# data[].attributes.headline
How a Tiny British Publisher Became the Home of Nobel Laureates

# data[].attributes.subject
How a Tiny British Publisher Became the Home of Nobel Laureates

# data[].attributes.body
Fitzcarraldo Editions is an imprint which has recently risen to the fore of publishing consciousness; headed by Jacques Testard, publisher has garnered praise for cultivating a high quality list which consists of not only three nobel laureates for literature (Annie Ernaux, awarded just recently in 2022) but authors whose work has circulated around the award. Considering that the independent publisher has only existed for eight years, that is nothing short of amazing. Now, we have to understand why this has occurred – from the article linked above, I have recognised that the most explicit reason for Fitzcarraldo’s success is a cultural environmental factor. As the article explains, quoting Paul Keegan, British Publishing does not excel in capitalising on foregin authors due to being an insular industry which prefers to work with an Anglo-American Market due to language barriers, ‘...Keegan noted, the fact that Testard reads fiction in French and Spanish, as well as in English, made him able to spot authors whom other editors in Britain’s “Monoglot, insular” publishing world might miss’ (Marshall, 2022) This sentiment of the UK publishing industry’s ignorance through anglophile views persists further within the article, as it states clearly that Jacques Testard benefited from Anglo-American Publishers disregarding foreign fiction due to being unfamiliar with it and thus labelling the acquiring of foreign fiction as a waste of time and a financial sinkhole, ‘Yet he benefited from an attitude among most British and American publishers that foreign fiction was too expensive or difficult.’ (Marshal 2020). Marketers must not limit themselves by developing a knee-jerk attitude towards foreign markets; the main goal of marketing is not only to foster customer engagement and to rejuvenate pre-existing customer relationships, but to find new sources which value can be exploited in. Therefore a barrier for many companies and their marketing teams is a lack of understanding of the cultural factors that either bar them from entering into certain markets due to lack of tack or cause them to unconsciously restrict themselves from joining said markets.

Marshall, Alex, How a Tiny British Publisher Became the Home of Nobel Laureates (2022). Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/13/books/fitzcarraldo-nobel-prize-ernaux.html (Accessed: 16 October 2022).

Kotler, PT, Armstrong, G, Harris, LC, & He, H 2019, Principles of Marketing, Pearson Education Limited, Harlow, United Kingdom. Available from: ProQuest Ebook Central. [16 October 2022].

# data[].attributes.body
Forces: environmental, social

This article explores how the current climate crisis and recent pandemic has resulted in an emerging fiction genre called climate fiction. It's resulted in new authors being published as well as bring backlist titles to the forefront. This is economically adventurous for publishers to capitalized on as they can re-market older titles that have become relevant again to the current environmental state.
Similarly the crisis in Ukraine has resulted in a renewed interest in cold war themes. These are both examples of how the publishing industry is able to respond to the publics concerns and interests by publishing novels that explore our current landscape.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Matthew James Seidel explores the eerie parallels between the climate crisis and John Wyndham’s prescient novel “The Kraken Wakes.”...

# data[].attributes.body
Forces: Social

In this article Unger talks about diversity within the publishing industry, the catalyst being the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020.

He says that almost immediately after the movement started changes were made within the industry.

"diversity (or the lack of it) and pay parity for minority employees moved from being ancillary issues to being essential for the survival of publishing in an ever-changing society"

Unger concludes by saying that previously many publishers have been 'talking the talk' but he is glad to see that now publishers (big and small) are proudly 'walking the walk'.

The Black Lives Matter movement has clearly made an impact on the publishing industry in both internal and external ways. Although this article referred more to employment within the industry, there are many articles that look at the increase in sales of books written by Black authors.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Twenty-five years ago, trade publishing was approximately 93% Caucasian and university press publishing about 99%; at the managerial level, 3.4% of all publishing employees were Black and 1.8% were Hispanic, according to Federal figures.

Whenever I visited publishing houses in the early 2000s, reception and mailrooms were overwhelmingly staffed by minorities, calling into question even the relevance of the above percentages. As recently as 2016, Publishers Weekly published an article with the declarative title of "Why Publishing Is So White" citing Lee & Low Books' "Diversity Baseline Survey," which highlighted the lack of racial diversity in book publishing, which was then 79% white. Six years later, such a headline would be an overstatement.

I would like to think that the 1997 launching of the Publishing Certificate Program at the City College of New York (on the initiative of bestselling author Walter Mosley) sparked the start of the movement to redress these inequities. At the same time, senior editors perhaps recognized they were publishing more and more minority authors, but their marketing, publicity, and sales departments might not know how to get these titles into the hands of new readers and communities. It was obvious that something had to change if publishers were to take part in building a more equitable multicultural and multiracial society.

We received generous financial support from Random House; Little, Brown; Harcourt; Scholastic; Norton; Penguin; and Time Warner to start the program at City College. What we discovered immediately was that we could train our mostly diverse students, but we couldn't get them placed into internships or entry-level positions. The CEOs wanted change, but the departments (editorial, in particular) were interested in hiring people of their own background, even when HR managers urged departments to look beyond their traditional "comfort zone."

George Floyd's murder and the birth of the Black Lives Matter movement shook the publishing industry out of its sleep, even in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. Almost from day one, diversity (or the lack of it) and pay parity for minority employees moved from being ancillary issues to being essential for the survival of publishing in an ever-changing society. According to Penguin Random House's 2021 annual report, 52% of new hires are BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) at what can now be characterized as living wages. This is a salutary development; now, some argue, increasing the number of nonbinary and gender-nonconforming employees is the next equity frontier.

I have been impressed by the number of publishers that have contacted us in the last year, asking for advice and offering our graduates mentoring and paid internships. We have developed strong relationships with Princeton University Press, Workman, Bloomsbury, Cedar Grove Books, and Macmillan. Through the persistence of Viking Penguin's Brian Tart, PRH established a novel, rigorous, and varied program that has benefited 50 of our students. And we just signed an agreement with HBGUSA to start a two-year pilot associate program beginning June 2022 that will offer one CCNY PCP graduate a 12-month position at a very competitive salary, with a $3,000 extra stipend for incidentals, and a year of mentoring. Black Lives Matter strengthened long-standing relationships with the Women's Media Group, Above the Treeline Edelweiss, and the Association of American Literary Agents and its nonprofit Literary Agents of Change, which will increase opportunities not only for our graduates but also for minorities nationally interested in entering publishing.

In all honesty, I have been a skeptic of change. In the past, publishers "talked the talk," but didn't really see the issue of diversity as fundamental and necessary. Money was proffered, there was a smattering of opportunities. Now, finally, I am noticing that publishers big (PRH, HBGUSA) and small (Astra House, Bellevue Press, Seven Stories) are proudly "walking the walk." This may be a response to the insistence of powerful Facebook organizations such as People of Color in Publishing (1,100 members), https://www.facebook.com/pocpub, and LatinX in Publishing (1,700 followers), https://www.facebook.com/latinxpublishing, that are challenging the status quo.

Publishing is at a significant turning point, and I can only hope that the energy and commitment I now see will lead to real change for years to come.

David Unger is director of the Publishing Certificate Program at the City College of New York.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Black Lives Matter Spurs a Publishing Awakening

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Twenty-five years ago, trade publishing was approximately 93% Caucasian and university press publishing about 99%; at the managerial level, 3.4% of all publishing employees were Black and 1.8% were Hispanic, according to Federal figures. Whenever I visited publishing houses in the early 2000s, reception and mailrooms were overwhelmingly staffed by minorities, calling into question even the relevance of the above percentages.

# data[].attributes.headline
UK publishing industry helped to best year yet by TikTok trends

# data[].attributes.subject
UK publishing industry helped to best year yet by TikTok trends

# data[].attributes.body
Force: Technological

According to Alex Green, TikTok helped boost the UK publishing industry to its best year in 2021.
Among young adults, fiction books sales (especially YA and fantasy) have been boosted by TikTok’s #BookTok community.

It can be seen in new releases such as ‘The Crual Prince’ by Holly Black, and also in older releases (which Green doesn’t provide an example for).

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
UK publishing industry helped to best year yet by TikTok trends

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The social media network helped drive sales among young adult and fiction books.

# data[].attributes.headline
Penguin cuts off Meal Prep King cook after misogynistic rant

# data[].attributes.subject
Penguin cuts off Meal Prep King cook after misogynistic rant

# data[].attributes.body
Forces: Social, cultural and technological

Going live on Instagram in August, John Clark (also known as the Meal Prep King and author of cookbooks published by Penguin Random House) went on a misogynistic rant. The clip was shared on social media and went around Twitter. The reaction to the video was, as expected, negative and many people claimed they regretted ever buying his books. Under one of the retweets of the live stream, the publisher wrote that they did not have any contracts with John Clark and did not plan on working with him in the future, condemning his behaviour. I found this article interesting as it shows how the author's bad behaviour can influence the perception of their books and publisher (on Twitter, some people attacked the publisher as well). Interestingly, it shows the impact of social media on the publishing industry, as it helps spread news.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The cookbook author known as the Meal Prep King will no longer be published by Penguin Random House after he posted a misogynistic video on social media.

John Clark, whose book The Meal Prep King Plan was a Sunday Times bestseller, repeatedly referred to women as "fucking scruffy cunts" during an Instagram live on Monday night, according to a clip shared on social media.

"I do kind of like pissing women off," the Bolton-based writer and lifestyle influencer said during the live stream. He insisted that he was "not against women", but said he did not agree with "fucking women thinking they have some sort of hierarchy".

One fan watching the stream commented: "I want to return [the book] now", with another saying they were "heartbroken".

Responding, Clark said: "No need to be heartbroken, I'm not really this bad in general, but I am ... certain things."

"But you must admit," he added, "women want to self-sabotage men. Fuck off."

The author had a black eye visible during the video, which he said was caused by being "whacked".

A former fan, Chloe Jayde, shared a clip from the live stream on Twitter, tagging Clark's publisher Penguin and noting "this is just a small snippet of the derogatory language used".

The publisher responded from its official UK Twitter account, tweeting that it was "appalled" by Clark's "unacceptable behaviour".

"We do not have any more books under contract with John and will not be working with him in future," Penguin UK added.

Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you through the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning
Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Clark rose to fame after he started sharing his diet and routine on social media. He and his partner, Charlotte Deniz, prepare all of their meals for the week on a Sunday, which they portion and store in the fridge or freezer ready for mealtimes. This method has helped the couple to save money and lose weight, and has gained Clark more than 400,000 followers on Instagram and 1.5 million on TikTok.

In 2019, Penguin signed a two-book deal with Clark, with The Meal Prep King Plan published in 2020, and The Meal Prep King: Prep Yourself Slim earlier this year.

John Clark has been contacted for comment.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Penguin cuts off Meal Prep King cook after misogynistic rant

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The cookbook author known as the Meal Prep King will no longer be published by Penguin Random House after he posted a misogynistic video on social media. John Clark, whose book The Meal Prep King Plan was a Sunday Times bestseller, repeatedly referred to women as "fucking scruffy cunts" during an Instagram live on Monday night, according to a clip shared on social media.

# data[].attributes.headline
HarperCollins profits are impacted by the increasing overhead costs

# data[].attributes.subject
HarperCollins profits are impacted by the increasing overhead costs

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/financial-reporting/article/90046-hc-sales-topped-2-billion-in-fiscal-2022.html

Related forces: economic.

This article highlights that while sales are increasing, it is becoming harder for companies, such as HarperCollins to make and maintain a substantial profit margin. The article mentions that the higher costs in manufacturing, supplying and inflation are pressuring companies. Despite HaperCollins noting a 10% increase in sales, the profit margin from the previous year only increased by 1%.  This is worrying as it could force companies to increase prices to counteract the increasing production costs and maintain a healthy profit margin.

# data[].attributes.headline
Paper Shortage Delays Publication of New Titles 

# data[].attributes.subject
Paper Shortage Delays Publication of New Titles 

# data[].attributes.body
Related Forces: Natural and Economic

In this article it talks about the how the paper shortage has affected the academic publishing in production and had to absorb the rising costs. It says groups in North America and Europe have experience printing delays. With printing schedules taking twice as long forcing the groups now to alter publishing plans it has been causing problems globally. From plant shutdowns, staff shortages, to shipping delays. The solution of choosing different paper and going to different printer had only pushed up costs.  The paper shortage problem won't be resolved overnight or within a year. in the midst of climate change the publishing industry extending beyond academic publishing will need to come up with a solution when it'll experience another extreme paper shortage.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Academic publishers have been forced to delay the publication of new books and absorb rising costs as the industry struggles with paper shortages and shipping delays.

Groups in North America and Europe said printing schedules are taking at least twice as long, forcing them to alter publishing plans as well as use different types of paper and more expensive on-demand printers.

Many companies in the sector have this year warned of disruption stemming from paper shortages following strikes by workers in Finnish mills, as demand for books and packaging materials remains high. This has come amid price rises in almost all parts of the printing process, from parts for printers and shipping.

"For bookmaking it was a perfect storm like we've never imagined," said Tim Jones, director of design and production at Harvard University Press.

He said the time it took to get books to warehouses had increased from eight to 16 weeks with the cost of publishing rising between 11 and 15 per cent. HUP has not yet increased customer prices.

Before the pandemic a new title from Duke University Press would typically take four weeks to go from press to warehouse, but now takes between nine and 17.

"I've haven't seen schedules like that in 27 years," said Amy Ruth Buchanan, director of editing, design and production, who added that last-minute changes to printing schedules were especially challenging, as printers struggled with plant shutdowns, staff shortages and shipping delays.

"Deadlines were missed especially when the [supply chain] crisis first heated up . . . Our colleagues in marketing and distribution have probably got some extra grey hairs now."

Although academic publishing is less cyclical than that of commercial fiction, which has peak periods of demand in anticipation of the summer and Christmas holidays, it is important that titles are made available for academic meetings and term dates for teaching.

Cathy Felgar, director of publishing operations at Princeton University Press, said the publisher had been forced to push back publication dates for up to 40 per cent of books since the start of the year. In most cases this had just been for a couple of weeks but she added "there has been worse than that and it's so upsetting".

"Print came surging back and there was not enough capacity," she said. The publisher, which produces around 250 new titles annually, has taken measures such as choosing different paper types and going to different printers, but these have pushed up costs.

Wiley, which operates internationally, said supply chain pressures are causing problems globally. "Although we have not seen the same level of paper shortages in the UK/EMEA market at this point, those markets remain tight as well," it said.

Neil de Cort, head of production at Polity Books, a small UK-based social sciences publisher, said the company had experienced "long" delays in the US. Although prices for energy and paper had also gone up in the UK it said longstanding relationships with printers had isolated it from shortages.

Although publishers said the pressure may ease next year following a global crunch in the supply of paper, they warned delays may continue as supply chains adapt to labour shortages and higher costs.

Buchanan said she expected "modest improvements" in schedules this year, but not a return to previous four-week turnrounds. At worst, she fears losing some paper choices permanently.

"I think the paper problem won't go away soon," she said. "Paper mills don't get set up or retooled quickly."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Academic publishers forced to delay new titles in supply chain crunch

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Academic publishers have been forced to delay the publication of new books and absorb rising costs as the industry struggles with paper shortages and shipping delays. Groups in North America and Europe said printing schedules are taking at least twice as long, forcing them to alter publishing plans as well as use different types of paper and more expensive on-demand printers.

# data[].attributes.headline
Highly anticipated cookbook's pub date delayed by months because a bulk of the stock ended up at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean

# data[].attributes.subject
Highly anticipated cookbook's pub date delayed by months because a bulk of the stock ended up at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean

# data[].attributes.body
Related forces: Natural, Economic

Two cookbooks (this article only talks about one that's local to the paper and was the more highly anticipated of the two) pushed their pub date from early 2022 to the summer due to losing a bulk of their stock in the middle of the ocean as they were transported from Taiwan (where they were printed) to New York.

A sudden storm hit the ship while they were waiting near the port in NY. What containers were saved, were moved onto a smaller boat and moving them to the new boat and getting to NY and unloading them also added to the immediate delays and added costs of needing to reprint and then transport the additional stock.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
When Mason Hereford of Turkey and the Wolf fame announced the publication of his first-ever cookbook shortly before the holidays, it quickly became one of the most hotly anticipated cookbooks of 2022 - no surprise there. What Hereford couldn't have anticipated, however, was that all copies of Turkey and the Wolf: Flavor Trippin' in New Orleans, would wind up at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean just a month later.

Hereford took to Instagram on January 25 with a series of hilarious memes captioned with rare lowercase text (the prolific Instagrammer almost exclusively writes in all caps), saying, "I'm sorry to say the Turkey and the Wolf cookbook won't be shipping out in February as planned. There was a container collapse on the cargo ship that contained the Turkey and the Wolf books." He pointed readers to a list of reports about the catastrophic collapse. Essentially, the cookbooks were on their way to the United States from Kaohsiung, Taiwan, and idling near their destination at the Port of New York when the cargo ship carrying them encountered "heavy weather," causing a collapse that resulted in 60 containers lost overboard and an additional 80 damaged.

"In the first phone call about it, I found out that the book was either at the bottom of the ocean, in a damaged shipping container, or on a boat with a bunch of damaged shipping containers that would take forever to offload. From there, we learned it would be a long time before we knew if the books would be salvageable, so at that point, it was just time to find a new date," Hereford told Eater. While he still isn't 100 percent sure whether the Turkey and the Wolf cookbooks were in one of the containers that sank or one of those damaged, either way, it's "perhaps the most hilariously 2022 thing to happen yet this year," he says. Following the collapse, the vessel was rerouted to Charleston, South Carolina, and is currently docked there to offload damaged cargo.

"People keep apologizing to us, telling us they're so sorry to hear this," says Hereford. "But I mean, I'm sorry for anyone that ordered something that has to wait longer to get it, but otherwise, it's so ridiculous we can't help but smile about it, you know?" he says.

Originally set for February 15, the loss of the books has significantly delayed its release date; fans of the nationally-acclaimed sandwich shop will now have to wait until June 21 to learn how to recreate its famous fried bologna sandwich at home - barring another encounter with Neptune's wrath, that is.

Sign up for the newsletter Eater NOLA

Sign up for our newsletter.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Turkey and the Wolf's Hotly Anticipated Cookbook Faces Titanic Delay After Copies Sink in the Atlantic

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
When Mason Hereford of Turkey and the Wolf fame announced the publication of his first-ever cookbook shortly before the holidays, it quickly became one of the most hotly anticipated cookbooks of 2022 - no surprise there.

# data[].attributes.headline
Book Trade responds to Queens death with major Publishers delaying announcements – The Bookseller Sept 12, 2022

# data[].attributes.subject
Book Trade responds to Queens death with major Publishers delaying announcements – The Bookseller Sept 12, 2022

# data[].attributes.body
Which forces are related?

Answer: Political, Social and Cultural.

After the Queens death was announced the publishing world had to tread very carefully out of respect for the situation and those affected by it. Consequently, publishers such as Bonnier Books paused ‘any proactive campaigns related to royal titles during the mourning period’, and Pan Macmillan went a step further by putting a hold on any ‘major new announcements’ for the period of mourning. These decisions are of course a mark of respect for the Queen, but also demonstrate a response to an environmental force at play – it would have been seen as predatory and poor taste to promote any related titles at the time of mourning, and this could have potentially alienated customers who would have been interested in those titles – therefore driving down sales. Furthermore, in regard to unrelated major titles, at this time any announcements made would be eclipsed by the Queen’s death (which was ubiquitous online and in the media) and would have likely been a waste of resources.

Post mourning period however, it was also an opportunity to capitalise on the unprecedent political/cultural/social situation and Pitkin (an imprint of BT Batsford) were the first to announce a memoir of the Queen authored by royal biographer and broadcaster Brian Hoey. Obviously with the whole thing in the forefront of the British public’s mind it is the most advantageous time to bring out a memoir like this and furthermore, because of the added spotlight on the royal family, other titles related to this will and have sold incredibly well.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In this week's issue:

Lead Story: The Menopause Issue

Bookshop Spotlight: Mostly Books

Author Profile: Rick Rubin

Previews: New Titles Fiction January 2023

Special: Frankfurt Book Fair Preview

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Book trade responds to Queen's death with major publishers delaying announcements

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In this week's issue: Lead Story: The Menopause Issue Bookshop Spotlight: Mostly Books Author Profile: Rick Rubin Previews: New Titles Fiction January 2023 Special: Frankfurt Book Fair Preview