Book Biz Are “Women’s Fiction” Book Jackets Anti-Feminist? By Neal on Apr. 30, 2008 - 1:26 PM Last month, we spotted lots of “women’s fiction” book jackets with cover models who were photographed from behind. Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Karen Heller has spotted them, too, and conflates that trend with ...
Authors Margaret “B. Jones” Seltzer’s ‘Love And Consequences” Promo Video By Glynnis on Apr. 30, 2008 - 1:08 PM This video, which blogger Harry Allen theorizes was part of the electronic press kit Riverhead sent out to promote Margaret Seltzer‘s recalled and debunked memoir of gang life, is unexpectedly riveting. It’s not just i ...
Authors Creating an “Antidote” to Our Dystopian Futures By Neal on Apr. 30, 2008 - 12:45 PM I’m not entirely sure what the uniting theme of Sunday’s Festival of Books panel on “Finding Truth in Imagined Places” was; I thought it had something to do with literary writers who incorporated elements o ...
Publishing Whither Indie Publishing? “I Don’t Know” By Neal on Apr. 30, 2008 - 12:25 PM “I think the publishing industry in general has done a poor job of teaching authors how to be proactive about their own books,” Walker publisher George Gibson (left) told the audience at a Saturday afternoon Los Angele ...
Authors “And So Live Ever—Or Else Swoon to Death” By Neal on Apr. 30, 2008 - 12:18 PM As I was getting breakfast in the Festival of Books green room Sunday morning, I spotted Los Angeles Times Book Prize-winning poet Stanley Plumly at an adjacent table, so I went over to offer my congratulations and ask him about h ...
Bookselling Bookstore-Hoaxing Gang Impersonates Mark Sarvas and Nick Hornby! By Glynnis on Apr. 30, 2008 - 12:10 PM Today in weird: Recently, there’s been an outbreak of would-be hoaxers calling up California bookstores pretending to be authors who are booked for reading events — then hitting up the friendly booksellers for small am ...
Publishing Silver’s Lining By Ethan on Apr. 30, 2008 - 11:35 AM Former Houhgton Publisher Janet Silver, downsized during the Harcourt merger, is now taking her authors to Nan A. Talese. According to the Observer, “Silver has formally moved three of her authors to her new list at Doubleda ...
Publishing Hyperion Reorg Includes A New “Digital Marketing” Department By Glynnis on Apr. 30, 2008 - 11:10 AM New Hyperion president Ellen Archer is refining her strategy in the wake of founder and longtime president Bob Miller‘s departure: She has promoted relatively new hire Will Balliet, who had been Editorial Director, to Editor ...
Events Cocktails at Tiffany’s By Ethan on Apr. 30, 2008 - 10:35 AM Last night’s soiree for James Patterson and his latest novel Sundays at Tiffany’s was the first book celebration at Tiffany & Co. since the publication of Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote in 1968. Host ...
Reviews Sunday, Bloody Sunday: Wieseltier Goes on the Offensive By Neal on Apr. 30, 2008 - 9:00 AM You might remember that two weeks ago, Jim Sleeper defended Martin Amis against what he perceived as the worst excesses of Michiko Kakutani‘s assault on The Second Plane, Amis’s collection of essays and stories on 9/11 ...