Category Archives: Publishing

Conservative Books and Imagination

In City Journal, Harry Stein writes on the future of conservative books:

Outside the new [conservative-minded] imprints, the New York publishing world clearly remains a liberal stronghold, uncomprehending of, when not outright hostile to, conservative ideas—and authors. Mainstream media outlets that conventional publishers rely on to tout books have just as little enthusiasm for conservative titles. And though George W. Bush has been an incredible boon to conspiracy-mongering authors on the left, he’s done the opposite of good for sales at the new imprints, which have faced a much tougher market of late. In fact, there is much evidence suggesting that the rich vein of Coulter-style liberal-bashing polemics that drove so much of conservative publishing’s healthy sales has largely been mined. Amid all this uncertainty, will the new conservative imprints survive?

Whether particular publishing imprints and companies make it in the long run is unimportant to me. Conservative books will find printers, generally speaking. What I’d like to see is a surge in intellectual vigor in conservatives and Christians alike.

Also in City Journal, Andrew Klavan says some of us don’t imagine things very well.

Now you may say that capturing the imagination isn’t the job of our fighting forces. But this is America, remember: we’re a country of the imagination, a living state of mind. We’re not connected to one another by bloodlines or any depth of native memory. We’re the descendants of an idea that every generation has to learn to hold in its collective consciousness. More than in any other country, it matters in America who we think we are and what we believe we’re doing.

City Journal also has some damning material on Obama advocate and revolutionary, Bill Ayers. Sol Stern writes:

Calling Bill Ayers a school reformer is a bit like calling Joseph Stalin an agricultural reformer. (If you find the metaphor strained, consider that Walter Duranty, the infamous New York Times reporter covering the Soviet Union in the 1930s, did, in fact, depict Stalin as a great land reformer who created happy, productive collective farms.)

Top Ten Books for Banned Books Week

Free access to information is a core American value that should be protected,” said Judith F. Krug, director of the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom. “Not every book is right for each reader, but an individual’s interpretation of a book should not take away my right to select reading materials for my family or myself.”

This quote comes in an article headlining the fact that “And Tango Makes Three” was the most challenged or “banned” book last year, and I think this may highlight our argument for Banned Books Week. How does “free access to information” apply to children’s stories or any story for that matter? If parents believe a book, which the librarian believes with worth reading, should be placed in a somewhat restricted access section in order to guard young reader, do that bar anyone from access to whatever information is in it? Of course not.

But as readers of this blog have said before, the best parental guard against children reading inappropriate material is parental involvement and moral instruction. Children can understand a good bit with loving instruction. Where “And Tango Makes Three” is concerned, it may be a good idea for children to read it, ask questions about what makes a family, and receive thoughtful answers from their parents. Perhaps a book like this makes the top of the challenged list because some parents don’t want to face uncomfortable issues.

I believe we live in difficult times, and I don’t think Christians and god-fearing people will gain any ground by trying to shut out bad ideas or “information” from their libraries. We have to know the truth, love our neighbors, and speak appropriately about issues wherever we can–to speak as a humanist. To speak as a Christian, we should love our Lord with all of our heart, soul, and mind, and then know the truth, love our neighbors, and speak appropriately.

The Big Day

Susan Wise Bauer talks about the myth of the publican date (I mean, publication date). The publication date used to be the day one could first find a book at his favorite bookstore. She writes, “‘Publication date’ now means: That window of opportunity during which the book is at the front of the store and also featured on as many media outlets as possible.”

Viking Norway update

I recently received word that there is now an American website where you can order Viking Norway, which I reviewed here.

Fair warning for those with weak hearts: The price is steep.

The webmaster tells me you can get a lower price if you go for economy shipping.

They’re still seeking an American co-publisher who could help produce a less expensive domestic edition.

Update: I note that I didn’t actually provide the link to the new Sagabok site. I have remedied that omission.

Announcement

A while ago I told you I’d come to an agreement with a publisher, and promised more details to come. Since then I’ve been silent on the subject, and you’ve doubtless assumed that a) I’m delusional, or b) the deal had fallen through.

In fact it simply took a while to work out the details.

Yesterday I signed a contract with Nordskog Publishing of Ventura, California to publish the next volume in the Saga of Erling Skjalgsson. The book is titled (for now) West Oversea, and it ought to be released in very early 2009.

Nordskog is a new publishing house with only a handful of books on its list so far. I’ll be one of its first fiction authors. I hope that this will enable them to give my book more attention in terms of promotion and distribution than has sometimes been my experience in the past.

I’ll keep you posted as the process continues.

The Religion of Tolerance kills a book

Don’t look for this story in your local newspaper. Do you think it would get covered if Christians tried to get a book “killed” by its publisher?

In May, Random House abruptly called off publication of the book. The series of events that torpedoed this novel are a window into how quickly fear stunts intelligent discourse about the Muslim world.

By way of Power Line.

A little slice of immortality

I got a nice “birthday present” last week. It was a free copy of this book. It was sent to me by its designer, who is the son of the author.

Viking Norway

The story behind the gift goes like this. In the course of my researches for my novel, The Year of the Warrior, I made contact with a fine woman associated with a historical society in the Stavanger, Norway area. She put me in touch with Dr. Torgrim Titlestad of the University of Stavanger. Dr. Titlestad might be called a man with a mission. He’s a proponent of a revolutionary view of Norwegian history which traces the origins of the Kingdom of Norway to the western part of the country, rather than to the Oslo area, which has been the traditional, authorized view.

I promote the traditional view in TYOTW, by the way, mainly because I wasn’t aware of the new one when I wrote the first part of the book. If I’d known about the controversy, I’d have found a way to weasel around it. Continue reading A little slice of immortality

Hoping You’ll Judge By the Cover

“Having cottoned on to the fact that chick lit books sell like cupcakes, publishers are now adding chick lit-style covers to any book written by a woman whether it fits the genre definition or not,” writes Diane Shipley. One of her examples points to three dissimilar books with similar covers. Does she have a point? [via ArtsJournal]