The Battle For Media Democracy

Dec 14, 2014 | News

Under the United States Constitution, the First Amendment protects free speech from government restriction or interference. Yet government has a significant oversight role for a variety of media. In his new book, America’s Battle for Media Democracy, Victor Pickard...

What Apple Wants From Santa

Dec 12, 2014 | News

When lawyers for Apple enter the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan next week, they will carry a brief that in its content is as hopeful as a child’s extravagant holiday wish list. Indeed, the attorneys for the computer and smartphone maker would seem to...

The Researcher’s Dilemma

Dec 7, 2014 | Events, International

Say the word research, and what do most people think of?  Well, teenagers, at least, and many, many older people who should know better think of Google, of course – or maybe Wikipedia.  But if your idea of research is a key word search online and a tap of the return...

HarperCollins CEO Is “Person of the Year”

Dec 5, 2014 | News

As December opens and the year approaches its end, ‘tis the season – for awards. In the publishing industry, Publishers Weekly is handing out the latest round of ribbons and medals. The magazine’s list of notables for 2014 in the book trade includes Fiona McRae,...

How To Tame Internet Dragons

Nov 30, 2014 | Events

Like it or not we exist in a world dominated by the Internet, which once promised to be a democratizing force, but is now dominated by sprawling corporate gatekeepers such as Apple, Google, Facebook, and Amazon. What are the dangers to artistic freedom and a diverse...

Revisiting Miami 2013

Nov 23, 2014 | Podcasts

Like it or not we exist in a world dominated by the Internet, which once promised to be a democratizing force, but is now dominated by sprawling corporate gatekeepers such as Apple, Google, Facebook, and Amazon. What are the dangers to artistic freedom and a diverse...

LeGuin Shakes Up Book Awards

Nov 21, 2014 | News

Presented with a plaque for “lifetime achievement” in writing at the National Book Awards on Wednesday, Ursula LeGuin replied with a jeremiad on the state of publishing. The audience applauded – “bravely,” she noted. Clearly, the 85-year-old novelist of science...

Terms Reached For Hachette, Amazon

Nov 14, 2014 | News

On the same week that the New York Times reported he gave up a lavish private office for a 6-foot X 7-foot cube in an open-plan office, Hachette CEO Michael Pietsch announced conclusion of an e-book sales deal with Amazon. He says the deal is “great news for writers,”...

Transformation Of Translation

Nov 9, 2014 | International

More than four times as many people worldwide speak English than French, yet French culture certainly punches above its weight. This year’s Nobel laureate in literature is the French author Patrick Modiano, and more French writers have won the Nobel than writers of...

Happy Days For Debut Novelist

Nov 7, 2014 | News

In 2014, some things about the book business are as long gone as the days of Mad Men. Three-martini lunches, of course, as well an urban landscape dotted with bookstores. Also among the missing, or so we thought, were the hefty advances that signal the imminent...