Young adult literature has been a huge catalyst and money-maker for publishing over the past few years. Beyond the books, the category’s given birth to several multimillion dollar franchises and new Hollywood stars. With all of the glamour and glitz that can come out of the YA world, it’s easy to forget about the rest…Continue Reading
Comics and graphic novels have been having a good run lately. Comichron and ICv2 – respectively, a database and journal covering the industry – estimate that, in 2015, total domestic sales reached a record of $1.03 billion. In their joint report, they note that in 2015, print sales accounted for a staggering $940 million, with…Continue Reading
When we first got Google’s virtual reality headset at my house, called the Google Daydream, I can’t say I was too excited. But then I tried it. I downloaded BBC’s The Turning Forest, grabbed the controller, and put on the headset. A man who sounded vaguely like Martin Freeman narrated a fairytale-like story that took…Continue Reading
PT Picks: Written in the Dark, edited by Polina Barskova (Ugly Duckling Presse, 2016) From Nina: In the best of times, translating poetry is difficult; Russian poetry, doubly so. By that logic, it’s frankly miraculous that Written in the Dark made it into English at all. The five men collected in this volume were writing…Continue Reading
The annual Book Industry Study Group (BISG) meeting took place on September 30th – coincidentally on the eve of its new Executive Director Brian O’Leary’s first day in his new job, October 3rd. Almost one hundred members and industry participants came for the program and to celebrate BISG’s 40th anniversary. Awards were also given out, the…Continue Reading
PT Picks: The Visitors by Simon Sylvester (Melville House, 2015) From Samantha: I really enjoy reading mysteries, and I really enjoy reading books with a supernatural or mystical element. The twain do not often meet, but they did in The Visitors by Simon Sylvester. This book combines the two effortlessly, making for a great beginning-of-fall…Continue Reading
As ever, this year’s Columbia Publishing Course (formerly the Radcliffe Publishing Course) Graduates are a remarkable group. Per our tradition here at Publishing Trends, we’ve put together one preternaturally talented graduate profile from the most interesting parts of the biographies of this year’s graduates. With the exception of some connecting phrases, the words are the students’ own. *** Typical…Continue Reading
Superhero movies – and to an extent TV shows – are one of the biggest trends in entertainment of recent years. But success on the screen doesn’t guarantee comic book sales. To better analyze the correlation, I took a look at the trade paperback sales of two comic books for two of the most popular…Continue Reading
A recent article in The Telegraph calls 2015 “the year Amazon delivered on its founder’s vision.” The reporter James Titcomb explains that in 2015 Amazon grew to double its share price, finally became profitable, and is now “almost untouchable as an online retailer” due to its streamlined delivery service. While it’s been a good year…Continue Reading
PT Picks: Street Smart: The Rise of Cities and the Fall of Cars by Samuel I. Schwartz and William Rosen (PublicAffairs, 2015) From Lorraine: Sam (Gridlock Sam) Schwartz was NYC’s longtime traffic commissioner and now runs an eponymous consulting firm with offices around the country. So he’s got the purview and experience to tell us how car came to dominate our…Continue Reading
