Season for book sales kicks off in UK

Pakistan News & Features Services

A total of 1,657 books were published on September 26 in the UK, marking the first in what have now become a pair of so-called Super Thursdays, the days when publishers bring out their lead titles for the Christmas season. A further 1,569 are due to hit the shops on October 10. 

The season for book sales has kicked off officially with publication of some of the biggest titles of the year from authors including William Boyd, Robert Harris and David Walliams. 

"It's undoubtedly a big week for major titles, but the industry has moved away from the 'everything comes out on one day' phenomenon of a few years ago, with the publishing schedule now more sensibly spread over the autumn," Jon Howells, a Waterstones spokesman, reckoned. 

The big-budget launch of Solo: A James Bond Novel by William Boyd at London's Dorchester Hotel in London, quite an occasion. 

New thrillers published on September 26 includes Robert Harris's novel An Officer and a Spy, about political scandal the Dreyfus Affair; The Kill List by Frederick Forsyth, which tells of a top-secret list of names held at the highest level by the US government; and the seventh in Susan Hill's series featuring detective chief super Simon Serrailler. 

Howells added that Damian McBride's Power Trip: A Decade of Policy, Plots and Spin, which was published on September 25, had got the week off to a buzzing start. 

"The blanket coverage the book has received because of its content, and timing the launch to coincide with the Labour Party conference has obviously worked. Now we're looking forward to Matthew Dancona's In It Together: The Inside Story of the Coalition Government. That's out next week." 

"In terms of the number of books being published, these are just a small number, but they account for a huge chunk of sales. It's the tip of the iceberg, but they are a great way to encourage customers to come in and look at the huge range of books coming out,” Jonathan Ruppin of Foyles booksellers remarked.

Collaboration termed key in publishing industry with new and old roles

Pakistan News & Features Services

A panel of industry experts gathered to discuss the state of publishing’s ever-changing jobs market at a Publishers Weekly Discussion Series on September 25, at Random House’s offices in midtown Manhattan. 

The evolution of publishing teams and the creation of new, innovative positions at traditional houses, as well as the integration of other media fields into the book publishing landscape, were themes of the morning’s talk.  

The panelists included David Bronstein, Chief Talent Officer at Perseus Books Group; Lorraine Shanley, President of Market Partners International; Susan Gordon, President of Lynne Palmer Executive Recruitment; and Anne Converse Willkomm, Director of Graduate Publishing at Rosemont College School of Graduate Studies with Jim Milliot, co-editorial Director of Publishers Weekly, being the moderator. 

To illustrate the transformation of organizational structures at publishers, as well as the creation of new roles to keep up with the expansion of digital publishing, Gordon pointed to changes taking place within key departments at some houses. 

Gordon also showed how other divisions, like editorial and sales, have splintered and developed in recent years. In the past, an editorial director would establish editorial guidelines and unify the group, while acquisitions editors bought content. There are several sectors of the industry with noticeable growth in the past few years, according to Gordon, who remarked that while recruiting, she has noticed an expansion in children’s and young adult, religious, and genre publishing in the domestic market. 

“Information technology is one of the key areas where it’s very easy to pull someone from another media company, and he or she doesn’t need to have traditional book publishing background,” Gordon added. 

Shanley also highlighted ‘cross-pollination’ of different divisions across the media industry. “Until about five years ago, you could be in publishing, your friends could be in publishing, your touch points could be in publishing, and you’d never know about the other industries. That has all changed dramatically. The influx of social media experts from other fields, such as the television and music industries, has given publishing professionals broader exposure to increasingly important digital skills,” she noted. 

As digital and print continue to cohabitate, specific roles in editorial, marketing, and publicity are becoming less defined and more cross-functional, according to Bronstein, who stressed the need for collaboration among employees in different groups. 

“There’s a lot of continuity, and a lot of change as well. It’s not black and white, it’s not digital versus physical and it’s not this or that. Publishing is, above all, a trendsetting industry, and always has been. To make way for new jobs, positions have been cut across the board,” Bronstein noted, pointing areas like production and sales. 

Willkomm’s presentation shifted the conversation from the change in the industry to helping the next generation of publishing professionals land jobs in a notoriously difficult market. The panelists agreed that while publishers are searching for employees with specialized skills, there is still a hunt for those with adaptability and a hunger to learn.

EPIC opens registration for Publishing and Marketing Workshop

Pakistan News & Features Services

EPIC Group Writers is hosting a Publishing and Marketing Workshop on November 16, featuring award-winning authors Waverly Fitzgerald, Josephine Ensign, Judith Gille, Cynthia Hartwig, and Mary Oak. The registration for the upcoming event, which is limited, has been opened recently.

“EPIC’s goal is to keep the spirit of Write on the Sound (WOTS) going throughout the year,” Janette Turner, President, EPIC Group Writers, observed. 

 “WOTS is just one weekend, so EPIC fills in the rest of the year with frequent events to support writers around Edmonds. The Nov. 16 workshop is one of our biggest events yet and is a great value at $35,” Janette Turner, a teacher, writer and writing coach by profession, added. 

The speakers at this year’s EPIC Publishing and Marketing Workshop include Judith Gille, who was recently featured in the New York Times, hybrid-published author Mary Oak, traditionally-published authors Waverly Fitzgerald and Josephine Ensine, and marketing expert Cynthia Hartwig, whose clients include Microsoft. Speakers will offer tips on getting published and promoting work through social media and traditional news sources.

Unicorn Gallery organize Pakistan's first-ever art book fair

Pakistan News & Features Services

The Unicorn Gallery in Karachi organized the first art book fair of Pakistan on September 21 with the objective of encouraging dialogue and debate between critics, artists and readers besides creating awareness about the art history of the country. The art books remained on display at the gallery’s bookstore throughout the week.

The annual art book fair included a panel discussion on ‘Critical Issues in Art Writing in Pakistan’ while the fair featured book launches, documentary screenings, author readings and a book exhibition with limited and out-of-print books. 

The discussion was moderated by Niilofur Farrukh, Editor of Nukta Art and President of the Pakistan section for International Art Critics Association. 

The panelists included art critic, editor of ArtNow and faculty member at National College of Arts, Quddus Mirza, geometric artist, arts educator and faculty fine arts at Karachi University, KSA, Rizwanullah Khan and curator and arts professor at Indus Valley School of Arts and Architecture, Taimur Suri. They closely examined the topic through the lens of their experience and with focus on possible solutions. 

The fair is one of the gallery’s most popular events, enjoying wide popularity in Pakistan and abroad. It is open to all, and attended by arts and non-arts professionals who interact with a panel of art experts. It is a scholarly event aimed to give back to the community and create a better understanding and awareness of Pakistani art.

Shivahari Sellamuttu’s Before it's all forgotten launched in Sri Lanka

Pakistan News & Features Services

Shivahari Sellamuttu’s book titled ‘Before it's all forgotten’ was launched recently by Prof. Dr Gnana Kulendran, her teacher from Vembadi Girls High School Jaffna. The ceremony was organized at the Community Centre in Epping and was well-attended.

The spread of food prepared by Shivahari for her guests from her recipe book was absolutely delicious.

There were various types of cakes, Pan rolls, various sandwiches,Vaddai, Potato Bonda, Cutlets, pastries, Ice coffee and Cocktail Juice. 

Sellamuttu is an alumni of St Bridget's' Convent, Colombo and of Vembadi Girls High School Jaffna. On the back cover of the book there is a photograph of the author seated at the so called round steps of Vembadi. 

Prof Dr Gnana Kulendran is a well-known Sri Lankan in the academic world. She has won international recognition for her research findings and is an author of 13 research books. She is a recipient of several international awards relating to professional women. The professor gave a very erudite talk about the merits in the book and encouraged all to use the recipes therein for it contained the very authentic way of food preparation in the days of our parents.

Makosi Musambasi celebrates birthday by launching Self Love: The Ultimate Choice

Pakistan News & Features Services

Makosi Musambasi, the former UK cardiac nurse turned Big Brother contestant, celebrated her 33rd birthday on September 24 by releasing her long-awaited first book titled ‘Self Love: The Ultimate Choice.’

“My book is an inspirational coffee table book. Its 200 pages of nuggets that help build self-esteem. I am reluctant to say it will change your life because only God can change her life,” she observed in a radio interview. 

In the book she said that she had drawn from her Big Brother journey and other ‘nuggets’ as she called them on hard work.; The book will be available in bookshops and will also be online on platforms like Amazon and Konga. 

Big Brother 2005, also known as Big Brother 6, was the sixth series of the British reality television series Big Brother, in which a number of contestants lived in an isolated house trying to avoid being evicted by the public with the aim of winning a large cash prize at the end of the run. The series launched on Channel 4 on May 27 and ending August 12 August lasted eleven weeks, which was the longest the programme at that time. 

Makosi Musambasi, whose mother is South African and her father being Mozambiquan, had returned in 2009 to compete in a task for a few hours while she was a contestant in Ultimate Big Brother the following year. She was born in Zimbabwe on September 24, 1980.

Raymond Weil rewards top authors

Pakistan News & Features Services

The prolific authors, Shobha De and Amish Tripathi, were rewarded for their literary prowess by Raymond Weil’s boutique at Palladium in Mumbai on September 24.

Olivier Bernheim, CEO and President, and Elie Bernheim, Director of Raymond Weil, felicitated the authors for their literary achievements and contributions. 

Shobha De was presented with a watch from the Freelancer collection while Amish Tripathi was awarded one from the Parsifal collection with Independence is a State of Mind’ being the tag line. 

Music being the centre of the Raymond Weil production, every other sub-brand is named after music, art and culture. But the Freelancer collection is the only one connected with the tag line of independence. 

Being one of the few independent Swiss family-run businesses, the Bernheims desired to encourage people who have an independent character of excellence and have independently made themselves great.