By Porter Anderson | @Porter_Anderson Editor-in-Chief Lee and Low is a children’s book publisher that specializes in cultural diversity. And in its survey of diversity issues in U.S. publishing, the company has handed us a much-needed chance to discuss something healthily difficult: the issue of gender in the publishing workforce. Lee and Low created and executed a large… Read More
Here’s to Publishing: Perspectives With Context
‘Consumers Do Not Need Help’ It will surprise few who know me that I mention wine in my opening commentary as Editor-in-Chief here at Publishing Perspectives. Ever fond of the grape, I was drawn to Catavino founder Ryan Opaz’s recent piece at Medium, On Wine. A Tragedy. The key message for wine makers, Opaz opines,… Read More
In 2016, Adult Coloring Books: Only Half-Good For Publishing
Color Us Skeptical One of the things the book publishing industry produces best is confusion. Its gray areas (not unlike its Grey areas) are fogs of speculation, partial truths, gossip, and misty-eyed hindsight. Among the most beloved notions this year has been the idea that print books entered a renaissance in 2015. In bookseller’s dreams, consumers… Read More
Publishers And Authors: Inviting Them To The Same Party
Every Job In Publishing Depends On Authors How is book publishing divided today? Let’s not count the ways. Outsiders looking into this beleaguered industry, however, might be surprised at the reticence many authors and publishers can have about each other. Maybe about being around each other. Meeting each other. Talking more than friendly chitchat or… Read More
BiblioBoard, Pressbooks partner on library-based self-publishing
‘A much stronger role for the library in the future of the book’ US library digital patron-services provider BiblioBoard and Canadian online book-production specialist Pressbooks are forming a new partnership called Pressbooks Public, designed to let libraries offer e-book-publishing services to their local authors. The timing of the coordinated effort by Pressbooks and BiblioBoard is significant: the beta version… Read More
#FutureChat today: Have we manifested your concern?
Emma Barnes and Alastair Horne to present their manifestos at FutureBook 2015 We’re delighted today to announce that the #FutureBook15 manifestos chosen for presentation at The FutureBook 2015 Conference on the 4th of December at the Mermaid in London are those by Alastair Horne of Cambridge University Press and Emma Barnes of Bibliocloud and Snowbooks.… Read More
#AuthorDay – ask-the-agents
Friday 3-5 p.m. GMT live on Twitter, hashtag #AuthorDay The Author Day conference on 30th November at 30 Euston Square in London has become a double-barreled event, thanks to the generosity and cooperation of several key supporters of the effort. Our central issues-driven discussion at the core of the conference will be ringed with one-on-one meetings with: Editors… Read More
'Magnificent manifestos' on the way to FutureBook 2015
‘This chance for change’ At our FutureBook 2015 Conference on the 4th of December, we will hear from two writers of our manifestos on the future of the book business. Those two “manifestistas” will be announced in coming days, and in the meantime, we will be contacting all contributors of published manifestos with a special offer for… Read More
Divisions and support at #AuthorDay
Open submissions, face-to-face feedback New developments in our Author Day (#AuthorDay) planning for 30th November are helping us to bring elements of practical author support, one-on-one networking, and advice into the mix alongside our issues-driven core discussions. Quickly: Publishers and editors from Pan Macmillan and from HarperCollins’ divisions Harper Fiction, The Borough Press and Harlequin will… Read More
What makes a good indie book cover?
Duck and cover By this time next year, there will not be fewer mobiles in the world; there will not be fewer videos uploaded to YouTube; or fewer ebooks published; or fewer tweets sent into the ether. There will not be fewer authors—and there may not be any more readers. That’s my colleague Philip Jones… Read More