“A pile of about 300 copies of a book in a Bolton warehouse, which tells the story of a young Palestinian boy living under Israeli military occupation on the West Bank, is at the centre of an international controversy. A Little Piece Of Ground, written by award-winning children’s writer Elizabeth Laird, is the subject of a campaign calling on the publisher to reconsider putting out the novel.” The content of the book is fairly intense for the genre, but the author and her supporters insist that it is all too familiar to Palestinian children growing up under the Israeli occupation.
Category: publishing
53 Ways To Slim Down For The Rapture
A newly released edition of the New Testament is taking a bizarre tack in trying to interest the youth market. “Revolve” is the first edition of the Bible ever to be published in a magazine format, according to its creators, and it looks more like an issue of “Teen Cosmo” than a religious text. “Its tips are wholesome but perky. On skin care: ‘As you apply sunscreen, use that time to talk to God. Tell him how grateful you are for how he made you. Soon, you’ll be so used to talking to him, it might become as regular and familiar as shrinking your pores.'”
Let Americans In The Booker?
There have been objections to opening up competition for the Booker Prize to Americans. Elena Lappin argues Americans ought to be there: “It is crucial to open this very important literary award to all the best writing in the English language—including the United States. The Booker Prize would then cease to be a tacit celebration of the former British Empire and would come alive with the most powerful and exciting contemporary voices.”
Is This The Device That Will Replace Books?
“Researchers at Hewlett Packard have developed a prototype electronic book which can hold a whole library on a device no bigger than a paperback. The brushed metal device is about one centimetre thick and looks like an oversized handheld computer.”
Gluck Chosen As New US Poet Laureate
Louise Gluck has been chosen as the next US Poet Laureate. “The selection will be officially announced Friday by the Librarian of Congress, who said in a statement that Gluck (rhymes with pick) will bring to the office “a strong, vivid, deep poetic voice.” She is a professor of English at Williams College.
Why Would Anyone Review Books?
“It stands to reason that book reviewers enjoy reading. After all, as was noted in the first two installments of this series, they must choose (often with the help of assigning editors), from the immense heap of books that accumulates each year, the titles to read and write about—in fewer and fewer words, under deadline, and for not much pay. It wouldn’t be a stretch to call book reviewing a labor of love, except for the fact that it is so often a vilified profession. Reviewers are accused of having agendas and of cronyism, are called show-offs and career-killers. It’s a lot of heat to take for some free books, a few bucks, and a byline. So what’s the draw?”
Audio Books On The Rise
Call it a byproduct of the American car culture, a side effect of the rush to multitask, or simple consumer laziness: whatever the cause, sales of audio books are on the rise, and the publishing industry is taking notice. One installment in the Harry Potter series sold 575,000 audio copies in three days, and Hillary Clinton’s recent autobiography has sold 90,000. Audio sales are still miles away from print sales, of course, but the industry is beginning to treat audiobooks as a serious part of its product line.
Piling On To Martin Amis
Martin Amis’ new novel hasn’t even been officially released yet and it’s been nominated for this year’s Booker Prize and stirred up the ire of a number of critics. “Though it might seem odd to declaim in August about a novel that is not scheduled for publication until Sept. 4, nothing is odd, really, when it comes to Mr. Amis and the strangely potent brew of envy, unease, schadenfreude and fury he inevitably provokes in fellow writers here.”
Leonardo Online
For the first time, readers around the world can explore Leonardo da Vinci’s notebooks and drawings, including plans for a town he designed but which was never built. “The new 3D Turning the Pages website version is unique in enabling readers to unscramble Leonardo’s text. Not only was his language medieval Italian; his handwriting ran from right to left, since this came easiest to him as a lefthander. The software, developed by library staff, allows viewers to reverse the script and read a translation of the text. Clive Izard, project manager, said the technology would allow a full translation to be added.”
How About Investing In My Novel?
Novelist Kent Nelson needed $5000 to help finish his novel, so he went to a friend and offered to cut him in on the profits if he’d put up the money. Trouble is, Nelson didn’t exactly have a track record of profits from his writing, and he didn’t even have a publisher. But the friend put up the money, Nelson snared a major publisher, and the book is getting great reviews. Are profits next?