At this week's conference of the Independent Publishers' Guild, Jo Forshaw talked about the way in which the audio market is opening up, beginning to provide a challenge to ebooks. Read more
International publishing seems to be flourishing, to judge from the reports coming out of the Frankfurt Book FairWorld's largest trade fair for books; held annually mid-October at Frankfurt Trade Fair, Germany; First three days exclusively for trade visitors; general public can attend last two., and Amazon Crossing now champions translated fiction in a remarkably effective way. Read more
Next week it's the Frankfurt Book FairWorld's largest trade fair for books; held annually mid-October at Frankfurt Trade Fair, Germany; First three days exclusively for trade visitors; general public can attend last two., the biggest annual book fair and a huge meeting of publishers from all over the world. Publishers are putting together their projects and packing their bags in preparation for five days of intensive back-to-back meetings. Read more
Mixed fortunes for world's 50 largest publishers are shown in a recent report but more recent figures for US audio downloads show that they have been booming. Read more
Can this be true? A recent study quoted in Bookbrunch claims that 52% of UK adults believe they have a book in them. And, according to the old adage, that's where it should stay. Read more
Backlist titles, because they are always available, offer opportunities to benefit from new publicity. The effect of changing exchange rates on publishing is shown by price increases at Wordsworth Editions. Read more
A generally buoyant picture has emerged from the London Book Fair, which showed an international publishing business in relatively good shape and double-digit growth in the all-important number of pre-registered visitors to the Fair. The mood of optimism was stoked by the low pound and several new developments. Read more
Coming from the tech arena is a fairly hostile view of traditional publishing, which assumes that it is dead and will shortly be totally replaced by indie publishing. But is this really what is happening at present? It doesn't seem so clear-cut. Read more
Some nervousness has been expressed by authors and staff in the last few days about the impending purchase by Bertelsmann of part of the Pearson share of Penguin Random House, but is there really much reason to feel anxious about this? Read more
‘With the rise of a new genre, we've seen a lot of readers determined to label what qualifies as 'cosy fantasy'. Meanwhile, I'm out there writing dragon attacks that almost kill my main character, so... I really don't have a definition. This genre seems to be all about the vibes, and that's different for everyone.
Describe your job I represent the literary estates of around 150 dead writers - my sole purpose is to keep their work alive and to get it into the hands of new readers.
When Wes Brown sought out children's books for his two young sons, he made sure to seek titles that reflected the family he and his husband were building. Read more
In 1938, George Weidenfeld arrived in London as an Austrian-Jewish refugee. He could barely speak the language. He had no family in England. No friends. No money. He was just 19 years old. Read more
The National Literacy TrustUK-based organisation which has campaigned since 1993 to improve literacy standards across all age groups. Excellent research information and details of the many initiatives the charity is currently involved in. www.literacytrust.org.uk. It also has a useful page of news stories on UK literacy, which links to newsletter http://www.readitswapit.co.uk/TheLibrary.aspx is calling for urgent action after its annual survey found children's reading enjoyment at its lowest level in almost two decades, with over half of eight to 18-year-olds stating they do not enjoy reading in their free time.
I've always been fascinated by families and what drives their unique dynamics. I think perhaps it's because mine is so small; both my parents are only children and I have only one sibling. But what fascinates me even more than the family we're born into, is the family we marry. After all, we choose our spouses, but their families come as a package deal.
It is, in fact, possible to have a decent time on Goodreads. You just have to ignore everything about the way the site is designed and how you're supposed to use it. When I first signed up in early 2012, I obeyed all the prompts. I populated my "to-read" shelf with the platform's recommendations. Read more
I am not the kind of writer who finds every plot twist, detail of setting, and character description in my imagination. I am like a magpie when it comes to developing a story, shamelessly borrowing from and building on whatever I see and hear. Here's an example. Read more
After several critics complained of being quoted out of context on the covers of Jordan Peterson's new book, the industry body has spoken out against the practice
Amazon has revised its Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) guidelines to require users to acknowledge AI-generated content, however the new section distinguishes between AI-generated content and AI-assisted content and does not compel disclosure of the latter.