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The story of Penguin Books, Allen Lane and how they changed the world, to celebrate the 90th anniversary of Penguin 'An invaluable and fascinating account' NICK HORNBY 'Outstanding' LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKS 'A triumph . . . rich and humorous' ROGER LEWIS By founding Penguin Books in 1935 and popularizing the paperback, Allen Lane not only changed publishing in Britain – he was also at the forefront of a social and cultural revolution. In The Man Who Changed the Way We Read, Jeremy Lewis brings this extraordinary era brilliantly to life. Lane’s books gave millions of people access to what had previously been the preserve of a wealthy few; they alerted the public to the threat of Nazi Germany; and Penguin itself became a cherished national institution, much like the BBC and the NHS, whilst at the same time challenging the status quo through the famous Lady Chatterley case. This is the spellbinding story of how a complex, highly fallible man used his vision to change the world. 'Rakish and racy . . . tells the story not just of a man, or even a firm, but of a cultural makeover that shaped the world as we know it' DAILY TELEGRAPH
Book publishing is big business, contributing significant employment in the creative industries and adding billions to the global economy. Despite this, the sector is often overlooked in the creative industries' research tide. This book remedies this gap in knowledge, providing an examination of book publishing in the UK within the wider context of the creative industries and the existing academic discourse. Balancing the tensions of art and commerce perhaps more than any other creative field, this book considers the position of the book publishing industry within the contemporary cultural economy. Through this focused analysis on the culture(s) and organisation(s) of book publishing in the ...
These are turbulent times in the world of book publishing. For nearly five centuries the methods and practices of book publishing remained largely unchanged, but at the dawn of the twenty-first century the industry finds itself faced with perhaps the greatest challenges since Gutenberg. A combination of economic pressures and technological change is forcing publishers to alter their practices and think hard about the future of the books in the digital age. In this book - the first major study of trade publishing for more than 30 years - Thompson situates the current challenges facing the industry in an historical context, analysing the transformation of trade publishing in the United States and Britain since the 1960s. He gives a detailed account of how the world of trade publishing really works, dissecting the roles of publishers, agents and booksellers and showing how their practices are shaped by a field that has a distinctive structure and dynamic. This new paperback edition has been thoroughly revised and updated to take account of the most recent developments, including the dramatic increase in ebook sales and its implications for the publishing industry and its future.
How do books attract their readers? This collection takes a closer look at book covers and their role in promoting sales and shaping readers' responses. Judging a Book by Its Cover brings together leading scholars, many with experience in the publishing industry, who examine the marketing of popular fiction across the twentieth century and beyond. Using case studies, and grounding their discussions historically and methodologically, the contributors address key themes in contemporary media, literary, publishing, and business studies related to globalisation, the correlation between text and image, identity politics, and reader reception. Topics include book covers and the internet bookstore; the links between books, the music industry, and film; literary prizes and the selling of books; subcultures and sales of young adult fiction; the cover as a signifier of literary value; and the marketing of ethnicity and lesbian pulp fiction. This exciting collection opens a new field of enquiry for scholars of book history, literature, media and communication studies, marketing, and cultural studies.
This collection brings together published papers on key themes which book historians have identified as of particular significance in the history of twentieth-century publishing. It reprints some of the best comparative perspectives and most insightful and innovatively presented scholarship on publishing and book history from such figures as Philip Altbach, Lewis Coser, James Curran, Elizabeth Long, Laura Miller, Angus Phillips, Janice Radway, Jonathan Rose, Shafquat Towheed, Catherine Turner, Jay Satterfield, Clare Squires, Eva Hemmungs Wirtén. It is arranged into six sections which examine the internationalisation of publishing businesses, changing notions of authorship, innovation in the design and marketing of books, the specific effects of globalisation on creative property and the book in a multimedia marketplace. Twentieth-century book history attracts an audience beyond the traditional disciplines of librarianship, bibliography, history and literary studies. It will appeal to publishing educators, editors, publishers, booksellers, as well as academics with an interest in media and popular culture.
The 1970s witnessed a renaissance in women’s print culture, as feminist presses and bookshops sprang up in the wake of the second-wave women’s movement. At four decades’ remove from that heady era, however, the landscape looks dramatically different, with only one press from the period still active in contemporary publishing: Virago. This engaging history explains how, from modest beginnings, Virago managed to weather epochal transformations in gender politics, literary culture, and the book publishing business. Drawing on original interviews with many of the press's principal figures, it gives a compelling account of Virago’s place in recent women's history while also reflecting on the fraught relationship between activism and commerce.
Bestsellers are the books that sell well, are read by large numbers of people, and are widely talked about in the media and among readers. Yet there has been little research on the creation, reception, and cultural and social significance of bestsellers. Recognizing that popular narratives play an important role in the lives of millions of readers, Hype – Bestsellers and Literary Culture looks closely at the literature so many people read. As global market phenomena, situated in between the power spheres of producers and consumers, bestsellers also highlight the interdependency of culture, market, and the individual. This volume addresses such diverse questions as the creation of hype, the role and the meaning of the author in the presentday media landscape, changes in the book trade, historical perspectives on bestselling literature, and the relationship between bestsellers and literary research.
This collection brings together published papers on key themes which book historians have identified as of particular significance in the history of twentieth-century publishing, such as the internationalisation of publishing businesses and the book in a multimedia marketplace. These reprinted essays feature comparative perspectives and insightful and innovatively presented scholarship from leading scholars in the field.
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