg
• The Göteborg Book Fair, Scandinavia’s largest book event, starts this Friday, with Africa as the featured region, with more than 70 writers from the continent attending. • Scandinavian writers are hot all over the world and the fair’s timing just prior to Frankfurt offers a preview what’s likely to be featured from the Nordic countries at the big show. …
Market Crash: How to Publish a Bestseller in 33 Days
• Beaufort Books has rushed several titles to market, including O.J. Simpson’s If I Did It and, more recently, Angelo Codevilla’s The Ruling Class. • Crashing a book is a gamble. But it can also be an effective means of landing a book about a hot topic on the bestseller list. By Margot Atwell, Associate Publisher, Beaufort Books I’ve been told by my authors …
Franzen’s Freedom is a First-rate Portrait of Middle-class American Life
Review by Edward Nawotka In 2001, on the night of the National Book Awards, I stood a few feet from Jonathan Franzen as he vacillated before the revolving door of the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Times Square, his image spinning in the door’s revolving glass. Franzen was hard to read. He was wearing the same somewhat grim expression that he …
Bound Books vs. Ebooks, That is Still the Question
• Canadian author and bookseller Deborah Willis discusses the differences between bound books and e-books. • Willis argues “when books become computers, they will no longer be books.” Ultimately, she feels computers and the web are not well-suited to storytelling and diminish the experience of reading itself. Editorial by Deborah Willis VICTORIA, B.C.: The bound book is an ancient, heavy, …
Shortlist for Germany’s 2010 “International Literature Prize”
By Siobhan O’Leary Berlin’s Haus der Kulturen der Welt has announced the shortlist for its second annual “International Literature Prize” for books that have been translated into German. The seven-member jury — which includes Gregor Dotzauer (literary critic for Der Tagesspiegel), Katharina Narbutoviç (head of the DAAD’s Berlin artists program) and Peter Ripken (chairman of ICORN – International Cities of Refuge Network), made its selection from a pool of …
Call for Entries to the New Media Writing Prize
By Hannah Johnson The Poole Literary Festival in the UK has partnered with the Media School at Bournemouth University to establish the New Media Writing Prize for authors and storytellers creating interactive narratives using digital tools. The deadline for submissions is September 15, 2010. More from the official press release below: New Media Writing Prize Last Call For Entries Closing …
Sell, Socialise and Survive at the Frankfurt Book Fair
By Tony Mulliken, Chairman, Midas PR The whole essence of Frankfurt is selling, followed by socialising and, in close third, eating. End result: exhaustion. Here are a few of my tips on how to survive the rigours, especially as you get older! Stay Close Make sure your hotel, flat or B&B is within walking distance of the Fair, or at …
Nigeria’s Farafina Books: Publishing By Africans for Africans
• Established in 2004, Farafina Books has become one of Nigeria’s leading independent literary publishers. With 24 titles on its list — including the work of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie — the company is leading a revolution in the movement to publish books by Africans for Africans. • Though Farafina continues to struggle against the limitations of publishing in Nigeria, notably poor …
How My Mom Landed on Oprah and Launched a Publishing Career
• Mark Garcia-Prats explains how his mother managed to raise ten sons, land on Oprah, publish three parenting books, and launch her own publishing company. • An appearance on Oprah helped get exposure for Catherine Garcia-Prats’ book Good Families Don’t Just Happen, which has sold more than 55,000 copies so far. By Mark Garcia-Prats Catherine Garcia-Prats never dreamed of writing three …