Publishingland
A Sloppy Business
It’s a sloppy business! If you’re a bookish type of person you will have heard that two novels got dumped from this year’s Ockhams – New Zealand’s premier publishing prize – a week or so ago. This happened because they…gasp…had covers made with the aid of…gasp…ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE!
Parochial Daze
When I worked for the local rag, we got a new General Manager who decided that the newspaper needed a new slogan.
General Managers tend to be people who have a high opinion of themselves. They don’t lack self confidence.
“Simply Parochial – that would be a great tagline for us,” came his suggestion during the initial brainstorming session. The journalists in the room rolled their eyes (behind their eyelids) and remained silent. I could sense the hatred oozing from their bitter hearts.
Mini Review
Time for Christmas has arrived: love it. Both the contents – the story is beautifully told – and the whole concept: the decision whether to burn or freeze! That’s great. I always carry a book when we go on a long multi-week walk – just something to read to pass the time, not something I’m likely to care about – and then I rip out the pages as I finish them: they come in handy for all sorts of things! But this book is most definitely a keeper.
Fiona Farrell