The scene is this: A bookshelf, sagging. Rows upon rows of many-colored spines. And each spine’s title recalls specific, special memories…standing on a too-hot beach, confusion and fury all around (The Stranger)…seeing your kid-brother in everything you do (The Catcher in the Rye)…fire-crackering the town clock in an effort to stop yourself from growing up …Read More.
Read MoreThink back to your first real, first serious book that you read in school. You know, the one where there may have been a curse word, or real inequality, or historic acts of cruelty. What about the first one where there was a real relationship, a first kiss or romantic moment, or even one where …Read More.
Read MoreThere is a lot going on in the world today. The first day of the 2011 school year, National Read a Book Day, Freddie Mercury’s sixty-fifth birthday, Princess Diana’s funeral was fourteen years ago, Magellan circumnavigated the world back in 1522, and back in 1958, comedian and published author Jeff Foxworthy was born. What does …Read More.
Read MoreA few weeks back, Wall Street Journal children’s book reviewer Meghan Cox Gourdon published a controversial article lamenting the “explicit abuse, violence, and depravity” rife in today’s young adult fiction. The topic quickly generated a lot of buzz on Twitter and immediately drew criticism from media outlets, YA authors, and the ALA. Yet with all …Read More.
Read MoreOriginally posted on May 14, 2011 by LiftOff Leadership Meaningful Leadership Leaders have a profound and powerful influence on the trajectory of our futures. The dominant leadership model that we have operated under for the past three decades is that financial success is the #1 determinant of overall success. This has resulted in a consumer …Read More.
Read MoreIn my interview for this internship, I’d said that I wanted to be introduced to the publishing world, and Beaufort delivered in style. My first full week at work featured a visit to BookExpo America (BEA), the largest annual book trade fair in the United States (thanks, Wikipedia!). From the stodgiest academic houses to the …Read More.
Read MoreWhat makes a quality movie adaptation? Is it adherence to the original plot? A quality cast that look like the characters we imagined all along (except hotter and thinner)? Special effects? Perhaps a strong fan base like our old pal Harry Potter had? In my opinion it is a combination of these paired with a …Read More.
Read MoreMemoirs have been on my mind in recent weeks. It seems like more and more are appearing on the shelves, and anyone who has spent a year or two on the Earth feels their story is publishable. I don’t mean for this to be a criticism of the industry, however, especially since I consistently enjoy …Read More.
Read MoreYoung readers are constantly in the publishing industry’s spotlight. They are criticized for not reading enough, under scrutiny for embracing the technology they grew up with, their habits are studied for money-making opportunities, they are praised for sending Young Adult sales through the roof, and then they are criticized some more. I recently happened upon …Read More.
Read MoreThe finalists for the National Book Critics Circle Awards have officially been announced. I find myself discussing award winners often through this blog, largely because I find them to be the most trustworthy recommendations around. Of course, the bestseller lists are a great way to find fun new reads, but the fact that George Bush’s …Read More.
Read MoreThe topic is already all over the news and blogs, but I can’t help adding my own two cents. As you may have heard, NewSouth Books has announced a forthcoming edition of Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which will replace the word “nigger” with “slave” and “injun” with “Indian.” That the words have …Read More.
Read MoreNeed a last minute gift idea? How about a signed copy of Jeff Foxworthy’s beautifully illustrated children’s book, Hide!!! Or even better, a personalized drawing from the book’s illustrator, Steve Bjorkman! Beaufort Books is giving away ten signed copies of the book. One grand prize winner will also get a call from illustrator Steve Bjorkman, …Read More.
Read MoreShannon McKenna Schmidt at Shelf Awareness named Hilary Spurling’s biography of Pearl S. Buck one of the top ten books of the year. (You can find the list here.) One of the most exciting things about taking over Moyer Bell’s backlist has been discovering how incredible Pearl S. Buck’s novels are–and not just The Good …Read More.
Read MoreWith the young adult genre as the only genre in the publishing world actively growing right now, it makes perfect sense that talking about YA trends has become a trend in itself. Scholastic just released a list of the “Ten Trends in Children’s Books in 2010” with some interesting ideas that may bode well for …Read More.
Read MoreI just got an email earlier today from an author talking about a huge jump in her Amazon ranking. This is a common scenario, and always a cause for celebration. However, I cautioned her that a major spike in Amazon sales rank (from, say, 1,000,000 to 100,000) does not necessarily indicate huge numbers of books …Read More.
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