Rachel Wetzsteon, poet and writer, has died at the age of 42. “Hard-edged yet sinuous, rich with feeling yet unsentimental, Ms. Wetzsteon’s poems have a distinctly urban disposition. By turns angry, melancholy, hopeful and comic, they explore the sensibilities of women as they fall in and out of love. The city, in particular the West…
Author Advances End 2009 Debate
PublishingPerspectives.com today took another look at a debate much talked about throughout 2009, choosing to highlight the views of Bob Miller and MJ Rose. I think it highly relevant that the last key news story of 2009 should be author advances. It may be the area in publishing where we will see most change in…
Diggory Press: A Means To An End
I have been inundated with requests to update the current Diggory Press saga and the outcome of last week’s court date. A full detailed article will appear this weekend. In short, two of the three remaining claimants were awarded full original small claims costs, while a third case was dismissed for claims and counter-claims on a legal…
Eason Staff Facing 12.5% Pay Cut
It’s not too often on these pages that I delve deeply into the moral economics of the book business. Today, I will make a rare exception. Sometimes, you need to make exceptions. Eason, the flagship Irish book and magazine retailer is reported to be considering a 12.5% pay cut on its employees. Eason employs 1500…
Hilary Mantel Wins Man Booker Award For Wolf Hall
The last couple of days seem to be filled with news stories which lack any great surprise. Last night’s Man Booker Award in London proved no exception with Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall winning the £50k literary prize. Mantel has pretty much been the out and out favourite since the final shortlist was announced back in July.…
Apex Publishing Land David Van Day Autobiography
Apex Publishing, a UK based subsidy/partnership publisher, say they have acquired the autobiography of singer and reality TV star, David Van Day. The autobiography, entitled ‘Another Day, Another Dollar’ is due for release in hardback next June and was co written with Derek Clements. Van Day came to musical prominence in the 1980’s with British…
Writers’ And Artists’ Yearbook Expands Online Presence
The Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook has been my regular purchase each year and the recently published 2010 edition from A&C Black will be no exception. Up till last month the publishers did run a website to promote the book and offer some online resources. However the website has been considerably revamped and now boasts many…
The Publishometer or Spin The Wheel?
Time for a bit of fun? Ever wondered how an author can evaluate if what they write is truly publishable? Well, Editorial Anonymous think they have the answer with their Publishometer as part of their posting ‘How To Tell Whether a Manuscript Will Be Acquired’. Have a look and see how you score, whether you…
POD, Self Publishing & Independent Publishing – Some Technical Revisions
Please excuse the brief respite over the past day or so. The site has been undergoing some revisions and these should be completed in the next twenty four hours. I felt a growing need to re-organize links and some layout concerns raised through feedback from many visitors. Much of these concerns focussed on visitors having…
British Book Industry Awards (BBIA) 2009
The British Book Industry Awards took place on June 1st, 2009 and the following were the catagory winners, with particular note to Independent publishers Atlantic Books and Canongate. Frankfurt Book Fair Rights Professional of the Year Lucy Vanderbilt, HarperCollins Orion Publishing Group Literary Agent of the YearJonathan Lloyd, Curtis Brown Sue Butterworth Award for Young Bookseller…