Category: words

Barnes & Noble Is Starting Its Own Book Of The Year Prize

“As one of the first initiatives under the leadership of new CEO James Daunt, Barnes & Noble has announced the shortlist for a new Book of the Year award. Books are nominated by B&N booksellers, who will also choose the winner. Booksellers are ‘voting for the title for which they are most proud to be selling,’ said Daunt,” who launched a similar prize at the UK chain Waterstones in 2012. – Publishers Weekly

Who’s The US’s Busiest Publisher Of Literature In Translation? Amazon

“Amazon Crossing, Amazon’s publishing imprint focused on literary translation, … has published more than 400 books, from 42 countries and in 26 languages … Crossing has also produced some of the bestselling titles to emerge from Amazon’s [entire] publishing platform, including The Hangman’s Daughter by Oliver Pötzsch, which has reached more than 800,000 readers.” – Publishers Weekly

UK Publishers, Booksellers Wrestle With Selling Right Wing Books

With a divisive election looming and rising rates of hate crime, the question of how best to engage with opposing views is, says David Shelley of the publishing giant Hachette, hotly debated in acquisitions meetings. “It’s important to uphold free speech, but social justice is also a big part of our mission,” he says. He is proud that Hachette publishes authors from across the political spectrum, from Labour’s Jess Phillips to the controversial rightwing commentator Rod Liddle. “But we wouldn’t want to publish any book that played a part in oppressing minorities, or went against our inclusive ethos.” – The Guardian

Some Schmuck In Idaho Keeps Hiding Library Books

The person doing it takes nonfiction books about Trump or guns – specifically the ones that aren’t favorable to the 45th president or gun enthusiasts – and hiding them. “‘I am going to continue hiding these books in the most obscure places I can find to keep this propaganda out of the hands of young minds,’ the mystery book relocator wrote in a note left for Ms. Ammon, the library director, in the facility’s comment box. ‘Your liberal angst gives me great pleasure.'” – The New York Times

Is Memoir Writing Selfish?

Michelle Tea, author of several memoirs and novels, says (in her new book called, er, Against Memoir) that it certainly is. “Examining the need to record her experiences in the title essay, she writes: ‘Personal narrative is a mental illness, but you don’t want to be well.’ She tells me how the compulsion to write is similar to the craving to drink.” – The Guardian (UK)

A Bookstore With A Mission, Surviving In The Midst Of Book Business Upheaval

Must be nice to be able to say that people wanting bestsellers can just “ge them elsewhere.” Another Story Bookshop in Toronto was founded with a mission of social justice, with the purpose of getting “diverse books into diverse hands” – and though the founder died two years ago, the new owners are continuing the mission despite Toronto’s rising real estate market and, of course, the ever-present threat of Amazon. – The New York Times