Day: July 11, 2011

Rejoycing in the literary luminaries of Paris | The Post

~ Eoin Purcell ~ 9 Comments

Kevin power reviewed A Little Circle Of Kindred Minds: Joyce In Paris by Conor Fennell in The Sunday Business Post this weekend. It was a smashing review (which, as the publisher, I heartily agree with), here’s a flavour and a link:

Conor Fennell’s excellent new book is bursting with similarly memorable anecdotes.

A Little Circle of Kindred Minds (the title is from Joyce’s story A Little Cloud) is thoroughly researched, cleanly written and full of sharp-eyed critical insights.

But you could just as easily enjoy it as a compendium of literary gossip, a guidebook to artistic Paris or even as a potted history of how various Irish artists responded to the policies of the nascent Irish Free State.

via Rejoycing in the literary luminaries of Paris | The Post.

Go Read This | Book Trade Announcements – Bloomsbury Acquires Continuum

~ Eoin Purcell ~ Leave a comment

Another incredibly sensible acquisition by Bloomsbury and yet another that pulls them further away from the territory of a strict trade publisher. Good for them:

Bloomsbury’s strategy has been to increase its proportion of academic and professional revenues compared to trade revenues through retail channels. The current strength of the Groups academic sales compared to consumer sales vindicates this strategy. Academic revenues are more predictable and have lower related costs of sale with resulting higher margins, and are much less reliant on retail bookshop sales. Around 60% of Continuums sales are outside the UK, thereby increasing Bloomsburys exposure to the global book market. Through this acquisition, for the first time, Bloomsbury will have an academic editorial and marketing team in the US. Bloomsbury has an excellent track record in exploiting digital opportunities; this acquisition will enable us to develop Continuums 7,000 strong backlist through conversion to e-book formats and the creation of new subscription based academic services.

via booktrade.info – Book Trade Announcements – Bloomsbury Acquires Continuum.