Benjamin Franklin once wrote to the Royal Society of London: "I have already made this paper too long, for which I must crave pardon, not having now time to make it shorter." Read more
After several critics complained of being quoted out of context on the covers of Jordan Peterson's new book, the industry body has spoken out against the practice
Blurb is a funny sounding word. It's phonetically unappealing, beginning and ending with unattractive voiced bilabial stops, and its definition-an advertisement or announcement, especially a laudatory one-carries some of the same meaning as another unattractive word, blubber, which evokes excess in its dual definition as both an expostulation of unrestrained emotion as well as excess fat. Read more
I have spent the past five years reading the descriptions of hundreds of books, trying to find things that are interesting and worthwhile for me to pitch as a freelancer. They are almost always bad.
One of the more hideous things you have to do when you have a book coming out is suck up to other authors in the hope they'll give you a blurb for your jacket. Everybody in this process hates it: the people doing the asking, the people being asked, the third-party friends leaned on to lean on their own contacts. And yet, in the absence of any better ideas, the quote economy chugs on.
Whatever the old adage might warn, there is a bit of merit to judging a book by its cover - if only in one respect. Consider the blurb, one of the most pervasive, longest-running - and, at times, controversial - tools in the publishing industry. Read more
‘I was very aware that because the manuscript has my name on it, people would just publish it, however bad it was, and I wanted honest feedback. I wanted to know that someone believed in the book and I truly enjoyed getting unvarnished feedback through my agent. There was one editor who did not like Strike having a famous father and made that point.
'My theatre background has probably helped me be a braver writer and maybe more rigorous, too: the theatre can sustain bold and abstract ideas, but not slow or sloppy storytelling'
Theatre producer Ellie Keel's debut novel, dark academia thriller The Four was published on 11 April by HQ.
In April of this year, Timothy Garton Ash collected his reward money for winning the prestigious 2024 Lionel Gelber Prize.
Today, in Kyiv, the Oxford University professor presented what he bought with it - a new set of reconnaissance drones for immediate use in the war against Russia.
Acclaimed for her accounts of the darkness and desire found in everyday life, ‘the Canadian Chekhov' has died, having suffered from dementia for more than a decade
Shimmr AI, an artificial intelligence start-up that aims to help publishers promote more of their list, has recruited a host of high-profile advisers from across the books industry, signalling the firm's plans to "deploy globally".
As Little, Brown's SFF imprint Orbit celebrates its 50th anniversary, publisher Anna Jackson reflects on its current record-breaking run and on building the brands of the future.
'To have something to say is a question of sleepless nights and worry and endless ratiocination of a subject - of endless trying to dig out of the essential truth, the essential justice.'