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Literary Rejections on Display points to an Associated Press report Simon & Schuster has filed suit against rappers ‘Lil Kim and Foxy Brown because the singers did not fulfill the obligations of their book contracts. The article states that Brown received $75,000 for an autobiography that was due in February 2006 and Kim was paid $40,000 for [...]

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The Book Design Review has an interesting post on three books with super hero-themed designs and cover art. I gotta admit that Soon I Will be Invincible has to be one of my favorite titles in recent memory.

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With a resume that would make many blush, Mike Edison has seen it all. He has performed in bands such as Sharky’s Machine, the Raunch Hands, and the Edison Rocket Train. He opened for the Ramones and played CBGB, He recorded and performed with the notorious GG Allin. He even commissioned luthier Joe Naylor of Reverend [...]

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So it’s not just you and me. Even presumptive presidential nominees get rejected. Seems the Gray Lady gave Senator John McCain the “this is a subjective business and we wish you the best of luck placing your work elsewhere” treatment.

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Galley Cat raises an interesting question about the future of book marketing and the blogs that publishers are increasingly relying on to spread the word. With newspaper coverage shrinking, publishers are using more and more online outlets to provide detailed, informed discussion of their titles. However, how long can that last given the financial pressures of blogging? [...]

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When he was nine years old, Cameron Johnson started a business creating stationary, greeting cards, and invitations for friends and family. Since then, he has launched dozens of successful companies while usually maintaining a healthy social life and serious focus on school. When he was fifteen-years-old, one of Johnson’s companies was actually bringing in fifteen [...]

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Media Bistro has an interesting article with bestselling author Evan Wright about how he parlayed some Rolling Stone articles into a book deal which ultimately turned into an HBO miniseries. Sorry, but reading the full text of the article requires a paid membership. However, I’ve always found MB’s paid content worth the price of admission. But [...]

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I gotta say that I agree with Ron at Galleycat in regards to the timing of New York Times book reviews. He points out that the newspaper just ran Walter Kirn’s critical review of James Frey’s Bright Shining Morning yesterday. “I do believe there’s a good argument to be made for being able to consider a [...]

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I had a challenging day of conference calls yesterday. When it was finished, my back hurt from being hunched over the desk for eight hours and my ear buzzed from the headset I wear during these calls. I put my cellphone in a drawer and went out to dinner and to a movie. Late last night, I went [...]

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Well, actually this article is about much more than that. But in “Turning the Page on the Disposable Book,” Jonathan Karp discusses publishing Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega. In a paragraph that amounts to both full-disclosure and also public confession, Karp acknowledges participating in some less than literary publishing efforts. “I too have sinned,” Karp writes. [...]

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