Category: words

“As one of Canada’s most controversial CEOs, Chapters Books’ Larry Stevenson has undoubtedly learned to be careful. And, in many ways, it’s funny that such a correct and controlled man should be considered one of the more malevolent forces on Canada’s cultural landscape. Then again, if you hatch a bold business plan that can be summarized quickly as a war against the quaint neighborhood bookstore, you can’t expect to be loved.” – National Post (Canada)

A few years ago it seemed like a good idea to hold the international PEN conference of writers in Russia. But the war in Chechnya has changed all that and the meeting this week in Moscow has been marked by bubbling anger over the war. – New York Times

A Canadian author has found a bizarre way to put his all into his latest book. Portions of Kenneth J. Harvey’s flesh, containing his DNA, will be embedded in small, pink swatches of paper stitched on to the cover of an abridged edition of his 11th book, “Skin Hound (There Are No Words)”, a book whose protagonist is a serial-killing English professor with a penchant for cutting away his victim’s skin. – National Post (Canada)

Even as many independent bookstores have gone out of business in recent years, the remaining indies still play an important role beyond the sheer number of titles they push out the door. “The best marketing for books remains word-of-mouth passion, and often the first mouths to send the word with fervor are the independent bookstores, particularly for literary fiction and literary nonfiction.” – New York Times

• Some day in the not too distant future, books will be published electronically first, then if they’re good enough – make that popular enough – they’ll see the traditional printed page. “The best of the best will be published as e-books first and then possibly make it into print.” – Wired

Publishers announce new initiatives to exploit new e-book technologies. “An explosion of content is about to occur.” – Variety

• Much has happened to Susan Sontag in the past few years – getting caught in a war, getting hit by a car, being diagnosed with cancer – yet Sontag’s new book is remarkably untouched by her personal life, which she talks about in this interview. – The Observer (UK)

Bosnian author Aleksandar Hemon had a plan. “He spent his nights studying English and gave himself five years to learn to write in his new language. After only three years, he had finished a short story. This is where the fairy-tale part comes in: One of Hemon’s first short stories in English was accepted by a small literary magazine, where it was spotted by a high-powered agent. Publishers were soon offering Hemon wheelbarrows full of money for the chance to publish his first book, a collection of stories entitled ‘The Question of Bruno’.” – Feed

“Flags of Our Fathers,” a book about six of the men who hoisted the flag at Iwo Jima is a runaway success on the Bestseller lists. Yet it was rejected 27 times by publishers. Why is it that a book that can be so successful was turned down so emphatically by so many people whose business it is to predict what will sell? – New York Times

Martin Amis, now 50, wants to be remembered primarily for his fiction. The possibility that a factual book, albeit a sublime essay giving shape and meaning to his chaotic life, could eclipse his reputation as a novelist is too dangerous to contemplate. – National Post (Canada)