Publishing NewsBarbie / diversity / Harlequin Presents / Ibtihaj Muhammad / mobile apps / National Book Awards / obituary / Sara Craven / Shero dolls3 Comments
Sara Craven 1938-2017 – It’s been a bad few weeks for Romance, with the untimely death of Miranda Neville, and now news of Sara Craven’s passing. Craven wrote for Mills and Boon/Harlequin for more than 40 years, and she was approaching her 100th book. Born in 1938, Craven also won ... more >
Publishing Newsadult coloring books / Barbie / Cold War / Jeff Bezos / journalism / Mattel / Mills & Boon / political propaganda / technology / washington post13 Comments
Bezos says Washington Post to ‘lean into future’ – So The Washington post should advance technologically but retain its “soul.” What does that mean, exactly? Under Bezos, the Post has ramped up its technology to allow its website to perform better, with improved analytics which gauge how readers are responding and ... more >
Publishing NewsBarbie / gender / Mormonism / research / romantic attraction / Running / SFF / stereotypes / toys / Writers7 Comments
Why We Are Attracted to Deviant Personalities – Given the discussions we have in Romance about what makes a “good” or “healthy” relationship, this study is pretty interesting. At this point, though, it seems like there are many more qualifications and limitations than conclusions, especially given the potential failures in self-reporting, ... more >
Publishing NewsBarbie / dolls / Gabriel Garcia Marquez / gender / gender stereotypes / genre fiction / masculinity / science / soap operas / STEM5 Comments
Rethinking Pink: A New Feminine Aesthetic in Tech Toys for Girls – Sparkle Labs’ Amy Parness writes about the persistent use of pink and blue in the marketing of items to boys and girls. Although retailers like Amazon have actually eliminated the boys/girls categorization, the distinction, Parness argues, is discouraging girls from pursuing ... more >
Publishing NewsAgency pricing / Amazon / Barbie / Ebooks / gender / History / Instagram / parody / publishing / punctuation / Satire / technology18 Comments
E-Book Sales Fall After New Amazon Contract – Is anyone surprised? Or rather, does anyone really think that publishers care? Given traditional publishing’s reliance on the hardcover, what, precisely, is the incentive to encourage higher ebook sales? In fact, the comment below about higher sales of paper books suggests a belief ... more >
Publishing NewsBarbie / cable / diversity / gender roles / marriage / publishing / racism / satellite television / sexism / stereotypes / streaming5 Comments
Conflicts Between Pay-TV Providers, Networks Could Result in Permanent Blackouts – With all of the attention on the pending Comcast Time-Warner merger, you may have missed the ongoing conflicts between Dish Satellite and quite a few channels, from Turner Broadcasting to CNN and possibly CBS. In some ways, though, what’s ... more >