Twitter
FacebookCetology: FYI Amazon's "lending library"
November 16, 2011
The Authors Guild's latest advocacy alert covers Amazon's controversial "lending library" policy.
From the article:
Amazon approached the six largest U.S. trade book publishers earlier this year to seek their participation in the program. By all accounts, each refused. Small wonder. Publishers aren’t eager to allow Amazon to undermine the economics of the e-book market, representing the lone bright spot for the industry, by permitting an estimated two to five million Amazon Prime customers to start downloading e-books for free. So books from the Big Six publishers – Random House, Simon & Schuster, Penguin, HarperCollins, Hachette, and Macmillan – are not in the Library Lending program.
Amazon’s attempts to enlist the next tier of U.S. trade book publishers, major publishers that are slightly smaller than the Big Six, appear to have fared no better. Many, perhaps all, also refused.
No matter. Amazon simply disregarded these publishers’ wishes, and enrolled many of their titles in the program anyway. Some of these publishers learned of Amazon’s unilateral decision as the first news stories about the program appeared.
You can read the full article on the Authors Guild website.
Whaleboats Under Sale
October 24, 2011
Check out Shelf Awareness's great starred review of Katherine Malmo's debut book, Who In This Room (Calyx, Oct 2011). See clip below.
Juxtaposing the ordinary and the absurd, Malmo divines and articulates the relationships between chemotherapy and fly-fishing, fashion tips and a biopsy report, welding and marriage, casino demolition and adoption. The musical precision of her words is felt in the body, cutting straight to the core. You emerge from Who in This Room as if from a vigorous swim, refreshed and more alive. —Claire Fuqua Anderson, fiction writer
Who In This Room also received a great blurb from librarian rockstar Nancy Pearl, the author of Book Lust: “This moving, courageous, honest, and beautifully written account is not about the life of a cancer survivor, but rather of a life defined by living. It was a privilege to read it.”
The Grand Armada—Agency Author News
July 1, 2011
Dan Savage is "Dr. Ruth if she were interested in bondage and threesomes," according to Mark Oppenheimer in a fantastic profile ("Married, with Infidelities") from the latest New York Times Magazine. This is such an apt portrait it's hard to choose where to quote from, but this will be fun.
The Grand Armada—Agency Author News
June 29, 2011
The Wall Street Journal published pieces by Bill Streever and Robert Spector this month. Bill explores glacier moulins in this article and awe-inspiring photo gallery. Robert discusses the role-reversal of Amazon and Barnes & Noble. (You will need a subscription to access the full article.)
The Grand Armada—Agency Author News
June 27, 2011
Great write-up about Dan Savage's keynote speech to the ALA in this week's Publishers Weekly. The article's author, Andrew Richard Albanese, said the speech "entertained, moved, and captivated."
Here's a snippet:
[Dan Savage] praised librarians for offering the kinds of books that can help kids struggling with their sexuality, being bullied by classmates, rejected by their families and their churches, and portrayed libraries as a safe haven for many kids. As for why he turned his Internet-based effort into a book (published by Dutton in March) Savage drew applause, telling librarians "I'm a print guy, and books are magic."
Whaleboats Under Sail
June 15, 2011
Crow Planet (Back Bay Books, 2011) is featured in a great summer reading list from the Cleveland Plain Dealer. You can view the blurb about Lyanda's book, and other summer reads, here.
Scrimshaw Pie Wheel—Misc
June 8, 2011
Using cloud computing to store your work-in-progress? In "Why You Should Keep Hard Copies of Your Writings," Jason Boog from Galleycat shares a government report about situations that could potentially spell doomsday for any digitally stored data.
The Grand Armada—Agency Author News
June 1, 2011
The National Cartoonists Society awarded Special Exits: A Graphic Memoir by Joyce Farmer (Fantagraphics, 2010) the 2011 Reuben Award for Graphic Novels.
This award is particularly meaningful because it is awarded by her peers.
Congratulations, Joyce!
The Grand Armada—Agency Author News
May 25, 2011
A very cool interview with agency author Lyanda Lynn Haupt just published on the American Society of Landscape Architects' website; great timing for the just-released paperback edition of Crow Planet.
A brief cut from the interview is below. You can view its thoughtful entirety on their website, or their blog:
Your new book, “Crow Planet: Essential Wisdom from the Urban Wilderness,” is all about the relationship between people and crows in urban areas. You say it’s a bit strained on both sides. How have the issues changed over the years? In urban places, crow populations tend to echo human populations. This means that the more concrete we make, and the more humans we make (these tend to go hand in hand), the more crows there will be among us. Just 50 years ago in Seattle, where I live, it was a big deal to see 20 crows in one place. Now, of course, there are autumn roosts in the thousands, and nearly all of us cross paths with numbers of crows every day. It’s funny to hear people say, “Where did all these crows come from?” as if their presence is some kind of sudden surprise, instead of the slow-growing outcome of years of urban planning (or lack of it) in which native habitat was chopped to bits, impervious surfaces reigned, and botanical structure was dramatically simplified. Very few native birds and creatures can survive in such places, but the adaptable, omnivorous, highly intelligent crow can.
Whaleboats Under Sail
May 6, 2011
As part of its advertising campaign for Google Chrome, Google put together this ground-breaking LGBT-positive ad that celebrates the "It Gets Better Project" and its incredibly effective use of social media. The ad is so effective it has to be seen:
Copyright © 2021 Wales Literary Agency, inc. 
