Book reviews, new books, publishing news, book giveaways, and author interviews

Bookish News and Publishing Tidbits 4 June 2012

book news Bookish News and Publishing Tidbits 4 June 2012

RIASS stuff:

The new RIASS theme should be here in a few days, so stay tuned for a more pleasant (and more beautiful) reading experience.

RIASS visits another beautiful bookshop in Buenos Aires

A guest post from best-selling romance author Linda Lael Miller about her new series

A list of young adult books about mermaids

A review of Rachaels Wish'by Rachael Herron, where Im disappointed by a misleading cover.

A giveaway of Carole Wilkinsons Blood Brothers

PS, are you'following us on Facebook? And have you'subscribed to our updates? Well? Hmm?

Calling all bookish Melburnians! RIASS and some bookish buddies are planning a night out at the Astor Theatre on the 9th of June. All welcome, so if you're a local (or wish to commute), feel free to drop by. Details'here.

Other bookish stuff:

The Historical Novel Society is coming to Australia!

How sex changed James Joyce: After this traumatic event, Joyces great labyrinthine'Work in Progress'(later unveiled as'Finnegans Wake), the nocturnal offspring of his earlier novel,'Ulysses, ground to a halt. When it restarted, disturbing personal themes would begin to weave themselves into it, leaving him open to dark and prurient suspicions.

A digital dilemma: ebooks and users rights:'Amazon's communications with borrowers made it plain that Amazon was acquiring and keeping lots of information about library users and their reading habits and using that data to market goods to them.

Pay rates for emerging writers: an examination of the pay rates offered by a number of Australian publications.

Philippa Gregorys novels head for TV:'The White Queen, The Red Queen'and'The Kingmakers Daughter, the fourth in Gregorys Cousins War series, are to be adapted into a 12-hour drama.

A Q&A with Carl Hiaasen: I don't have an e-reader. One reason is that I like to dog-ear the page when I find a particularly good sentence or passage. Oddly, at recent book signings I've had readers ask me to autograph their Kindles or iPads.

Publishings Hidden Virtues: Even publishers owned by giant corporations deal with their writers on industry-standard terms that really do see to it that the money a customer hands over for a product finds its way into the creator's bank account. Why not start publicizing the differences between writing and music and film deals. Let the world know that whatever sins your corporate cousins may have committed, they are not your sins.

A Q&A with Tansy Rayner Roberts: The lovely thing about science fiction and fantasy is that I don't have to choose, not at all. If one piece of work is especially successful then I have no qualms about doing more of that sort of thing, but otherwise I prefer to keep my work as diverse as possible, to keep me entertained. Lots of genre crossing and -blurring, as much as possible! BRING IT.

60 Years Of The National Book Awards- 79 Fiction Winners

An interview with China Mieville: I have tried to instrumentalise a certain lack of aesthetic discipline in my own approach to writing. I like this stuff, and I would rather put it in than not have it in. The whole kind of kill your darlings cliche of writing is a very good injunction'but at the same time, sometimes I think, well, actually, let that darling live.

Female writers dont only write chick-lit: Women are struggling against the unspoken assumption that their fiction is inferior to mens. They have, consciously or not, rated feminine fantasies alongside mens, and found them ludicrous. But since the only people who care about the issue are women, they are fighting a battle they have already lost.

The Rosie Project wins 2012 Victorian Premier's unpublished manuscript award

A fascinating podcast interview with Michael Port, author and millionaire

Working 9 to 9: editors are more accessible than ever: We have broader roles because we are working in an ever-changing and ever-challenging world ' we have to stay on our toes, diversify, and adapt to new media and developments, whilst staying true to the core principles of our industry and doing the work that editors have always done. In our increasingly digital and international age, editors have a wider range of inter-departmental responsibilities, and a greater variety of ways in which to promote authors. The range of activities we are involved in behind the scenes is vast, and it often keeps us away from our desks.

Pride and Prejudice told in emoticons

Entangled Romance looks back on the past few years: Five titles per month, between $5,000-$10,000 per print run, not even remotely recouped in less than five months, plus possibly mass returns, lower royalties due to distribution costs, and freight costs'omg the freight costs'equals a lot of cash. A. Lot. Entangled has solid backing from its parent corporation, Savvy Authors, but we were talking even bigger money. We were approached by tons of investors, but the minute you allow unrelated parties with an eye only on the bottom line to start having a say in how you run your company, you might find the ideals you'd cherished so much when founding the company tossed aside for the almighty dollar. Plus, we have zero debt and I plan to keep it that way, so what to do'

Eric Brown talks with Keith Brooke'about the Fermi Paradox, aliens and the future of publishing: So why hadn't I written about aliens? I think the main reason was that I struggle to take them seriously. It's not the concept of the alien that causes me problems, but the execution of it. At one extreme, if you try to portray the genuinely alien, how can you give a human reader enough of a handle on the character to both understand and care? And at the other, well, we have aliens who are little more than humans in rubber suits.

Monday, June 4 is the last day to enter Wendy Wax's giveaway for one of three advance reader copies of her upcoming Ocean Beach to be sent to the winners prior to the June 26th'on sale date. Just head here'and scroll down to Wendy's name!

The trailer for Wonder'by RJ Palacio:

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