#Book Guild Publishing

[literaticat]

Good morning, Jenn! Do you have any insights on why some (amazing) books get selected for the Junior Library Guild gold sticker while other equally wonderful and amazing books don't? I'm trying to find a pattern among the books selected, but I remain a bit baffled. Many thanks!

So for those who don't know, the Junior Library Guild is, basically, a library subscription company focusing on Pre-K-12th grade. They read forthcoming books and select what they consider to be the "Gold Standard" books, "must-haves" if you will -- those books get a (virtual) nifty golden seal and they buy a certain number of them from the publishers and subscribing libraries get them as part of their subscription.

This, I imagine, saves the participating libraries, a good deal of work -- of course, they can always buy ANY book they want, and I'm pretty sure few libraries would rely ONLY on the JLG box, but they do tend to choose Very Good Books, so at least if they got that, they'd know they were "covered" for the books that are likely to come up as Must-Haves. (Though as I understand it, every library doesn't get every book, the boxes they get are tailored to THAT libraries needs/age range/whatever -- not being a member myself, I don't know exactly how that works, but I assume that members can ask for specific books from the collection, or opt in or out of certain categories according to their needs and budget.)

But HOW do they choose? Well, I googled it, and found this article from a few years ago. If you don't feel like clicking, basically, they read A LOT of books (5000+ per year according to this article) -- this is BEFORE reviews are out and awards are given, so it's basically their best judgement of Books That Are Likely To Get Great Reviews and/or Win Awards, Books That Feel Important, and Books That Fit Certain Categories. They do have to PURCHASE the books in order for their members to receive them, so they can't willy-nilly order every book in creation -- and the point is that they are curating, right? So... it's books they like the best, and books they think librarians will like the best. At the end of the day, it's as simple as that: They can only select X number of books, they make a judgement call. If they already have 12 new terrific picture book biographies, for example, they might not be able to add a 13th or 14th, even if they are also great.

Being a JLG selection FEELS very fancy, because hey, you get the nifty gold thing, and "GOLD STANDARD SELECTION" sounds important as heck -- but really, it doesn't mean that your book is ACTUALLY better than any other book, nor does it mean that books that don't get that are any "worse" -- it's just a subjective thing. And "regular" readers have zero idea what things are chosen or what that means, at all.

(This would potentially make a really interesting podcast episode actually -- I'm going to ask around and see if I know anyone who knows anyone there and if they'll talk to me. If a Junior Library Guild person is reading this and wants to be a guest, email me!)

#junior library guild #books & libraries #publishing stuff

[uwmspeccoll]

Decorative Sunday

California craftsman, artist, and arts educator Pedro J. Lemos begins his forward to the Artist’s Scrap Book with this advice: “In this age where the artist takes his place in the practical professions with the architect, the engineer, the lawyer, journalist, and musician, he also finds as a needed part of his stock in trade a reference library.” Nearly a century later, the internet has dampened the need for any individual artist to collect a libraries-worth of physical reference material. Nevertheless, we here in Special Collections aspire to encourage the next generation of artists to find inspiration in print materials. 

Published in 1929 for the SchoolArts Magazine by Davis Press in Worcester, Massachusetts, the Artist’s Scrap Book collects the twelve-page forward in a portfolio with loose plates. Originally consisting of 104 plates, our copy has been missing ten plates since at least the early 70s. The plates are loaded with images, sometimes rather loosely associated with plate name (the “Busy Women” plate, for example, shows a woman busy examining herself in a hand mirror, and two women busily playing the harp). The forward contains dozens of brief descriptions of methods for utilizing the images (e.g. batik, linocut, appliqué, gesso) and examples of how an image can be utilized in a wide variety of applications (as in image ten above). Many of the images are sourced, with permission, from the Curtis Publishing Company’s roster of publications, most notably from the Ladies Home Journal. 

SchoolArts Magazine, originally published under the name The Applied Arts Book, was founded in 1901 to provide arts educators with a periodical that supported arts curriculum development. Gilbert Gates Davis, already an established printer in Worcester, was approached by members of the Worcester Applied Arts Guild to contribute to the project. Davis, believing wholeheartedly in their mission, established the publishing arm of his business to support publication of the magazine. Lemos took over as editor-in-chief of the magazine in 1919 and stayed in the position until 1950. Under Lemos’ influence, Davis Publications expanded their publication of resource books, many written by Lemos himself. Davis Publications has published SchoolArts Magazine continuously since 1901, currently producing 10 issues a year. The firm has also stayed in the Davis family for five generations, currently helmed by Julian Davis, Gilbert’s great-great-grandson. 

-Olivia, Special Collections Graduate Intern

#Decorative Sunday #Artist's Scrap Book #Pedro J. Lemos #Pedro de Lemos #SchoolArts Magazine #Davis Press #Davis Publications #Gilbert Davis #Gilbert Gates Davis #Julian Davis #The Applied Arts Book #Worcester Applied Arts Guild #Curtis Publishing Company #Applied Arts #Decorative Art #Decorative Arts #arts & crafts #Arts & Crafts Movement #Decorative Plates #olivia

[ebookporn]

In the Internet Archive Lawsuit, a Win for Publishers May Come at a Cost for Readers Everywhere

The US court’s decision means that digital lending has become a pressing question for libraries and readers

by Tajja Isen

On March 24, the Internet Archive lost the copyright lawsuit that had been brought against it by four major publishers. The group—which comprised Hachette, HarperCollins, John Wiley & Sons, and Penguin Random House—had sued early in the pandemic, shortly after the Internet Archive opened the National Emergency Library. The NEL was described as a crisis response to a world in which teachers and students were suddenly shut out of classrooms, librarians and researchers barred from the stacks, and the public unable to access large amounts of information. Containing more than 1.4 million books, the Internet Archive’s catalogue involved taking a single physical copy of a title, digitizing it, and making it available for mass download—without authorization by the publisher and author. Prior to the pandemic, many of these books had wait lists and download limits; the NEL was a temporary suspension of those limits. The Internet Archive claimed its move was protected under the doctrine of fair use, but the court didn’t buy it.

In the literary world, the NEL was divisive from the beginning. The New Yorker sung its praises: “The National Emergency Library Is a Gift to Readers Everywhere,” read one headline. NPR also ran an admiring piece about how the NEL “lends a hand,” a position they later tempered as the criticisms began to percolate. Authors and publishers decried it as a form of piracy. The Authors Guild issued a statement saying they were “appalled” by the Internet Archive’s decision, which “trample[d] on authors’ rights by giving away their books to the world.” The publishers sued, bringing the NEL to a premature close, and three years to the day, a judge ruled in their favour. The decision’s implications, however, extend beyond the case to touch the digital rights of all libraries—and, by extension, those of authors and readers. It has a bearing on which books (and which writers) libraries deem worthy of the expense to stock in digital formats and, ultimately, how much digital information will be freely accessible.

READ MORE

#internet archive #book publishers #librarians #libraries #authors guild #authors rights #controlled digital lending #copyright

[rysaarcher]

Calligraphy Guild Blog Tour Schedule

Calligraphy Guild Blog Tour Schedule

I can’t believe we’ve already reached blog tour season for Calligraphy Guild, and yet at the same time it feels like it’s been a long time coming. Regardless, I’m super excited to announce the stops for the Calligraphy Guild blog tour! I’m so grateful to all of these authors/bloggers for participating, and I hope you’ll enjoy their posts and consider following their blogs! (I’ll add direct posts…

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#Asian Fantasy #Blog Tour #Books #Calligraphy Guild #Publishing #Release

[philearning]

47th International Kolkata Book Fair

Visit us at Hall No. 1 Stall NO. H-33

January 18-31, 2024

The International Kolkata Book Fair is among the largest book fairs in terms of number of visitors. Publishers from different parts of the India and abroad regularly participate in this book fair which takes place in January every year. Here the book lovers come across a huge variety of books from all over the world. Every year a country is invited to participate as the Focal Theme to showcase its literature and culture.

Countries from all continents participate in the fair and delegations consisting of authors, artists and critics visit the fair to exchange views with their counterparts in India on this occasion. A number of important seminars, symposia, lectures and debates attended by leading speakers from all over the world are also organized during the fair. https://www.kolkatabookfair.net/

#KBF #KolkataBookFair #International Kolkata Book Fair #Boi Mela #philearning #phibookclub #phibooks #Publishers and Booksellers Guild

[cherylmmbookblog]

#Blogtour The Time of Cherries by Michael S Hollington

It’s a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour The Time of Cherries by Michael S. Hollington. About the Author Michael S Hollington qualified as a chartered surveyor. After spells in the City, Belgium and North America he spent the bulk of his career in Hong Kong, selling buildings on behalf of clients. He lives in London with his wife, Sarah. The Time of Cherries is his first published…

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#Blogtour #Historical Fiction #Michael S Hollington #Random Things Tour #The Book Guild (Publisher) #The Time of Cherries #Troubadour

[gridleyfires]

Publication Postscript – Contracts

I had promised a bit on contracts for this publication series; it is an important part of the publication game. Still, there’s not much in a specific sense to write here on the subject. Basically contracts provide detailed promises on the part of both parties involved. For instance, a publisher will promise to publish the agreed-upon book for you, and possibly some promotion and monetary…

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#Authors Guild #book contracts #publishing

[dduane]

For those who also have this problem: info on the class action suits, and where to start taking action.

(Here's what they took without asking me, BTW.)

#Books3 #Books 3 training #AI training

[primofate]

10 minute quick writes - Genshin Impact

In which I put on a 10 minute timer and write as much as I can. No cheating.

Mood: How he says "I love you", without saying the actual words.

Characters: Albedo, Alhaitham, Ayato, Baizhu, Bennett, Chongyun, Cyno, Dainsleif, Diluc, Gorou, Heizou, Itto, Neuvillette, Razor, Scaramouche, Tartaglia, Thoma, Wriothesley, gn!reader

Warnings: Some silliness in some parts cause I'm sleep deprived.

Albedo

"It'll be cold up there, it'd be best to wear something warmer. Would you be a bother...? No, your company is much appreciated,"

Alhaitham

"...Why are you still awake...? ...A test?" sighs and closes your books "A clear mind is important too. Let's go,"

Ayato

"I did indeed have an important meeting with the guild today...but what kind of partner would I be if I missed such an important occasion of yours?"

Baizhu

"Yes I do have a lot of patients to tend to...but you're to tell me immediately if there's something off about your health, understood?"

Bennett

"You wanna go to the ruins tomorrow too...? With me...?" 3 second pause "You're the best Y/N!"

Chongyun

"I'll work hard! N-No not on my exorcisms! I meant...t-to protect-- nevermind!"

Cyno

"Yes... It's my most prized TCG card... No, it's alright, you can have it,"

Dainsleif

"There's no need to wait up for me, all that'll do is bring you unnecessary worry. I will be fine, and I'll come back. Always."

Diluc

"Is there something I can help with? You seem to be deep in thought today. Perhaps you should stay and rest for tonight,"

Gorou

"Thanks for the help Y/N! I'll come at the same time tomorrow!"

Heizou

"There's my favourite person! How's your day been? Hopefully better now that you've seen me,"

Itto

"Whaddyou wanna do today? Hmmm? What do I wanna do? Nah s'okay, you can pick today!"

Neuvillette

"In matters of work or miscellaneous events, I trust your judgement as I trust mine,"

Razor

A hug, I guess.

Scaramouche

"Seriously are you stupid? I told you not to go running off by yourself! In all circumstances. Wait.For.Me!"

Tartaglia

Melts in your arms after a long day. Seems to talk to an invisible force.

"...and here. Right here. Is where I call home. Don't take this away from me,"

Thoma

"What would you like to eat today? Any requests? I'll cook tonight,"

Wriothesley

"We haven't gone out together in a while, have we? I'll take an off tomorrow. Let's go to that cafe you've wanted to go to, hm?"

End!

I’ve published The Ruthless Prince (Reader x Scaramouche) on paperback. Click here.

Consider supporting me to read some exclusive fics:

Ko-Fi

buymeacoffee

Here’s the Masterlist

#genshin impact #genshin impact fluff #wriothesley x reader #neuvillette x reader #scaramouche x reader #tartaglia x reader #itto x reader #ayato x reader #wriothesley fluff #neuvillette fluff

[fahye]

HERE WE GO AGAIN, BABES

It feels odd to be switching gears to yell about the future when A Power Unbound is still 2 weeks (ONLY 2 WEEKS) away from release, but I am OVER THE MOON to be finally able to tell you about my 2024 & 2025 books! And....other, mysterious books to come after that!

Full details at the link above, but the main things you need to know are:

SWORDCROSSED, 2024. Low stakes, high heat, sharp steel. M/M romantasy. Extreme "Imagine Me & You" vibes of the 'what if I fell for my wedding vendor??' variety, but make it sexy sword fighting and trade guilds and con artists and corporate espionage. My editor has described one of the protags as having "the face of a god and the moral backbone of a deflated pastry" and honestly: she's right.

MAGICAL MEDICAL SCHOOL BOOK, 2025. My current WIP! The comps are A Deadly Education and Grey's Anatomy, and honestly that tells you most of what you need to know at this point. Secondary world. Multiple protagonists, multiple relationships. Murder. Yes they're all queer. Yes people make out in hospital ward storage rooms.

#freya marske #swordcrossed #FIRST USE OF THE TAG AW YEAH

[renegadeguild]

Renegade Bookbinding Guild

Renegade Bookbinding Guild is a not-for-profit group of artists engaged in fanbinding—focusing on extremely limited edition fannish works, including fanfiction, meta, original fic, zines and other works. Most works are made in handmade editions of one or two copies. We are a transformative community connected by shared values, goals, work, and stories. We value fanfiction and fanwork in all its forms, and our fannish culture’s infinite diversity in infinite combinations.

Members work self-directed, selecting works to bind individually. We are building a physical archive book by book, zine by zine, pamphlet by pamphlet, collected on our shelves, gifted to the author, exchanged as gifts among each other or given to friends.

Members of Renegade Bookbinding Guild agree to our Code of Conduct, which upholds the values of our community and can be accessed here.

@armoredsuperheavy started fanbinding independently in 2018. After their guerrilla bookbinding manifestos went viral in 2020, they created the fanbinding Discord server. So began the Renegade Bindery, our digital workshop and community space.

Renegade Bindery is on Discord, if you would like to join please check out the invite on our Carrd. It is 18+ only, and it is not required to be a member of the Guild to participate in the discord.

Our site is maintained by volunteers of the Renegade Bookbinding Guild. The Guild was first established as Renegade Publishing August 17th, 2020, and we updated our name to the Renegade Bookbinding Guild on February 2, 2024.

For more ways to follow Renegade, visit our Carrd.

#renegade bookbinding guild #about the blog 2: electric boogaloo #fanbinding #ficbinding #rbg original

[thebibliosphere]

this is probably the worst time to ask, but im gearing up to try to publish my novel and you mentioned book twitter writing twitter is great for resources for doing that, this is my first novel and im not really in these kinds of spaces, do you have a short list of people i could follow to kind of shimmy my way into that whole scene and get the help im looking for in learning how to make this all work?

It depends on what you mean by trying to make it work. Do you mean "how to get published?" or do you mean "who do I network with?"

Because if you're doing indie pub, I've got a post that somewhat covers basic platforms as well as some resources. I'll probably be posting a more in-depth version of it over on @joydemorra at some point so it's easier for people to find. (an aside to anyone who has read my previous publishing posts: I am withdrawing my business from Ingram Spark and switching to draft2digiral for all future work. Ingram is just fucking up left, right, and center lately. Even for the trad-pub authors.)

Even if you're not going the self-pub route and are trying for trad-pub, I'd suggest giving David Gaughran's "Let's Get Digital" book a read (available free on his website). He updates his work regularly based on current data, too, so it's a good resource to keep an eye on.

As for who to network with? I'm not really sure what to tell you there. I follow people I vibe with as well as places like the Author's Guild on Twitter just to keep abreast of things affecting the industry, but there's no one person I'd tout as a must-follow to get into the industry.

The success of book twitter wasn't just the ability to viral in the zeitgeist, it primarily came from forming writing communities within the larger community itself so that you could build your own support network.

I keep toying with the idea of trying to do something similar here on Tumblr because, honestly, the writerblr community is filled with some stunning talent. We just lack a central hub and support system to help get our seen by wider audiences.

[kyouka-supremacy]

Again the sickness speaking but here's something that has been going through my mind since forever:

I feel like a good way to mitigate a lot of discontent with the doa arc ending and in general the whole Dazai-being-flawless issue bsd has going on is by comparing bsd to Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle. Please bear with me for two minutes.

When Sherlock Holmes was being published, people were intrigued and enamoured by Holmes' brilliant and charming, crimes-solving figure. People read the stories for the pure joy of being left gaping at his superhuman wits again and again; they didn't want to see him fail, they wanted to be shocked and amazed by his genius. When Holmes died and then came back, nobody lamented it being unrealistic, because realism was not what people were reading the books for! They were reading to be impressed, to cheer for the hero and then take satisfaction in seeing him turn out victorious. That's the author-reader deal that was made there: to impress and to enjoy being impressed.

As of recently I feel like we've been asking from bsd something it never promised us in the first place. Maybe it's just not that kind of series! Maybe it's more about surprising the reader with how the hero is going to make it and less about highlighting his flaws and insecurities. And like, that's okay! That's why Dazai getting away with it isn't it him getting away with it “again”, it's just how bsd is; in a way, it's what makes bsd bsd.

I think it really clicked with me like it never did before when I watched the last episode of season 5; because the arc ending felt so shocking and unpredictable, very deus-ex-machina trope, a little underwhelming in its lowering the stakes that were there the whole time, and yet so extremely on brand with bsd, I didn't even have it in me to be disappointed. It was so similar to the Guild's arc ending and even more to the Cannibalism arc ending, and maybe it really is just a pattern, maybe it really is what bsd aspires to be, and that's okay too.

Also, I can't stretch this enough: if it's not your cup of tea, that's fine. I can't say it's mine either. But I feel like criticizing bsd now for how it's always been falls quite short, because it really feels like demanding from it what it never promised to deliver in the first place. That's just as far as my current perception of the series goes, though, so feel free to disagree with me on this.

#Btw this is not me comparing Holmes character with Dazai character. #Holmes character is something Dazai character will never be (respectful of women) #The also real difference between Holmes and Dazai is that one author loathes the character with everything that's in them– #and the other author loves the character with everything that's in them #I've also briefly mentioned before that Atsushi is a very Watson-like figure in the way it uses as someone deeply human‚ #sympathetic to the reader and that the reader can see themselves in‚ #plot device so that Holmes has someone he can explain his deduction to and with his awe further underlines and uplifts Holmes' genius #Also sassy #osamu dazai #bsd #bungou stray dogs #bsd s5 #Wow and here's me putting my season 5 thoughts down after three months. Took a raging fever for me to do so #To be fair when the episode dropped everyone was a bit crazy over the ending for one reason or the other #So back then I felt like waiting things to chill out first #mine #I often find superfluous to end posts with “feel free to disagree with me on this” because it's so obvious and expected it goes unsaid #But I suppose sometimes it bears repeating...

[vintagerpg]

This is the second edition of The Mines of Keridav (1983) from Gamelords, a reissue of the 1979 Phoenix Games edition. It is statted for Thieves Guild but it is essentially generic, suitable for any D&D-derived system with a minimum of conversion. The basic plot is a cliché — rescue the princess from the evil wizard — but there aren’t actually a ton of scenarios where damsels are in distress, so it feels sort of novel in a weird way. The mines themselves are logically arranged and therefore extremely deadly for a frontal assault — players who want to succeed are going to need to be clever. The mage, Keridav is tough (though one with an interesting weakness — in close quarters, he is liable to get flustered and stutter, disrupting his spellcasting) and supported by a band of orcs and a menagerie of critters. Of potential help for the players, Keridav has imprisoned a population of dwarves and forced them to work the mines. His hope that the princess will naturally fall in love with him also presents unusual opportunities a smarter villain might otherwise account for.

The great thing is that the mines is only a small part of the module (just five of the 28 pages). The rest is dedicated to describing the Tiraval Valley, a number of overland hexes that include a well-realized village, a ruined castle (which would be expanded on in the companion module) and a number of encounter areas. This sort of material was more common by 1983, but when the first edition came out in ‘79, there wasn’t a ton of wilderness stuff out there and honestly, of the stuff I’ve read, this is some of the most polished and cohesive. I’d have no problem lifting this for one of my games.

Like most Gamelords books, the art is pretty solid. VM Wyman is on the cover — I like their cartoony fantasy and that lettering is great (they did a lot of work for the Thieves Guild line and it is definitely part of the charm). Bob Charrette (Bushido, Shadowrun) also has some art inside, an artifact of the book originally being published by Phoenix Games, where he started out.

#roleplaying game #tabletop rpg #ttrpg #dungeons & dragons #rpg #d&d #GameLords #Mines of Keridav

[brandyschillace]

If your book was used to train AI:

Important news for #authors whose work has been used by #AI: Writers Guild has a class action suit that might include you, and here are further steps to take.

If you have supported the WGA and SAG-AFTRA, perhaps you will consider supporting this, too. Many thousands of books were taken without knowledge, consent, or acknowledgement and fed into BOOK3 (DATA3) to train AI. New protections are needed to protect Intellectual Property for us all.

#wga solidarity #wga strike #sag strike #writerscommunity #pay writers #ai theft #ai #sag aftra

[cherylmmbookblog]

#Blogtour Watching the Wheel by Stephen Anthony Brotherton

 It’s a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour Watching the Wheels by Stephen Anthony Brotherton. About the Author Stephen Anthony Brotherton now lives in Shropshire but grew up in the West Midlands. A social worker for nearly thirty years, he currently works for the NHS and is a member of the Bridgnorth Writers’ Group and the Shrewsbury Writers’ Lab. His first book, Fractures, Dreams and Second…

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#Blogtour #Random Thing Tours #Short stories #Stephen Anthony Brotherton #The Book Guild (Publisher) #Watching the Wheels