Early Bird pricing ends Friday, 30th October. (Saves £30.) Members of the Alliance of Independent Authors and Society of Authors have special discounts, as well. Hurry to book your seats. Truth Be Told The conference we are calling #AuthorDay might be subtitled “Snowmakers in Time of Avalanche”. Publishing’s output has far exceeded a figure we can accurately gauge, but… Read More
Calling For Updated Writer-Payment Practices: Authors Guild & Society of Authors
‘By Forcing The Issue In Book Contracts’ The US Authors Guild is making common cause this month with its counterparts across the Atlantic, the Society of Authors. These are lead advocacy bodies for the creative communities of the world’s two largest trade-publishing markets. And the Guild and the Society are speaking with unusual harmony, candor, and… Read More
#AuthorDay: What divides us?
Of “trade” and “the Trade” Today we’re making the “programme reveal” for the inaugural FutureBook Author Day conference (#AuthorDay), which is set for Monday, 30th November. It’s on the 30th at the 30th, 30 Euston Square, headquarters of the Royal College of General Practitioners, we’ll all be healthier for it. Our programme should appear, if… Read More
At Frankfurt: Can books find true fans?
Fanning the flames When asking Pan Macmillan’s Naomi Bacon to join us at Frankfurt Book Fair’s Business Club for a discussion of “hardcore fandom” and books in our “Hug the Alien” series of events, I hadn’t counted on getting video in the bargain. But we got it, and it’s good stuff. Bacon, with the… Read More
At Frankfurt: AmazonCrossing's new $10 million translation bid
Interviewing Sarah Jane Gunter at Frankfurt Book Fair’s Business Club This story was written for Wednesday’s (14th October) “Hug the Alien” session at Frankfurt Book Fair. In a move that answers a constant question both from independent authors and from publishers, AmazonCrossing has announced that it now is accepting submissions. The news comes with word of… Read More
Setting A Compass: Those FutureBook Manifestos In A Storm-Tossed Industry
Sinking Into The Pubslush Years into publishing’s encounter with the digital dynamic, it’s not as if anything is holding still, is it? A kind of heaving grace is about the best you can find on some days in this deeply shaken, tech-swept industry. Every other week, my colleague Jane Friedman and I find ourselves looking… Read More
Are you 'noticing' publishing's gender bias?
Calling the question Conference organisers, prize judges, pretty much anyone who has a role in deciding who gets to be heard: don’t they notice the roll call of mainly white men? My colleague at The Bookseller Cathy Rentzenbrink is not only our acting books editor but also is project director for Quick Reads and a… Read More
Why Don't The Kids Read Digital?
‘Enduring appeal’ When Egmont UK’s managing director Cally Poplak (pictured) told The Bookseller’s Children’s Conference that “old-fashioned publishing skills are as relevant and vital as ever,” she could have gone on to say that “old-fashioned” reading patterns look to be just as enduring. As #KidsConf15 was written up by my colleague, Sarah Shaffi: The children’s publisher… Read More
Now booking seats: FutureBook's #AuthorDay
‘Respective strengths’ To look at some of the major news about authors last week, you’d think we might have titled our new conference “Show Me The Money.” Between the US Authors Guild’s release of its first survey since 2009 of author income, “The Wages of Writing,” and Hugh Howey and Data Guy’s delivery of the latest AuthorEarnings… Read More
Age, Surveys, And Income: The Authors Guild’s View
‘Only One Piece Of The Puzzle’ Subsequent to our report on the Authors Guild’s release of results from its 2015 Member Survey, I’ve invited the Guild to provide some interpretation of how it sees the release of its “The Wages of Writing” survey results. In response, I have this explanation of the survey exercise, and I want to… Read More