Publishing – Jacke Wilson

September 8, 2022

The History of Literature #434 – The Story of the Hogarth Press Part 1 – Virginia Woolf’s First Self-Published Story

Virginia Woolf has long been celebrated as a supremely gifted novelist and essayist. Less well known, but important to understanding her life and contributions to literature, are her efforts as a publisher. In the decades that she and her husband operated the Hogarth Press – starting with a hand-operated printer they ran on their dining Continue reading

Arts, Authors, history of literature

books, Hogarth Press, Literature, Publishing, Virginia Woolf

July 25, 2021

The History of Literature #316 – Willa Cather (with Lauren Marino)

Willa Cather (1873-1947) went from a childhood in Nebraska to a career in publishing in New York City, where she became one of the most successful women in journalism. And then, after a period as an editor for one of the most famous magazines in America, she focused on writing novels about the hardscrabble lives Continue reading

history of literature, Podcast

mcclure's, my antonia, nebraska, o pioneers, Publishing, Willa Cather

December 16, 2015

Little Black Dress? Yes. Little Black Penguin Classics? Also Yes!

Some things are so classy they just never go out of style. Like little black dresses, and little black classics from Penguin Books. Here’s another gift idea for this holiday season (along with Edward Gorey). Eighty Penguin Classics, presented in bite-sized form (i.e., novellas, short essays, selections of poems, or excerpted passages from longer books). Continue reading

books

Arts, Christmas, great books, holiday gift ideas, penguin books, presents, Publishing

September 17, 2014

Blog Fail! Worst Post of the Year #3

It’s the Blogiversary here on the Jacke Blog. One year of bringing you the hits. And the duds. We’re counting all of them down. So far we’ve seen a pair of Objects grabbing spots five and four on the list of most popular posts. On the list of duds, we’ve seen a hopeless pen review and Continue reading

Authors, Publishing, Writing

blog fail, Ebooks, kingdom of publishing, New York Review of Books, Publishing, revolution, worst posts of 2013-2014

September 11, 2014

The Magic of Storytelling

Any writer who heads out into the marketplace soon realizes that the marketplace is carved up into sections, organized by genre. Is your book science fiction? Fantasy? Steampunk? Women’s fiction? Literary fiction? Romance? Creative nonfiction? Biography? Historical fiction? Roughly you can think of this as “Where would you look for this in the bookstore?” This Continue reading

Authors, Fiction, Publishing, Writing

art, brainpickings, genre, Maria Popova, Publishing, Storytelling, wisdom

September 10, 2014

Amazon v. Hachette (or Whatever v. Whatever)

By “whatever v. whatever” I don’t mean to imply indifference. I know people care passionately about this. And they’re right to! It’s their livelihood, their passion, their art that’s at stake. No, by “whatever v. whatever” I mean “traditional v. indie” or “print v. ebook” or “established v. new” or however else you view the Continue reading

Authors, Fiction, Novellas, Publishing, Writing

Amazon, hachette, model, novella, Publishing, Saul Bellow

April 9, 2014

Self-Publishing Update: Reading on a Smartphone

Ugh, is there anything worse for today’s author than to think about someone reading their book on a smartphone? We like the image of a reader luxuriating with a stately hardcover, a sleek paperback, or—in a pinch—an e-reader. But a tiny-screen phone? Is no tradition sacred? Why not throw words out too, while we’re at Continue reading

Authors, Fiction, Publishing, Writing

Clive Davis, E-book, Publishing, smartphone

April 1, 2014

Small Press Shout-Out: Bobbledy Books!

I might be wrong, but I think we’ve only had one small press so far that was specifically dedicated to children’s books. (That, of course, was B-Corp pioneer Little Pickle Press. Go check them out if you haven’t yet!) In any case, I’m happy to add another small-press-for-kids to our list of shout-out recipients. And Continue reading

Authors, Publishing, Writing

Bobbledy Books, Publishing, Small press

March 25, 2014

Small Press Shout-Out: The New Press!

One of the most gratifying aspects of giving small presses a shout-out is that so many of them have a strong sense of purpose. Whether it’s becoming a B Corporation, or providing us with passports to international crime fiction, or building a community around works about identity, or helping to put more Asian and Pacific Island diaspora literature Continue reading

Authors, Publishing, Writing

Publishing, Small press, the new press

March 22, 2014

Don’t Be Discouraged: You Are New!

Editor’s Note: In honor of springtime, I thought I’d rerun this post from last year, which remains one of the most popular posts we’ve had. Hope wins! In an interview with Tinhouse’s J.C. Hallman, Walter Kirn refers to a common anxiety among writers: J.C. Hallman: Do creative writers have an obligation to act as critics, to offer Continue reading

Authors, Fiction, Writing

motivation, Optimism, Publishing, Writers, Writing