Industry & Advocacy News
November 30, 2018
Our roundup of key news affecting authors. In this week’s edition: What authors should do when their publisher closes, worst bad poem, and more…
Small Bookstores Are Booming After Being Nearly Wiped Out CBS News “The rebound comes after years of competition from deep-discount superstores and online behemoth Amazon, which together turned small shops into an endangered species.”
Canadian Literary Prize Suspended After Finalists Object to Amazon Sponsorship The Guardian The Prix littéraire des collégiens, intended to promote Québécois literature, has been suspended following objections from the finalists. The prize will be relaunched if award organizers can find sufficient funding from other sources.
What Fiction Decline? An Indie Author’s Asking Publishers Weekly Indie author Harry Bingham does not feel that the recent AAP numbers regarding sales of adult fiction accurately reflect the entire landscape of fiction reading because Amazon’s imprints and self-publishing are not included.
The Worst Bad Poem? There’s a Contest for That The New York Times “An annual student competition at Columbia University seeks the rottenest of rotten rhymes and blank verses.”
What Authors Should Do When Their Publisher Closes Forbes Rachel Kramer Bussel offers some advice on what to do when your publisher closes, who retains rights, and more. Guild members who have questions about their own publishers closing are encouraged to contact our staff attorneys for help.
10 Literary Translators on the Art of Translation Lit Hub In honor of the National Book Foundation’s inaugural translation award, Lit Hub’s Senior Editor Emily Temple has put together ten translators’ thoughts on what the process is like.
Just Who Is an Independent Contractor? Capitol Weekly A recent California Supreme Court ruling “is praised by the California Labor Federation as offering workers protections like minimum wage, unemployment, workers’ compensation and disability insurance. But some independent contractors say they like their freedom and have no interest in being employees.”
