Ashton Applewhite and Bob Stein list 37 vendors and counting, in producing Applewhite’s ‘This Chair Rocks.’ That’s how you roll, they say, when you take the indie route—and mean to get it right. Read More
Self-Publishing and the 'Curatorial Mark': Jon Fine
The high view of self-publishing, in Jon Fine’s words, is peopled with ‘increasingly sophisticated authors’ supported by ‘increasingly sophisticated consultants’—a movement growing into its own alongside the ‘curatorial mark’ of trade publishing. Read More
Access for the Visually Impaired: Canada’s Accession Places Marrakesh Treaty in Force
Initially signed by 75 nations three years ago, the Marrakesh Treaty ‘to cure the book famine’ for visually impaired readers will come into force September 30: its requisite 20 ratifications now are in place. Read More
European Research Libraries Say ‘Neighboring Rights’ Oppose Open Science
Declaring that ‘the current copyright framework is unfit for the digital age,’ the chief of Europe’s research libraries speaks out against “neighboring rights’—related rights—for publishers. Read More
International Publishing and the UK’s Vote for ‘Brexit’
Amid ‘a strong populist allergy to elitism’ in Brexit, we also learn of the directors of a dozen nations’ trade fairs working together. Publishing, like the best of humanity, remains internationally engaged. Read More
Publishing and Politics: ‘Toxic Negotiations,’ ‘Trumpian Dystopia’
International publishing this season lies downwind of hot blasts of political potentials that many feel could be damaging to various countries’ book industries and readership. Welcome to a Summer of Insecurity. Read More
Update From Down Under: A Few Words With Australia's Andrea Hanke
With a federal election looming on July 2, the Australian creative industries, including publishing, are roiled by the Productivity Commission’s draft report on intellectual property, with copyright terms, fair use, and parallel import restrictions in debate. Read More
Response and Responsibility: Writers in Time of Terror
Where do you place the courage of your convictions in your work? When events such as the shootings in Orlando and West Yorkshire are so compelling, can ‘never talk about religion or politics’ remain true in an author’s life and work? Read More
Books' Prices and Writing's Value
As painful as pricing issues may be in the marketplace and in authors’ efforts to put together a living, the real question is what happens in the public mind when pricing goes through the floor? Read More
Facing Up to the Importance of Your Author Photo
It’s ironic how many fine independent writers are fully onboard with professional-class editing, design, and production, and yet when it comes to their author photos, you’re likely to be looking at a gallery of amateurism. Read More