View from a Publisher's Desk

Literary Events in Days of Yore  Read more

The Society of AuthorsThe British authors’ organization, with a membership of over 7,000 writers. Membership is open to those who have had a book published, or who have an offer to publish (without subsidy by the author). Offers individual specialist advice and a range of publications to its members. Has also campaigned successfully on behalf of authors in general for improved terms and established a minimum terms agreement with many publishers. Recently campaigned to get the Public Lending Right fund increased from £5 million to £7 million for the year 2002/2003. Regularly uses input from members to produce comparative surveys of publishers’ royalty payment systems. http://www.societyofauthors.org/' third survey of the financial impact of Covid-19 on author incomes has found that the pandemic is taking a rising toll on earnings, with 65% of authors, illustrators and literary translators now saying they have suffered a loss of income, up from 57% when the last survey was conducted in May.  Read more

Let's talk about toxic masculinity in the thriller genre.  Read more

It wasn't what people were talking about late into the evening at the Frankfurter Hof. It didn't come up over drinks at the Hessischer Hof. No one was whispering about it between meetings in the window-less rights center at the show. Instead, during this year's virtual Frankfurt Book FairWorld's largest trade fair for books; held annually mid-October at Frankfurt Trade Fair, Germany; First three days exclusively for trade visitors; general public can attend last two., Bonnie Garmus's debut novel, Lessons in Chemistry, was discussed over email, on the phone and via Zoom.  Read more

The celebrated Israeli novelist David Grossman has called on his fellow writers to be "trenchant witnesses" to the Covid-19 pandemic, and to "sound warnings in every place" where civil and human rights are threatened as a result of the crisis.