Human Kinetics buys Lotus Publishing for undisclosed sum
thebookseller.com – Tuesday December 3, 2024
American trade and academic publisher Human Kinetics has bought Lotus Publishing, a small Sussex-based press focused on highly illustrated titles in anatomy, sport and health.
The list of roughly 50 titles will be added to the Human Kinetics portfolio as a new imprint: Lotus Books. The price of the sale has not been disclosed.
Human Kinetics, based in Illinois is the leader in physical activity, health, and sport publishing, including titles such as Strength Training Anatomy and Yoga Anatomy. The employee-owned company is also the publishing partner of organisations as the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), the Society of Health and Physical Educators (SHAPE America), the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation (AACVPR), and Toronto-based canfitpro.
New Literary Agent Listing: Emily Barrett
firstwriter.com – Tuesday December 3, 2024
I’d love to see engaging history (both broad brushstrokes and specific stories from the past that read as compellingly as fiction); eye-opening but sympathetic true crime; supportive parenting guides backed up by a digital community; accessible pop science; stories with animals at their heart; useful cookery that does something new; and puzzle and humour books. I’m also keen to see books that are seeking to bring readers joy, could improve their health, wellbeing, career or lives in general, and will help readers understand the world today (e.g. books on politics, climate, nature etc).
Ed Wood leaves Sphere editorial to become agent at The Blair Partnership
thebookseller.com – Tuesday December 3, 2024
Sphere’s Ed Wood is joining The Blair Partnership as fiction agent and director of fiction development.
Wood joins from publisher Little, Brown, where he was Sphere fiction publishing director for brands and creative partnerships and Little, Brown IP director.
The news follows Emily Barrett and Liane-Louise Smith joining The Blair Partnership as agents from Little, Brown and the Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency, respectively, in 2023.
In his role as fiction agent, Wood will be responsible for finding the best in new writing talent, continuing his specialism in crime and thrillers, while as director of fiction development he will have a broader remit to uncover and nurture IP opportunities across publishing, as well as in film and TV, brand licensing and other areas.
Has publishing abandoned teen boys?
theboar.org – Tuesday December 3, 2024
Debate was sparked when Portuguese-English author JJ Arcanjo published his article ‘Has publishing abandoned Teen boys?’ in The Bookseller magazine last month. Since then, the book community has been discussing why the number of boys reading for pleasure has plummeted and whether this is because of publishers focusing their efforts elsewhere.
According to a study of over 76,000 young people aged 5-18 throughout 2024, the National Literacy Trust discovered that more girls are reading for fun than boys. In their findings, the National Literacy Trust claim that this is largely because of a greater drop in reading enjoyment in boys than in girls; the gender gap had nearly tripled compared to the previous year, increasing from a 4.8 per cent difference in 2023 to a 12.3 per cent difference in 2024. The National Literacy Trust claim that this is largely because of a greater drop in reading enjoyment in boys than in girls.
With such an alarming difference during just a year, it begs the question: why?
Do we need an indie kitemark?
thebookseller.com – Tuesday December 3, 2024
There’s anarchy in the air. From Taylor Swift to Influx Press to Substack, artists are breaking rules, indie publishers are appealing directly to the public, and online platforms powered by author agency are springing up everywhere.
Only last week, Hamish McKensie announced we’d hit the four million mark of paid subscriptions. I say “we” because I’m part of the Substack revolution. I’m up to my spuds in it, riding the wave of indie authors finding new avenues to publish, reach readers and build community. Notice I didn’t say “sell”. Stand by, I’ll get to that. And I’ll get to the Kitemark, too. But first, a little back story.
Mubi Moves into Book Publishing with Mubi Editions Imprint
publishersweekly.com – Tuesday December 3, 2024
Mubi, the film distributor, production company, and streaming service founded in 2007 by Efe Cakarel, will launch a publishing arm, Mubi Editions, next April, focusing on titles on cinema and the arts.
Based in London and New York and led by Daniel Kasman, VP of editorial content at Mubi, the imprint will publish two to three titles in its in inaugural year, with plans to expand its list in future years. Distributed Art Publishers will distribute for the imprint in the U.S. and Canada, with Thames & Hudson distributing to the rest of the global market, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, France, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, and Turkey.
New Publishing Imprint Listing: Monoray
firstwriter.com – Monday December 2, 2024
Publishes narrative non-fiction at its most immersive, inspiring and entertaining. Our authors have lived every moment of the stories they want to tell, and we are proud to bring these stories into the world. From the arts to politics and sport; from spiritual memoir to business; from socially conscious polemic to history or even crime – whatever the subject, our books always have a highly distinctive and authentic author voice and aim each time to be breakout bestsellers.
Startup Mocked for Charging $5,000 to "Edit" Book Manuscripts Using AI
futurism.com – Monday December 2, 2024
A startup called Spines apparently wants to use AI to edit and publish 8,000 books in 2025 — though no word on whether they'll be any good.
There are several issues with the premise. First, AI is a notoriously untalented wordsmith. It will undoubtedly struggle with the myriad tasks Spines assigns to it, including "proofreads, cover designs, formats, publishes, and... distributing your book in just a couple of weeks," according to the venture's website.
Oh, and then there's the issue of Spines embarrassing itself publicly.
"A great example of how no one can find actual uses for LLMs that aren't scams for grifts," short story writer Lincoln Michel wrote of the flap on X-formerly-Twitter. "Quite literally the LAST thing publishing needs is... AI regurgitations."
8 Agents Who Represent Poets
subclub.substack.com – Thursday November 28, 2024
For the last several years, I’ve periodically taught a publishing industry course for the graduate creative writing program at Northwestern University’s School of Professional Studies, of which I’m faculty director.
One of the assignments is an agent query letter, pitching either a work-in-progress or a manuscript the student hopes to write in the near future.
My sense is that this assignment is among the most useful for students, in part because query letters strike them as residing somewhere between “tedious task” and “necessary evil” on the writing-life spectrum.
An agent query letter generally contains these components:
New Literary Agent Listing: Sally M. Kim
firstwriter.com – Thursday November 28, 2024
Please send fiction and non-fiction submissions in the following categories: picture books, chapter books, middle grade, and graphic novels. Across all categories, she is especially eager to see authentic explorations of underrepresented cultures, relationships, and identities. No rhyming picture books, horror, sports, or time travel.
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