Industry News

Megan DiMaria is Novel Rocket’s industry news columnist. An author and speaker, she enjoys cheering on writers and loves to encourage others as they journey through life’s demands and delights. Megan is the author of two women’s fiction novels, Searching for Spice and Out of Her Hands. 

Welcome to the August edition of Novel Rocket's industry news. I hope you've had a productive summer, which by the way, is almost over.  

Let's get to it!

• Citing “tough comparisons” and e-tailers no longer discounting many e-books at a loss” (that would be Amazon), Lagardère Publishing's (Hachette Book Group’s parent company) first half of 2015 revenues fall. For more info . . . 
• Here's twenty writing residencies you should apply for! For more info . . .
• Good news for fans of classic crime novels—Pushkin Press has launched Pushkin Vertigo to publish crime classics written between the 1920s and the 1970s. For more info . . . 
• St. Martin’s Press to launch a new digital romance imprint, SMPSwerve. 
• Not novel related but Amazon related, and writers are curious about Amazon. It’s no joke (that’s what folks thought). Amazon Dash, a sticky button you install in your home/office allows you to reorder a product at the push of a button. For more info . . . 
• For fun: Authors tweet advice on what NOT to say to a writer.
• Curious about how publishers make decisions about what to publish? For more info . . . 
• ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) announced the 2015 Carol Award finalists  and the 2015 Genesis Contest finalists. 
• The Man Booker Prize 2015 longlist announced. 
• Also, in 2016, the Man Booker International Prize will merge with the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize. For more info . .. 
• The Authors Guild’s fourth installment of its Fair Contract Initiative, “A Publishing Contract Should Not Be Forever.” For more info . . . 
• Fantasy author Ed Greenwood opens publishing house (his creative salon), The Ed Greenwood Group. For more info . . . 
• Ten book publishers seeking manuscript submissions! For more info . . . 
• Dirty, rotten #%&! Computer hackers use Jane Austin prose to disguise malicious code. For more info . . . 
• Go Set a Watchman breaks records. For more info . . . 
• Fantasy/sci-fi novelist and NBA lifetime achievement winner, Ursula Le Guin launches an online writing workshop on the Book View Café blog to answer selected questions on the craft of writing fiction. For more info . . .
• Amazon’s media sales declined for the first quarter. For more info . . . 
• Not so much to do with novels, but an interesting rumor has it Amazon is planning to open a drive-thru grocery store. What won't Amazon do? For more info . . . 
• EverAfter Romance, an imprint of Diversion Books, launches print program for self-published romance authors. For more info . . . 
• Details of Family Christian Stores’ new ownership plan are revealed. For more info . . . 
• Interesting. Canada’s Windsor Public Library’s Espresso Book Machine (self-publishing) has published over 10k books and helps writers share their stories. For more info . . .   
• Encouraging to see this—Tyndale House Publishers created a new position to focus on author development and strategy. For more info . . . 
• Simon & Schuster launches pop culture site GLOMMABLE to “give readers direct access to and original content from the internet personalities and authors that fans love most.” For more info . . . 
• e-Book sales down. For more info . . . 
• However, bookstore sales rose. For more info . . .  
• Interesting. AuthorBee launches a new Twitter app to organize your “timeline into stores based on your interests.” For more info . . . 
• Authors United call for the Department of Justice to investigate Amazon. For more info . . . 
• It seems likely the new Barnes & Boble CEO will kill the Nook. For more info . . .  
• Sad news, Abingdon shut down its fiction program. For more info . . . 

Have a great month, friends. Write on!