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News stories from the book world in November 2005

November 2005

Daggers out!

28 November 2005

Recent events at the Crime Writers Association read a bit like the plot of a conspiracy thriller but behind it all may lurk no more than a preference to support British - or at least English language - talent. The Crime Writers Association, founded over 50 years ago, is after all a body representing published crime writers, who make up most of its 450-strong membership.  Read more

Irish writers tax exemption under threat

21 November 2005

Maria Dickenson's Dublin Notes column in Publishing Newshas recently highlighted the possibility that Irish writers, and other artists, may lose the tax exemption which has proved so encouraging to many writers' careers over the years. When it was introduced in 1969, no-one could have foreseen how successful it would be in encouraging Irish writers to stay in Ireland and other wri  Read more

Dan Brown sued for plagiarism

14 November 2005

When Dan Brown - showing great confidence - left his teaching job to write full-time because he'd read a Sydney Sheldon novel and felt that he could do better, no-one would have predicted great success was in store for him.  Read more

The next chapter in the Google wars

7 November 2005

Publishers are beginning to take the initiative in the Google Print wars, perhaps not before time, as they suddenly find themselves confronted by a digital future which is not somewhere off in the future but very much in the here and now. The hard lesson the Napster free downloads taught the music business has not been lost on the big publishers.  Read more