RIASS stuff:
The Story Girl and Anne: or why we need more quiet books
Occupational hazards: can writing ruin your love of reading?
Mr Darcy and The Awkward Man: the perils of shyness in literature
Historical Holiday Blog Hop giveaway: Newes from the Dead by Mary Hooper'(open to all)
Other bookish stuff:
Im currently listening to this podcast about the life of Antoine de Saint-Exupery, author of'The Little Prince (my review)
On the racism of YA book covers'An excellent postI really recommend checking this one out. If a YA book features a white, female protagonist (and this accounts for a not insignificant portion of YA released each year), it seems inevitable that the book cover will display an idealised and airbrushed masterpiece of her on the cover. And when a YA book actually does have a protagonist of color, too often one of three things seems to happen: 1)'The cover is 'whitewashed' and shows a Caucasian model instead of a person of color 2)'The cover depicts someone whose race seems purposefully ambiguous or difficult to discern 3)'The character is shown in silhouette.
DIY IP: how publishers develop, exploit and deploy their own intellectual property.'Original IP is becoming commonplace at many children's publishers, with all major houses doing in-house IP in one way or another.' Being able to own the rights to their properties allows publishers to protect and distribute their content globally, as well as profit from new partnerships. Maybe adult publishing could even learn from children's publishing's experimentation.
The years best historical fiction (a list that actually contains more female authors than male authors! Whoever would have thought?)
100 Scope Notes with random and cool bits of childrens book miscellanea in 2012
Where are all the women satirists?
Should book editors be involved in social media engagement?'Is this call for more social engagement simply further evidence that the job of editor, like so much of the business, become closer to that of a sales and marketing executiverather than gatekeepers and culture cognoscenti?
The women of TS Eliots love life.'Eliot was a serious admirer of Maurrass book LAvenir de lIntelligencewhich attributes the decay of French culture to (ahead of other undesirables) women writers and Jewish philosophers. This is why the alleged un-femininity of his wifes mind was, for Eliot, a point of pride.
Not writing is your alligator: an open letter to young writer from a not much older writer.'Your best writing voice is not selfish. If you write something because you want to impress people that piece of writing will probably not be very good (but it might!). Regardless, you're better off if you keep true to your voice, if you write what makes you happy, if you write the kinds of stories and books you'd like to read.
Got a spare three and a half hours? Youll need it to say the worlds longest word.
Open Access academic book publishing: how authors and publishers could make a modest profit'The author suggests one of two options: either authors paying up-front production costs but then keeping a large proportion of profits, or companies paying production costs and claiming a larger share of royalties. He adds that this could be a prime opportunity for university presses.
Steve Ericksons introduction to The Postman Always Rings Twice, Folio Society edition.
In Queensland? The Griffith Review is looking for an admin assistant.
On book binding:
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