Monday News: Seattle booksellers, RIP Amiri Baraka, Kamloops newspaper shuts down, Elsevier redux, and an American writer in Japan

JanetPublishing Newsacademic publishing / Amazon / copyright / detective fiction / Japan / Newspapers / open access / poetry9 Comments

Retail in Seattle: In the Shadow of Amazon – If any book selling market seems like it would suffer because of Amazon’s presence, it’s Seattle. And yet, this article suggests that is far from the case; in fact, despite the obvious challenges, there are some interesting examples here of booksellers who have actually used Amazon’s presence to set themselves apart:

“‘I don’t do anything differently because of Amazon’s presence,’ says Lara Hamilton, owner of Book Larder and of the Kim Ricketts Book Events speakers series, which brings authors to places like Microsoft. ‘Amazon’s reach is global, so the only thing that likely differentiates my experience from that of booksellers in other places is that I have plenty of Amazon employees as customers. I want Book Larder to provide a great experience, whether the customer is shopping for the perfect cookbook, taking a cooking class, or attending an author talk. Experienced humans are still better at the delivery of all of those things.'” Publishers Weekly

Remembering Activist Poet Amiri Baraka – Amiri Baraka died last week. A poet, playwright, and activist, Baraka (born LeRoi Jones) was one of the most influential literary figures of the 60s, and his own political evolution, which was as complex as his artistic journey, was always reflected in his art. A member of the Beat generation, Baraka was helping to create a new literary consciousness:

“But I think in that circle, those people generally were fighting against the academic life — academic poetry of the ’50s. Whether you’re talking about Ginsberg and the Beats or you’re talking … the Black Mountain school [of poetry] or you’re talking about Frank O’Hara and the New York school … they were all aligned, I think, in a kind of united front against the dullness of the new critics and the dullness of the kind of poetry [those critics were] trying to bring back.” NPR

Kamloops newspaper to close doors after more than 80 years – British Columbia has lost one of its most revered daily newspapers after 80 years, the Kamloops Daily News. While a circulation of 83,000 might not seem enormous compared to numbers like those the New York Times pulls down, the paper’s demise is illustrative of the difficulties independent newspapers face in the current information climate, and the question of what, if anything, will fill this growing vacuum.

“The end of the newspaper after about 80 years, and the fact that the bustling community of about 83,000 people will be without a daily paper, dramatically highlights the challenges facing the newspaper industry as past models for financial success are challenged by shifts in advertising, declining circulation and the Internet.” The Globe and Mail

Academic publishing: No peeking… – More on the case of Elsevier, the Netherlands-based academic publisher that has been using the authority of the DMCA to force scholars to remove articles they have published from other venues, including individual scholar websites. Not surprisingly, backlash has been building, and some are now predicting that Elsevier is hastening, rather than stalling, the growth of open-access publishing in academia. Also interesting to note is the fact that only the final version published is generally covered under a journal’s copyright claim.

“Many advocates of open access make a moral case for it, too, arguing that freely available research is a public good—and that much of it is paid for by taxpayers in the first place. Ross Mounce, a palaeontologist at the University of Bath, in England, and an advocate of open access, is enthusiastic about what has happened. “This”, he says, referring to the row, “has been great [for open-access advocates]. Lots of people who were completely apathetic before are starting to realise the importance of how we distribute scientific research.”” The Economist

Big in Japan – This story reminded me a little of the film “Lost in Translation,” with detective novelist David Gordon playing the Bill Murray role. Although his book, The Serialist, did okay in the States, it was a blockbuster and multiple award winner in Japan, where he became far more popular than he ever has been in the U.S. It’s an interesting companion piece to the story about Chinese-American novelist, Qiu Xiaolong, I posted about a week ago. Although Gordon does not even set his book in Japan.

“In a daze, I was paraded before the press, blinded by flashbulbs and tracked by TV cameras. But because I couldn’t understand the directions, I often talked to the wrong camera, stared into space or even leaned on the scenery — until my intrepid and glamorous young translator told the reporters to wave if they wanted David-san to look at their cameras, like a baby at a birthday party. I watched the film with her whispering in my ear: ‘He is the detective.’ It was as if I had fallen asleep and had a weird dream about my own book. At the end, when the lights came up and I stood to leave, she tapped my shoulder and pointed. The audience was clapping wildly. For me. I took a few deep bows and fled.” New York Times

Janet

isn't sure if she's an average Romance reader, or even an average reader, but a reader she is, enjoying everything from literary fiction to philosophy to history to poetry. Historical Romance was her first love within the genre, but she's fickle and easily seduced by the promise of a good read. She approaches every book with the same hope: that she will be filled from the inside out with something awesome that she didnʼt know, didnʼt think about, or didnʼt feel until that moment. And she's always looking for the next mind-blowing read, so feel free to share any suggestions!

→ Janet