At the Times of London, Amanda Craig profiles Persephone Books publisher Nicola Beauman: “There can be little doubt that Persephone, which reprints lost or forgotten women’s classics, has filled a gap left by the bigger Virago. Quieter, more interior and less obviously feminist than the latter, it celebrates its first decade as the champion of the kind of book trendy that literati like to dismiss as dull and domestic.”Times (London)
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Obama Reply: Unfit for Publication
The Obama campaign has produced a forty-page reply to Jerome Corsi’s book in a PDF titled Unfit for Publication. Among other coverage, Timothy Noah looks at scholarly publisher Mary Matalin: “Simon & Schuster and the other big publishing houses have started conservative imprints, at arms’ length and with noses held, because they recognize them to be a gold mine…. But part of the deal, clearly, is that conservative imprints aren’t required to adhere to the same standards of truth as the grown-up divisions. If an Erwin Glikes or even an Adam Bellow is available to edit your conservative fall list, […]
Rushdie on Jones Novel
Salman Rushdie tells the AP via e-mail about Sherry Jones’s THE JEWEL OF MEDINA: “I am very disappointed to hear that my publishers, Random House, have canceled another author’s novel, apparently because of their concerns about possible Islamic reprisals. This is censorship by fear, and it sets a very bad precedent indeed.”AP
No Potter Film Tie-in This Year
Warner Bros. has decided not to release their film version of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince this November, debuting it on July 17, 2009 instead. Warner president Alan Horn says the film would have been ready as scheduled but they want to take advantage of the “relative dearth” of big films next summer (as a result of the production lag from the writers strike). “It feels like we have an opportunity in the summer,” Horn said. As the LAT notes, “the shift in schedule is already roiling Potter fans, who are among the most intense devotees in contemporary pop […]
Wikipedia Dropped from Agent's Suit
In Barbara Bauer’s lawsuit alleging defamation and intentional interference with prospective economic advantage against 22 plaintiffs, a judge has dismissed the Wikimedia Foundation from the case, citing the Communications Decency Act.Ars Technica
Steinbeck Copyright Battle Now in Penguin's Favor
The long-running battle over control of John Steinbeck’s estate, and specifically the copyrights to early works such as The Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and Men, has shifted once again. Reversing a 2006 ruling by U.S. District Judge Richard Owen that awarded the copyrights to Steinbeck’s son Thomas and granddaughter Blake Smyle, the 2nd Circuit of the Federal Court of Appeals ruled that Penguin, along with the estate of Steinbeck’s third wife Elaine, hold the rights on the grounds that a 1938 notice purporting to terminate publication rights was superceded by a 1994 agreement. “Because the termination right provided […]