A commitment to the terroir: On June 30, University of California Press released Wines & Wineries of California’s Central Coast by William A. Ausmus (I ordered mine today) and the Los Angeles Times’ Corie Brown uses the occasion to offer an interesting look at the University of California Press’ move into wine books — they’ve [...]
Stories in Publisher news:
Biggest book party of the year
For the first time in five years, the publishing world returns this week to Los Angeles. The mighty BookExpo is bigger and bolder than ever. You’ll find digital innovations and green-come-lately initiatives galore, and everyone from print-on-demand authors to A-list celebs touting new books. This spring, however, you also may detect a jittery edge to [...]
Hmmm
“HarperCollins Publishers is forming a new publishing group that will substitute profit-sharing with authors for cash advances and will try to eliminate the costly practice of allowing booksellers to return unsold copies.” From today’s NYT.
Duh
Craig Whitney, the NYT’s standards editor, sends an email telling the newsroom staff to avoid single-source profile stories in the wake of the Margaret Seltzer homegirl hoax because, um, well, people lie. “Live and learn,” Whitney concludes.
Live and learn?
You woulda thought the NYT would have learned that lesson a long time ago. It’s reporting 101. [...]
Hard Times on Valencia Street
San Francisco Chronicle Book Editor Oscar Villalon writes that the indy publisher McSweeney’s is still reeling financially from the December bankruptcy of its distributor. “…McSweeney’s is having something of a fire sale on all their titles,” Villalon says, “and are auctioning on eBay a variety of autographed items and original artwork and proofs.”
via Ghost [...]
Courting reader reviews
From today’s Publisher’s Lunch:
LibraryThing.com is working with Random House to “give out free pre-publication books in exchange for reviews” and will expand the program to other publishers in October. First titles include books from Amanda Eyre Ward, Lisa See, and Amy Bloom, and LT tells their customers, “You get free books, and share [...]
Today’s quote
“Since Gutenberg first printed the Bible, critics have always said publishers don’t know what they’re doing. Just throwing stuff against the wall and seeing what sticks is a crazy way to do business.” — Touchstone Books Publisher Mark Gompertz, telling the NYT why he’s gonna let the the public vote on upcoming book projects.
The good, the bad and the beautiful Another day in California…
• Chron reporters and authors Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada won’t be doing time after all.
• Rolling Stone explores the The Great California Weed Rush. [via boingboing]
• Josh Getlin explains why publishers lie as he covers the LA court fight between media mogul Philip Anschutz and author Clive Cussler.
• Poynter chats with Dean Baquet.
• [...]
Big trouble for small publishers
The bankruptcy of Publishers Group West in Berkeley has rocked the small press world, including McSweeney’s and more than two dozen Bay Area publishers that haven’t received payments for holiday season book sales. “This was probably the worst time in our history for this to happen, given the amount we are owed,” McSweeney’s Publisher Eli [...]
California company buys AuthorHouse
From Publisher’s Lunch: “Palo Alto-based private equity firm Bertram Capital has purchased the holding company for POD self-publisher AuthorHouse from venture capitalist Gazelle Tech Ventures. Founded in 1997, AuthorHouse says they have published nearly 40,000 titles on behalf of 30,000 authors.” More info.
Fallout
HarperCollins axes Regan Books and the imprint’s LA outpost. Details: LAT, NYT, AP.
New (and newish) tidbits
… from here and there:
• Poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti receives one of France’s top cultural honors: Commandeur des Arts et Lettres.
• Michael Wolff expounds in Vanity Fair on Billionaires and Broadsheets.
• AP’s Lynn Elber does a Q&A with Tavis Smiley, the L.A. talk show host with two books on the New York Times bestseller list. [...]
Biggest book party of the year
For the first time in five years, the publishing world returns this week to Los Angeles. The mighty BookExpo is bigger and bolder than ever. You’ll find digital innovations and green-come-lately initiatives galore, and everyone from print-on-demand authors to A-list celebs touting new books. This spring, however, you also may detect a jittery edge to [...]
Hmmm
“HarperCollins Publishers is forming a new publishing group that will substitute profit-sharing with authors for cash advances and will try to eliminate the costly practice of allowing booksellers to return unsold copies.” From today’s NYT.
Duh
Craig Whitney, the NYT’s standards editor, sends an email telling the newsroom staff to avoid single-source profile stories in the wake of the Margaret Seltzer homegirl hoax because, um, well, people lie. “Live and learn,” Whitney concludes.
Live and learn?
You woulda thought the NYT would have learned that lesson a long time ago. It’s reporting 101. [...]
Hard Times on Valencia Street
San Francisco Chronicle Book Editor Oscar Villalon writes that the indy publisher McSweeney’s is still reeling financially from the December bankruptcy of its distributor. “…McSweeney’s is having something of a fire sale on all their titles,” Villalon says, “and are auctioning on eBay a variety of autographed items and original artwork and proofs.”
via Ghost [...]
Courting reader reviews
From today’s Publisher’s Lunch:
LibraryThing.com is working with Random House to “give out free pre-publication books in exchange for reviews” and will expand the program to other publishers in October. First titles include books from Amanda Eyre Ward, Lisa See, and Amy Bloom, and LT tells their customers, “You get free books, and share [...]
Today’s quote
“Since Gutenberg first printed the Bible, critics have always said publishers don’t know what they’re doing. Just throwing stuff against the wall and seeing what sticks is a crazy way to do business.” — Touchstone Books Publisher Mark Gompertz, telling the NYT why he’s gonna let the the public vote on upcoming book projects.
The good, the bad and the beautiful Another day in California…
• Chron reporters and authors Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada won’t be doing time after all.
• Rolling Stone explores the The Great California Weed Rush. [via boingboing]
• Josh Getlin explains why publishers lie as he covers the LA court fight between media mogul Philip Anschutz and author Clive Cussler.
• Poynter chats with Dean Baquet.
• [...]
Big trouble for small publishers
The bankruptcy of Publishers Group West in Berkeley has rocked the small press world, including McSweeney’s and more than two dozen Bay Area publishers that haven’t received payments for holiday season book sales. “This was probably the worst time in our history for this to happen, given the amount we are owed,” McSweeney’s Publisher Eli [...]
California company buys AuthorHouse
From Publisher’s Lunch: “Palo Alto-based private equity firm Bertram Capital has purchased the holding company for POD self-publisher AuthorHouse from venture capitalist Gazelle Tech Ventures. Founded in 1997, AuthorHouse says they have published nearly 40,000 titles on behalf of 30,000 authors.” More info.
Fallout
HarperCollins axes Regan Books and the imprint’s LA outpost. Details: LAT, NYT, AP.
New (and newish) tidbits
… from here and there:
• Poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti receives one of France’s top cultural honors: Commandeur des Arts et Lettres.
• Michael Wolff expounds in Vanity Fair on Billionaires and Broadsheets.
• AP’s Lynn Elber does a Q&A with Tavis Smiley, the L.A. talk show host with two books on the New York Times bestseller list. [...]
Meet the authors of the California Authors Directory. Visit the directory to discover writers like Christina Meldrum, a Bay Area attorney whose book Madapple was just released this month. “In debut novelist Christina Meldrum's mesmerizing literary mystery, 