Mackintosh, Ware and more confirmed for inaugural Chiltern Kills crime writing festival
thebookseller.com – Monday September 11, 2023
Authors Frederick Forsyth, Mark Billingham, Claire Mackintosh and Ruth Ware are among a raft of crime authors confirmed as part of the programme for the first ever Chiltern Kills crime writing festival in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire.
Taking place on Saturday 7th October, all proceeds will be going to youth homelessness charity Centrepoint. The one-day event, described by the organisers as a “14-hour rollercoaster of crime”, will see more than 70 authors attending the event at the historic Grade II-listed Colston Hall.
The schedule will run from 9 a.m. until 11.30 p.m. and includes book signings and interviews with authors, 20 panels across two stages, live podcasts, BBC One and Two TV shows on site, and the world premiere of a specially-written play performed by crime writers.
Phoenix Publishing House acquires Karnac Books
thebookseller.com – Thursday September 7, 2023
Phoenix Publishing House, winner of the 2023 IPG Nick Robinson Newcomer Award, has acquired Karnac Books, with Phoenix changing its name to Karnac to “encapsulate this new single entity".
Karnac Books is a publisher and bookseller of psychoanalysis, psychotherapy and related subjects such as organisations, family, child and adolescent studies titles, founded in 1950.
'A Plague on the Industry': Book Publishing's Broken Blurb System
esquire.com – Thursday September 7, 2023
Do authors actually like the books they endorse—or even read them? Writers, literary agents, and publishing workers take Esquire inside the story of a problematic "favor economy."
When an author I’d worked with a decade ago at Simon & Schuster emailed me asking if she could send over an advance copy of her new novel, I of course said yes. But what really got me to read her book over all of the many unread books in my apartment was this quote from mystery writer S.A. Cosby on the cover: “Polly Stewart's The Good Ones is a fantastic achievement. A classic Southern Gothic tale told through the prism of modern-day sensibilities. Not to be missed.”
Having been unable to stop thinking about Cosby’s heartbreaking thriller Razorblade Tears ever since I read it, I inherently trusted him to guide me to my next great summer read (spoiler alert: he was right).
That quote from Cosby is what’s known as a book blurb, or more commonly, just a blurb. These endorsements from other authors or relevant notables are included on book covers, press releases, bookseller letters, and other promotional materials both before and after publication. Requests for blurbs are commonly made author-to-author or otherwise put into motion through their editors or agents ahead of publication, as soon as the manuscript is ready to send out—the earlier, the better.
On their surface, book blurbs seem fairly innocuous, but in reality, they’re a small piece of the puzzle with a big impact—one that represents so much of what’s broken within the traditional publishing establishment. Blurbs expose this ecosystem for what it really is: a nepotism-filled system that everyone endures for a chance of “making it” in an impossible industry for most. To borrow a phrase from Shakespeare enthusiast Cher Horowitz, “Blurbs are a full-on Monet. From far away, they’re okay, but up close, they’re a big old mess.”
New Magazine Listing: Snowflake Magazine
firstwriter.com – Thursday September 7, 2023
Publishes art, poetry, essays, flash fiction, photography, interviews and articles that are either queer themed or from an artist who identifies as LGBTQ+ (or both).
This sinister censorship agenda in the publishing world should trouble us all
standard.co.uk – Wednesday September 6, 2023
Hard on the heels of the news that Ian Fleming’s publishers have “edited” its new edition of the James Bond novels to coincide with the 70th anniversary of Casino Royale (a cracker) to omit some non-current references to race, there arrives a new version of James Bond. On His Majesty’s Secret Service, by Charlie Higson, is Bond as a sensitivity reader might have created him.
As The Spectator reviewer observed, “our hero has somehow become the modern age in arms, a Centrist Dad with a sidearm.” Instead of bad Bond, we get 21st century Bond. Whaddya know? He’s rubbish.
The problem with the censorship of contemporary publishing is twofold: one is that it happens upstream, at the commissioning, writing stage of a book.
The other is that when it comes to the censorship of existing authors, it’s like additives in foodstuffs; you have to read the small print to find it’s there. So, with the edited Bond, you have to be bothered to read the publisher’s note that “This book was written at a time when terms and attitudes which might be considered offensive by modern readers were commonplace”. If you’re buying it on Amazon, what chance that you’ll know that you’re getting an expurgated version? What you actually need is a big fat sticker on the front saying: CENSORED.
Evans and Virginia to launch Inkspot Publishing list
thebookseller.com – Wednesday September 6, 2023
Catherine Evans and Jurcell Virginia have launched a new publishing company, Inkspot, and will be hosting a launch event in Piccadilly, London on Tuesday 26th September, to celebrate the publication of its first two titles.
Founder and publishing director Evans acquired world rights for all the titles Inkspot has acquired so far.
Evans is a trustee and long-time supporter of ChipLitFest and the founder of Fiction Junkies. Virginia started his career in hedge funds, then moved to private equity. He is an avid martial arts fanatic and has written a book with his sensei, Hideo Muramatsu, The Neglected Samurai, which will be published by Inkspot in 2024.
New Publisher Listing: Quadrant Books
firstwriter.com – Wednesday September 6, 2023
A small independent publishing house based in rural Gloucestershire and dedicated to publishing the best in up-and-coming fiction and non-fiction from talented authors from the UK and overseas.
New Publisher Listing: Penzler Publishers
firstwriter.com – Tuesday September 5, 2023
An independent publisher of mysteries, thrillers, and suspense.
Viking to sponsor the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards featuring new category
thebookseller.com – Monday September 4, 2023
Exploration company Viking will be sponsoring the 2024 Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards, run by map and travel book retailer Stanfords.
A new category called the Viking Award for Fiction with a Sense of Place has also been introduced this year. Viking guests will have the opportunity to nominate their favourite books that have been published in the past 12 months.
Other categories for 2024 include The Edward Stanford Travel Book of the Year, the Children’s Travel Book of the Year, the Bradt New Travel Writer of the Year and the Edward Stanford Outstanding Contribution to Travel Writing Award, which was first presented to the author Bill Bryson in 2015.
Hardie Grant UK
firstwriter.com – Monday September 4, 2023
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