Two recent articles, one for The New York Times by OR publisher Colin Robinson and one in Monday's Guardian point to what may soon be a dismal reality in publishing, and one that those in publishing have been anticipating for some time: the disappearance of the mid-list author in preference for author "brands".
A "mid-list" author can be described as any author who does well but not spectacularly for a publisher: someone who might be consistently well-reviewed, will even be shortlisted for major prizes, but will not, or has not yet taken off to become a household name. In other words, "mid-list" describes very many good and talented authors.