News & Notes is a weekly Saturday post featuring book- and publishing-related news, links to interesting articles and opinion pieces, giveaways on this and other blogs, and other cool stuff.
Books & Ebooks in the News:
- Amazon-Hachette dispute heats up as Amazon removes pre-order capability from many Hatchett titles, including forthcoming books by J. K. Rowling as Robert Galbraith, Erin Hilderbrand, Preston & Child, and Gail Carriger. (PublishersLunch)
- “HarperCollins Seeks Injunction in Dispute with Open Road” over the latter’s unauthorized ebook publication of Julie of the Wolves. The dispute arises out of the author’s decision to publish the ebook through Open Road due to the latter’s higher royalty rates. (Publishers Weekly)
- BEA Startup Challenge contenders unveiled (GoodEReader)
Worth Reading/Watching:
- Why Libraries Matter, a documentary film about the New York Public Libraries, by Julie Dressner and Jesse Hicks. (via The Atlantic Video)
- “Will the Agency Model Survive?: Hachette, Amazon, and the future of agency pricing” (Andrew Albanese, Publishers Weekly)
- “What’s Missing from the Conversation about Trigger Warnings in Books”. Rebecca Joines Schinsky points out that people have always made decisions on whether to read a book based on what they know of the content. (BookRiot)
- “In Defense of the TBR Pile”. You know that huge TBR pile some of us have? Maybe we don’t have to feel guilty about it after all. (Amanda Nelson, BookRiot)
- “Signed Editions Stay Popular” and some bookstores do well selling signed first editions of current works. (Judith Rosen, Publishers Weekly)
- “Can You Be Talked Into Liking a Book?” (Ashley Riordan, BookRiot)
- “How well do you treat books?” (Alison Flood, The Guardian‘s Book Blog). Um, better than she does!
- “Mere Realism Doesn’t Thrill Me At All” will probably make you chuckle, if not laugh at loud, as 2 books for preschoolers predispose the author to prefer complex literary fare over straightforward storytelling. (James J. Crossley, BookRiot)
For Writers & Bloggers:
- “Writing Can Be Taught: M.F.A. Survey 2014” (Julie Bunting, Publishers Weekly) Worth checking out it you’re interested in pursuing a creative writing degree. The article talks about programs at a number of institutions.
Book & Movie Announcements:
- The trailer for Disney’s live-action Cinderella remake is out… and pretty but remarkably uninformative. The movie is directed by Kenneth Brannagh and will star Helena Bonham Carter as the fairy godmother, Richard Madden (GoT) as the prince, and Lily James (Downton Abbey) as Cinderella. It’s due out next March.
Awesome lists:
- 30 Diverse YA Titles To Get On Your Radar (Kelly Jensen, BookRiot)
- 5 Pieces of Poetry Science Fiction Fans Will Love (Quirk Books)
- 50 Books Real Simple Readers Love (Real Simple)
- The Forty Best YA Novels (Rolling Stone)
Really cool:
(Click to see a larger version)
Just for fun:
- Quiz: Can you identify these classic novels by their covers? (The Guardian Books Blog)
Bookish Quotes:
 |
| Thanks to Harlequin for the quote! |
That’s it for this week!
I’m always on the lookout for interesting articles, lists, and links for News & Notes, so please let me know if you see (or write!) anything that might be good for this feature. You can leave me a comment or send me an email — my address is on the About/Review Policy/Contact page.
Herding Cats - Burning Soup
LOL oh yes to the problem sleeping. About to have that issue I think. lol
Lark @ The Bookwyrm's Hoard
I suffer from book-induced insomnia all the time! 😉
Bea
Wonderful roundup as always and those lists are interesting. I have suffered from that sleeping disorder for many, many years but I don’t want a cure. 🙂
Lark @ The Bookwyrm's Hoard
Thank you, Bea! No, I don’t want a cure, either. More hours to read in the daytime, maybe, so I could sleep more at night!