Indie publishers

Indie publishers thriving

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23 November 2015

The news from the independent publishing sector is good. The UK Independent Publishers Guild has just published its first report into the independent sector in the UK. What it shows is a thriving picture, with 600 independent publishers and just 15% of the respondents saying that their business is contracting. Read more

Linked items...

15 April 2024 - What's new

April 2024

‘I always quote Kurt Vonnegut. He said in the early part of his career he was dismissed as a science fiction writer and that critics tend to put genre books, including sci-fi, in the bottom drawer of their desk... It's true. I get the New York Times every Sunday. In 37 novels, I've never had a stand-alone review. I'm always in the crime round-up.

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Amazon ebooks: Are the Mikkelsen twins running a scam? Here’s our investigation - Vox

Wed, 17/04/2024 - 10:01am — Chris Holifield

15 April 2024

Amazon ebooks: Are the Mikkelsen twins running a scam? Here’s our investigation - Vox website

It's partly AI, partly a get-rich-quick scheme, and entirely bad for confused consumers.

The Bookseller - News - A third of translators report losing work to generative AI systems, SoA survey reveals

Tue, 16/04/2024 - 5:05pm — Chris Holifield

15 April 2024

The Bookseller - News - A third of translators report losing work to generative AI systems, SoA survey reveals website

A survey of 787 members of the Society of Authors (SoA) has found that a third of translators and a quarter of illustrators have lost work to generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems. Translators are also more likely to use AI to support their work, with 37% of respondents saying they have done so, followed by 25% of non-fiction writers.

Lynne Reid Banks, author of The Indian in the Cupboard, dies aged 94 | Books | The Guardian

Tue, 16/04/2024 - 5:03pm — Chris Holifield

15 April 2024

Lynne Reid Banks, author of The Indian in the Cupboard, dies aged 94 | Books | The Guardian website

The author Lynne Reid Banks, known for her novel The L-Shaped Room and her children's book series The Indian in the Cupboard, has died at the age of 94.

Carter Wilson Interviewed Hundreds of Writers — Here’s What He Learned From Them | BookTrib.

Tue, 16/04/2024 - 4:54pm — Chris Holifield

15 April 2024

Carter Wilson Interviewed Hundreds of Writers — Here’s What He Learned From Them | BookTrib. website

I launched my podcast Making It Up nearly three years ago with the goal of interviewing writers not for any particular work of theirs, but to talk to them about their lives. I didn't want to ask them what famous author they want to have dinner with or what their top five favorite books are ... yech. Read more

Delicious nuggets

Tue, 16/04/2024 - 4:50pm — Chris Holifield

15 April 2024

Delicious nuggets website

A little knowledge about her real life protagonist, writes Leeanne O'Donnell, was just enough

The influence of the supernatural

Tue, 16/04/2024 - 4:46pm — Chris Holifield

15 April 2024

The influence of the supernatural website

Novelist Louise Jensen on how her own experiences with the supernatural influenced her new novel, The Intruders

Marian Keyes: ‘Books have one shot to impress me and if you miss, you miss’ | Marian Keyes | The Guardian

Tue, 16/04/2024 - 4:44pm — Chris Holifield

15 April 2024

Marian Keyes: ‘Books have one shot to impress me and if you miss, you miss’ | Marian Keyes | The Guardian website

The Irish author on the allure of Elizabeth Jane Howard, the brilliance of Bernardine Evaristo - and why she won't be revisiting Philip Roth

Q&A: debut fantasy author James Logan

Tue, 16/04/2024 - 4:34pm — Chris Holifield

15 April 2024

Q&A: debut fantasy author James Logan website

'Becoming an author has made me a more understanding and empathetic editor' Read more

Why I wrote an AI transparency statement for my book, and think other authors should too | Books | The Guardian

Tue, 16/04/2024 - 4:30pm — Chris Holifield

15 April 2024

Why I wrote an AI transparency statement for my book, and think other authors should too | Books | The Guardian website

Until we have a mechanism to test for artificial intelligence, writers need a tool to maintain trust in their work. So I decided to be completely open with my readers

‘We may lose ability to think critically at all’: the book-summary apps accused of damaging authors’ sales | Books | The Guardian

Tue, 16/04/2024 - 4:24pm — Chris Holifield

15 April 2024

‘We may lose ability to think critically at all’: the book-summary apps accused of damaging authors’ sales | Books | The Guardian website

A tech sector dedicated to boiling things down has raised temperatures in some quarters of the publishing world

Horror novel sales boomed during year of real-world anxieties | Books | The Guardian

Tue, 16/04/2024 - 2:47pm — Chris Holifield

15 April 2024

Horror novel sales boomed during year of real-world anxieties | Books | The Guardian website

Horror fiction is having a moment, according to data showing 2023 was a record-breaking year for book sales in the genre.

Indie publishers