A new survey on American literary agents' experience surfaces concerns about the business model's viability, diversity, and burnout in a demanding job.
With geopolitics still looming large, the 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. professional program got down to business on October 19, including during a pair of panels addressing two key concerns for the publishing industry: the rise of AI and environmental sustainability.
Expectations were high in the buildup to the 2023 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., another year removed from the pandemic and with the fair set to celebrate its 75th anniversary. But world events-most prominently, the war between Israel and Hamas-have loomed large over the fair, where the professional program draws to a close today.
From agent Jonny Geller: I write to recognise the experience many Jewish colleagues in our industry who have contacted me have had this past week. Their anxiety is not just about the atrocities committed, but also about the reactions from their colleagues.
Last week's attack by Hamas on Israel and the ongoing Israeli retaliation is reverberating through the publishing world, particularly at two key upcoming publishing conferences: the 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. and Sharjah International Book Fair.
Organisers of the Frankfurt Buchmesse have announced the Literary Agents & Scouts Centre (LitAg) has sold out after record interest, and that the new Publishers Rights Centre is also expected to also reach full capacity.
Should there be an international conference for publishing professionals in the United States? It is a question numerous people have asked since the demise of BookExpo in 2020. It's no secret that the bright-lights-big-city buzz that made BookExpo so much fun and so essential for so many years had fizzled out, and booksellers and publishers alike were finding it of limited value. Read more
When AJ Ayer was asked what he would have done had he not been an Oxford philosopher, he said: "I would have been a publisher. That's the easiest occupation I can think of." Reading that remark just after attending a children's publishing conference made me realise that we need to shout to the outside world a bit more about how complex and important publishing is.
For many rights professionals, the recent 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. was their first opportunity since 2019 to attend a fair in person. Attendees said they were delighted to be back, even amid industry challenges and world uncertainty on several fronts. We spoke with a number of savvy agents and scouts about their impressions of the fair, and asked them to talk about trends they were noticing.
The crashing of the pound in recent weeks has hit costs for 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. attendees this week, but publishers and agents insist there is a silver lining for rights and export sales to the US.
‘I was very aware that because the manuscript has my name on it, people would just publish it, however bad it was, and I wanted honest feedback. I wanted to know that someone believed in the book and I truly enjoyed getting unvarnished feedback through my agent. There was one editor who did not like Strike having a famous father and made that point.
'My theatre background has probably helped me be a braver writer and maybe more rigorous, too: the theatre can sustain bold and abstract ideas, but not slow or sloppy storytelling'
Theatre producer Ellie Keel's debut novel, dark academia thriller The Four was published on 11 April by HQ.
In April of this year, Timothy Garton Ash collected his reward money for winning the prestigious 2024 Lionel Gelber Prize.
Today, in Kyiv, the Oxford University professor presented what he bought with it - a new set of reconnaissance drones for immediate use in the war against Russia.
Acclaimed for her accounts of the darkness and desire found in everyday life, ‘the Canadian Chekhov' has died, having suffered from dementia for more than a decade
Shimmr AI, an artificial intelligence start-up that aims to help publishers promote more of their list, has recruited a host of high-profile advisers from across the books industry, signalling the firm's plans to "deploy globally".
As Little, Brown's SFF imprint Orbit celebrates its 50th anniversary, publisher Anna Jackson reflects on its current record-breaking run and on building the brands of the future.