Archive for October, 2009
Wednesday, October 28th, 2009
Nook Retailing
[Updated later with a photograph of the Nook setup at the B&N on Fifth Avenue near 42nd Street.]
So yesterday I wandered into the Barnes & Noble at Union Square, and I beheld for the first time the retailing set up in the brick-and-mortar stores for the Nook, their super-sleek ereader. I should have snapped a [...]
13 Comments » - Posted in The Industry by Michael
Wednesday, October 28th, 2009
The Out-of-Print Blues
Not all that long ago, I was in a swell position that allowed me to put back into print great novels that had fallen by the wayside. These weren’t strange books that nobody knew, but major novels—among them Newbery Honor-winners by Eleanor Estes and others; some truly fabulous fantasies by Meredith Ann Pierce, Jane Yolen, [...]
11 Comments » - Posted in Books We Love, Inspiration, The Industry by Michael
Tuesday, October 27th, 2009
Beta Readers
Let’s be honest: you can only do so much on your own. Yes, yes, writing, as Ms. Jessamyn West wonderfully pointed out, is a solitary occupation. We know this. But we also know that networking can help abate just how lonely the writers have to feel. And conferences. And going outside to breathe fresh air [...]
22 Comments » - Posted in Choosing an Agent/Submitting, On Writing by Chris
Thursday, October 22nd, 2009
Building the Perfect E-Reader
The publishing world has been aflutter over the quick rise of the e-reader. With Apple announcing its forthcoming tablet, Amazon through three versions of the Kindle already, and Barnes and Noble dropping their Nook like it’s hot, there’s plenty of change, competition, and innovation. But when will they get it just right?
25 Comments » - Posted in The Industry by Chris
Wednesday, October 21st, 2009
Books We Love: Half Magic
(The post below is another recycled bit from my now living-dead blog, As the World Stearns. Part of our ongoing series on books we adore.)
I unabashedly adore this novel, Edward Eager’s second and best book. I love it despite its pretty glaring flaws (some stereotyping of Arabs as “shifty”; a shamelessly episodic structure with [...]
23 Comments » - Posted in Books We Love, Inspiration by Michael
Tuesday, October 20th, 2009
The Voices In Your Head
I have been an absent Crow recently—my apologies. For those of you who don’t know, I am not only a literary agent, but also a very lax blogger, a compulsive baker of cookies, and the mother of a tiny and precocious little girl named Alice, who is just over 400 days old.
On Saturday afternoon, my [...]
35 Comments » - Posted in Inspiration, Sweet Nonsense by Danielle
Monday, October 19th, 2009
Books-To-Film #3: The Winners (and Losers)
Thanks to everyone who voted in the first ever Upstart Crow Poll(s) of Mass Importance. In case you missed it, last week, in anticipation of the Where the Wild Things Are film, I polled readers here on the blog and on Twitter to decide which films ranked as the best and worst adaptations of books, [...]
16 Comments » - Posted in Sweet Nonsense, The Industry by Chris
Friday, October 16th, 2009
Books-to-Film #2: Adult
(In case you’re visiting only to vote, please remember that we’re looking only for films that have been released in the past 20 years. Thanks!)
On Wednesday, I polled readers on the best and worst film adaptations of children’s books and found some surprises, some no-brainers, and some upsets. The results will be posted on [...]
22 Comments » - Posted in Sweet Nonsense, The Industry by Chris
Thursday, October 15th, 2009
W(h)ither Publishing?
I’m feeling reflective this morning (or as reflective as I ever get, anyway), so I’m going to don my Nostradamus-like robes and prognosticate on the future of publishing. There is something in the air—is it just autumn previewing winter? or is it something more portentous?
There is an interesting (some might say alarming) story in this [...]
17 Comments » - Posted in The Industry by Michael
Wednesday, October 14th, 2009
Books-to-Film #1: Children’s
Anticipation is high among publishing folks for Spike Jonze’s adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s classic children’s book Where the Wild Things Are. Personally, I’m a huge fan of Jonze and have enjoyed his work dating back to his music video days. What’s getting me even more excited for the film are the early reports of it [...]
