Intellectual Curiosities and Provocations

September 2007

Reviewing the Review: September 2 2007

News,
Publishing
Bravo to Jim Lewis for an enthusiastic and bracing New York Times Book Review front cover piece that begins like this:

Good morning and please listen to me: Denis Johnson is a true American artist, and "Tree of Smoke" is a tremendous book ...

This article is part of the Reviewing the New York Times Book Review series. The next post in the series is Reviewing the Review: September 9 2007. The previous post in the series is Reviewing the Review: August 26 2007.

Richard Nash, Mark Sarvas, Scott Hoffman on Book Pricing for Literary Fiction

Publishing
Over the next two months, we will be examining publishing practices for literary fiction from various angles here on LitKicks. We're studying the question of hardcover vs. trade paper original book publishing in particular, and I've solicited responses from publisher Richard Nash, author Mark Sarvas and agent Scott Hoffman to some questions about this topic.
-- Levi Asher

* * * * *

RICHARD NASH, Publisher of Soft Skull Books

This article is part of the Does Literary Fiction Suffer From Dysfunctional Pricing? series. The next post in the series is Simon Lipskar, Keith Arsenault, Dave Weich on Book Pricing for Literary Fiction. The previous post in the series is Does Literary Fiction Suffer From Dysfunctional Pricing (Introduction).

Simon Lipskar, Keith Arsenault, Dave Weich on Book Pricing for Literary Fiction

Publishing
Our survey of top publishing insiders on questions of book pricing continues. Today we'll hear a wide range of thoughts on the subject from Simon Lipskar, Keith Arsenault and Dave Weich.
-- Levi Asher

Simon Lipskar is a literary agent with Writer's House

This article is part of the Does Literary Fiction Suffer From Dysfunctional Pricing? series. The next post in the series is Book Pricing for Literary Fiction: First Week Summary. The previous post in the series is Richard Nash, Mark Sarvas, Scott Hoffman on Book Pricing for Literary Fiction.

Book Pricing for Literary Fiction: First Week Summary

Publishing
Does literary fiction suffer from dysfunctional pricing? After hearing six smart industry insiders address this question, we've made a few surprising discoveries, exposed some apparent contradictions and talked through some long-buried misunderstandings. Let's take a quick inventory.

This article is part of the Does Literary Fiction Suffer From Dysfunctional Pricing? series. The next post in the series is David Poindexter, Danielle Marshall, Kelly Nagle on Book Pricing for Literary Fiction. The previous post in the series is Simon Lipskar, Keith Arsenault, Dave Weich on Book Pricing for Literary Fiction.

Reviewing the Review: September 9 2007

Politics
Some issues of the New York Times Book Review just don't seem to get the blood flowing as well as others. It's probably just me, but I can't rouse much feeling one way or another about today's issue.

This article is part of the Reviewing the New York Times Book Review series. The next post in the series is Reviewing the Review: September 16 2007. The previous post in the series is Reviewing the Review: September 2 2007.

David Poindexter, Danielle Marshall, Kelly Nagle on Book Pricing for Literary Fiction

Publishing
I'm especially excited to present today's set of responses to the question "Does literary fiction suffer from dysfunctional pricing?" featuring one publisher who has already bet the future of his company on his answer to the question.
-- Levi Asher
* * * * *

David Poindexter is Publisher of MacAdam/Cage

This article is part of the Does Literary Fiction Suffer From Dysfunctional Pricing? series. The next post in the series is Alan Sorensen, John Freeman, Ami Greko on Book Pricing for Literary Fiction. The previous post in the series is Book Pricing for Literary Fiction: First Week Summary.

Alan Sorensen, John Freeman, Ami Greko on Book Pricing for Literary Fiction

Publishing
Here are the final three participants in the first phase of our ongoing LitKicks discussion.
* * * * *

Alan Sorensen is a professor at Stanford's Graduate School of Business, where he has written influential studies on book and product marketing.

This article is part of the Does Literary Fiction Suffer From Dysfunctional Pricing? series. The next post in the series is Book Pricing for Literary Fiction: The Case for Change. The previous post in the series is David Poindexter, Danielle Marshall, Kelly Nagle on Book Pricing for Literary Fiction.

Back To The Bowery

Jazz Age,
Music,
New York City,
News,
Personal,
Poetry,
Spoken Word,
Sports
1. It's been a long time since I've performed at the Bowery Poetry Club. I'll be doing a quick happy-hour show at 6:30 pm next Thursday, September 20, arranged by Long Island poet George Wallace and also featuring Donald Lev, Barbara Southard and Elliot Pepper on bongo drums. There's a $6 cover charge, but it'll be worth it. I'll be doing a fast fifteen minutes, and I may even have a special guest (if you read the litblogs, it's someone I bet you know and love) jump onstage with me for a bombastic duet.

Reviewing the Review: September 16 2007

I'm a fool for a certain type of high-minded historical fiction, and a Nell Freudenberger cover review in today's New York Times Book Review makes it clear that I'm on a collision course with David Leavitt's The Indian Clerk, in which Cambridge mathematician G. H. Hardy encounters a humble accountant from Madras, India who can help him prove the famous Reimann hypothesis. Freudenberger does well to lay out the story's setup clearly, though her concluding lines are unimpressive:

This article is part of the Reviewing the New York Times Book Review series. The next post in the series is Reviewing the Review: September 23 2007. The previous post in the series is Reviewing the Review: September 9 2007.

Book Pricing for Literary Fiction: The Case for Change

Publishing
Before we dive into the second phase of our discussion of book pricing practices (and I've got some great new contributions queued up for tomorrow), let's review what seems to be shaping up as our core argument for change. It's way too early to claim that a consensus has emerged here -- far from it -- but we have been able to refine the argument and close off some unpromising avenues. Some significant findings:

1) Dual format publishing may be the most attractive option.

This article is part of the Does Literary Fiction Suffer From Dysfunctional Pricing? series. The next post in the series is Book Pricing for Literary Fiction: Sarah Weinman, Tao Lin, Ron Hogan. The previous post in the series is Alan Sorensen, John Freeman, Ami Greko on Book Pricing for Literary Fiction.

Book Pricing for Literary Fiction: Sarah Weinman, Tao Lin, Ron Hogan

Publishing
I've asked a variety of literary-minded people to weigh in on our big question: Does literary fiction suffer from dysfunctional pricing? I think these are three exceptionally good responses.
-- Levi Asher

* * * * *

Sarah Weinman writes for many publications including the Los Angeles Times Book Review, the Baltimore Sun and her own crime-fiction blog, Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind

Q: Do you consider it possible or likely that publishers of literary fiction could be making greater overall profits by abandoning the traditional practice of making books available only in expensive hardcover for the first year? Might publishers be losing more in word-of-mouth than they're gaining in margin?

This article is part of the Does Literary Fiction Suffer From Dysfunctional Pricing? series. The next post in the series is Digging Deeper Into Book Pricing: Simon Lipskar, Kassia Krozser, Doug Seibold. The previous post in the series is Book Pricing for Literary Fiction: The Case for Change.

Jamelah Reads the Classics: 20th Century Edition

Classics
One of the reasons I started my occasional series, Jamelah Reads the Classics, is because there are all these books in the world that I want to read -- I keep a running list in my head, appropriately titled Books I Want to Read Before I Die -- and it is very long. So long, in fact, that I know I will never get all the way through it before I inevitably stop breathing, even if I happen to live for a very very long time, which I probably won't because I have a thing for bad habits.

This article is part of the Jamelah Reads The Classics series. The next post in the series is Jamelah Reads the Classics: The Maltese Falcon. The previous post in the series is Jamelah Reads The Classics: Agnes Grey.

Reviewing the Review: September 23 2007

A graphic redesign of the print edition of the New York Times Book Review's launches with this weekend's issue. Designer Nicholas Blechman seems to like white space, a strange wide ribbon of which adorns the top of each page. I don't see what purpose this serves, but I suppose no significant damage is done.

This article is part of the Reviewing the New York Times Book Review series. The next post in the series is Reviewing the Review: September 30 2007. The previous post in the series is Reviewing the Review: September 16 2007.

Digging Deeper Into Book Pricing: Simon Lipskar, Kassia Krozser, Doug Seibold

Publishing
These are eventful times for the Dysfunctional Pricing in Literary Fiction debate. This past weekend the New York Times Book Review debuted a new permanent bestseller list devoted to trade paperback, a significantly positive gesture towards acceptance of more inexpensive formats by an industry bellwether.

This article is part of the Does Literary Fiction Suffer From Dysfunctional Pricing? series. The next post in the series is Figuring Out the Book Business. The previous post in the series is Book Pricing for Literary Fiction: Sarah Weinman, Tao Lin, Ron Hogan.

The Burroughs Brothers and the Plastic People of the Universe

Eastern European,
Music,
New York City,
News,
Transgressive
1. As promised, I went to see Augusten Burroughs and John Elder Robison, who read from Look Me In The Eye. The elder Burroughs/Robison brother has a good sense of humor and an appealing lack of self-consciousness on stage. He's almost as big a ham as Augusten, in fact, and that's a good thing. I recommend this book to anybody who enjoyed Running With Scissors and also to anybody interested in learning more about Asperger's syndrome.

Reviewing the Review: September 30 2007

Lit-Crit,
New York City
When we read a review of a book, we simultaneously react to two texts: the article about the book, and the book the article is about. A good reviewer must be aware of this fact.

This article is part of the Reviewing the New York Times Book Review series. The next post in the series is Reviewing the Review: October 7 2007. The previous post in the series is Reviewing the Review: September 23 2007.