Unlike English native-speakers, I didn't really encounter gothic novels in the first twenty-or-so years of my life. I grew up in the French-speaking part Switzerland, and my modern and medieval literature studies focused on French authors and their preoccupations. Therefore hearing the concept of ‘gothic' as a formative genre for the English psyche didn't really mean much to me... or so I thought. I moved to the UK in 2008 and started voraciously absorbing books and TV programmes and visiting stately homes during weekends, until I realised I had somehow internalised gothic tropes; dark castles, ominous clouds, supernatural and madness seemed suddenly part of my artistic subconscious.
Links of the week November 25 2024 (48)
Our new feature links to interesting blogs or articles posted online, which will help keep you up to date with what's going on in the book world:
2 December 2024
When it came to writing my second novel, I found myself setting the action in D'Arvor, a made-up mysterious and awe-inspiring medieval castle, and delving deep into a world of artefacts, deception and manipulation. I didn't set the story in the UK, however, but in Brittany, the North-Western tip of France of famously jagged and awe-inspiring landscapes. Once I had the setting, I started weaving in a gothic undertone, almost subconsciously, and Arthurian legends quickly emerged as a strong theme in the novel. I soon realised that those stories of knights and forests, castles and madness I had studied at University carried proto-gothic themes all along, and the overlap became more and more obvious as I worked.
Publisher Spines will charge authors between $1,200 and $5,000 to have their books proofread, designed and distributed with the help of artificial intelligence
Writers and publishers are criticising a startup that plans to publish up to 8,000 books next year using AI.
The company, Spines, will charge authors between $1,200 and $5,000 to have their books edited, proofread, formatted, designed and distributed with the help of AI.
Independent publisher Canongate said "these dingbats ... don't care about writing or books", in a Bluesky post. Spines is charging "hopeful would-be authors to automate the process of flinging their book out into the world, with the least possible attention, care or craft".
The 11th edition of the China Shanghai International Children's Book Fair ended its three-day run on November 17. Post-event statistics from co-organizer BolognaFiere showed that 41,262 attended the fair, including 17,081 professional visitors. A total of 353 professional events, book launches, and reading promotion activities were held. Exhibitor-wise, there were 497 coming from 32 countries/regions this year. Onsite book sales exceeded RMB 20 million (approximately $2.76 million) and more than 1,200 copyright negotiations were recorded.
Two unique exhibitions took center stage at CCBF this year. "Marco Polo: Traveler, Merchant, Storyteller" commemorated Polo's 700th anniversary by offering 50 books on his famous journey to China and back to Italy. The other exhibit, "A Fabulous Wardrobe: Fashion, Clothing, and Threads in Children's Picture Books," curated 150 picture books from 21 countries that creatively combine art, literature, and fashion, and was intended to inspire children and adults alike.
Named after an Intel microprocessor, 8080 Books aims to ‘shorten the lag between the final manuscript and the book's arrival in the marketplace'
Microsoft has launched a new book imprint with the aim of printing faster than traditional publishers.
Named after an Intel microprocessor, 8080 Books will publish titles focused on technology, science and business.
The imprint aims to "accelerate the publishing process, shortening the lag between the final manuscript and the book's arrival in the marketplace," reads a company statement.
"Technology has quickened the pace of almost every industry except publishing," it adds. "We know that more important ideas and arguments can travel faster than they do at the moment. Can they travel too fast? Of course, that already happens in abundance, but we seek to strike the right balance."
8th Note Press, an imprint launched by ByteDance, will print novels in genres popular on BookTok including YA and contemporary fiction and ‘romantasy'
ByteDance, the company that owns TikTok, will begin publishing print books in February.
The company already publishes ebooks through its imprint 8th Note Press, but will begin selling physical copies in book shops early next year.
The imprint will primarily publish genres that are popular on BookTok - the buzzy corner of TikTok where users share book recommendations. These include romance, contemporary fiction, young adult and romantasy - a blend of "romance" and "fantasy".
Collective licensing will benefit both the creative sector and the AI industry, argues Tom West
Earlier this month I marked my first anniversary as chief executive of Publishers' Licensing Services (PLS). This is the first time in that capacity that I've had the privilege of writing for BookBrunch. I'd like to use the opportunity not only to introduce PLS to those who may not be aware of the role we play on behalf of UK publishers, but also to explain how voluntary collective licensing could become part of a sustainable solution to the challenges posed to our industry, and the creative industries more broadly, by artificial intelligence.
In These Strange New Minds: How AI Learned to Talk and What It Means (Viking, Mar.), neuroscientist Christopher Summerfield explores how large language models work.
What do you think are the most troubling aspects of AI?
Currently, the two most significant harms from AI are intimate image abuse, which entails child sexual abuse material and deepfake pornography, and the use of synthetic media for financial fraud. Over the long term, I'm less concerned about runaway capabilities of individual agents and more concerned about unexpected outcomes when AI models are allowed to interact with each other. This is likely to create instabilities, like the volatility we see in financial markets due to algorithmic trading. I also think the increasing personalization of AI models will have worrisome impacts by creating forms of dependence between humans and AI systems.
The poet Ted Kooser turned 85 this year, and the Pulitzer Prize winner and former poet laureate of the United States is as productive as ever, with Copper Canyon Press putting out his latest volume, Raft, earlier this fall.
Since the 2018 publication of the new and selected volume Kindest Regards, Kooser has written two books of poetry and two chapbooks and written or cowritten two picture books, and he continues to edit the Ted Kooser Contemporary Poetry series at the University of Nebraska Press. And in December, the University of Nebraska Press will republish Kooser's 1980 anthology The Windflower Home Almanac of Poetry, featuring poets from the Great Plains and designed to resemble a farmers' almanac.
PW spoke with Kooser about his new book, his writing process for both poetry and picture books, and how he keeps so busy well into his 80s.
Lindsey Erith on the connections between her art and her writing
Characters form the heart of any story, as they do in my latest novel Wanton Troopers, set in the aftermath of the English Civil War.
My hero, Hugh Malahide, came to life first as a sketch and then through words on a page. Now he may live, as real as any man, in the minds of my readers. My work as an artist has greatly influenced my writing, particularly in capturing the individual. We can all dance to an author's tune if that writer can hook us. Will she love him? Will he live? That's what makes the page turn. Let's have the narrative, yes, but vitally let's have characters.
As a portrait artist, I've always been fascinated by capturing not just an image, but an essence - the spirit of the individual. I've been commissioned to paint many famous racehorses, each with its own quirks, strengths, and character traits. A horse is never just a horse. And in a novel, every character deserves to be more than a vague outline - they need to breathe, to live on the page, to be unforgettable. You capture them, then set them free.
Barbara Taylor Bradford OBE has died aged 91, her publisher has confirmed.
The British-born writer died at her home in New York yesterday (24th November) following a short illness, HarperCollins has said, "and was surrounded by loved ones to the very end".
The journalist-turned-author had a colourful career: leaving school and then becoming the Yorkshire Evening Post's first woman's editor as a teenager and before writing 40 novels, all of which became worldwide bestsellers.
"Born and raised in Leeds, Barbara started writing fiction when she was just seven years old and sold her first short story to a magazine for seven shillings and sixpence when she was 10 years old," HarperCollins said.
Author Sophie Haeder on translating fiction and how language shapes fantasy
Living in the picturesque city of Landshut, Bavaria, which dates back to the year 1150, I find myself surrounded by history. Every four years, we celebrate the Landshut Wedding of 1475, when Duke Georg of Bavaria-Landshut married the Polish Princess Hedwig. This grand event, once the most lavish celebration of the late Middle Ages, now spans three weeks with 2,400 participants. These traditions transport you back in time, creating a sense of magic in its alleyways, where dragons might lurk in the moat and fairies fly through the castle gardens.
As a content marketing manager and writer, my work bridges two languages: German, my native tongue, and English. Yet, despite my deep connection to German, I've discovered that when it comes to writing fantasy, English is my language of choice. Fantasy "lacks magic" in German for me, but why is that? What works, what doesn't? Are there other examples of genres not working as well in particular languages?
Another novel written by a UK author has been withdrawn as publishers and booksellers grapple with the issues of First Nations culture and history as plot points
When British crime writer Elly Griffiths released her fourth novel in the bestselling Ruth Galloway mystery series, she did her homework.
A Room Full of Bones, published in 2011 and republished in 2016, features mysterious deaths in horse racing stables and museums. Consequently the East Sussex-based author consulted a UK archaeologist, a UK museum curator, visited West Sussex's Cisswood racing stables and picked the brains of a UK equine veterinarian specialist.
But central to the whodunnit plot is, as the author puts it herself, "Aboriginal skulls, drug smuggling and the mystery of The Dreaming".
What do you get when you poll 269 professional secret keepers about their craft?
The survey emerged as an action item from the Gathering of the Ghosts, a one-day convention held earlier this year in Manhattan, where the nation's working ghosts emerged from their shadows to convene for the first time. Awards were bestowed, speeches were delivered, and secrets were spilled - including an answer to that most sensitive of questions: "How much do you charge?"
The answer to that question was revealed by the first-ever survey of professional ghostwriters, undertaken by Gotham Ghostwriters, the nation's premier ghostwriting agency, and the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA), the professional association for independent nonfiction writers.
Findings
Here's what the data revealed: 1 in 3 ghostwriters make more than $100,000 in annual ghostwriting income. "That so many ghosts command a 6-figure salary testifies to the growing demand for an increasingly premium service," said Dan Gerstein, Gotham's founder and chief executive.
Following a recent survey by The Bookseller on royalties and advances, which revealed widespread problems around payments, authors have suggested changes they would like to see. Some publishers have also revealed they are exploring changes, with one looking at "moving away from an advances system", while the Society of Authors has said it has seen "an increased reliance on hardship grants".
In the survey of 262 writers in September, about half of respondents said they had encountered payment problems, some reporting decade-long delays due to alleged "financial terrorism", as well as a reliance on loans, hardship grants and food banks.
Many authors responding to the survey suggested solutions to late payments through more structured procedures, regular payments and more accountability-including penalties-for missed earnings.
A few suggested the tactics described, including pursuing reversion of rights or withholding the manuscript. Some called for more responsibility on the publisher to act within certain time frames, including editors responding to manuscripts, as this seemed to slow things down.
The man in the video says there's a simple reason why I'm not rich. "Most people have a scarcity mindset," he explains through a thick Australian accent, addressing the camera like a wise mentor lecturing a student. "Top-tier people-actual movers and shakers that are doing things-have an abundance mindset." Behind him, an ancient sword hangs on the wall. For some reason, he's in a bathrobe.
This is Dan Pye, who's posted nearly 500 videos on YouTube and even more on Facebook and Instagram, where he's amassed over 15,000 combined followers. If you stumble upon one of these videos, you might mistake him for one of the countless self-appointed gurus who stalk the platforms in search of clicks, clout, and commerce. Pye certainly looks like the other hypermasculine bros on the #grindset internet-the corner of the web dedicated to hard work-with large biceps, an affinity for Punisher tank tops, and a haircut that's somewhere between Marine and mohawk. He sounds like them, too, with praise for stoicism, relentless striving, and Elon Musk. "I'm an absolute animal," he says in one video, staring down the viewer as if expecting a fight. "I'm a competitive beast." But unlike the many other would-be influencers linking mindset with unbelievable wealth, Pye isn't hawking crypto or herbal supplements. He's not suggesting you get into drop-shipping. Instead, Dan Pye is talking about Frankenstein.
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