ALLi News Editor Dan Holloway
I am very lucky that working in a university, I have the chance to combine my love of the book world with my day job. Today, I will be welcoming PublishDrive’s Kinga Jentetics to Oxford where we will be “in conversation” about the future of publishing. One thing I know we agree on is that the future looks fabulous for indies.
Selfies Awards Come to America
Winner of the 2019 Selfies Awards
The first Selfies Awards were one of the highlights of London Book Fair this year. Run by BookBrunch and sponsored by Ingram Spark, they rewarded the best self-published book of the year. And the first cohort of shortlisted works bristled with talent. First prize went to ALLi’s own Jane Davis for Smash All the Windows. Indeed, the shortlist was laden with ALLi members.
Last week’s Book Expo saw Bookbrunch announce that the Selfies Awards would be coming to America next year. The awards will take place at Book Expo 2020 for books with a US publication. For the first year, as at London Book Fair, the Selfies Awards are just for adult fiction right now.
Book Expo was also notable for seeing large amounts of excitement around forthcoming literary fiction. Smash All the Windows definitely fits the exciting literary bill. Maybe, finally, indie literary fiction is going to have its hour. I very much hope the Selfies Awards US-style continue playing an important part in this.
Ingram Lightning Source in Publishing City
If you have followed international book news for any length of time, you will know that Sharjah has long positioned itself as a big player in the book world. Sharjah is creating Publishing City, a 19,000 square metre free trade zone dedicated to books. And a lynchpin of the zone is a print on demand service offered by Ingram Lightning Source. The pitch is that this offers authors access to a global market. While that may be true in theory, I am intrigued to see how such a territory-based industry works within a free trade zone.
Happy Birthday, Little Free Library
Photo by Giammarco Boscaro on Unsplash
I love the Little Free Library but it amazes me how much other writers have taken it to heart. In theory it is everything many authors hate. Books are shared, without payment or recompense for authors through collection schemes, in the name of furthering the love of literature. Yet everyone loves the strange little book homes that have popped up across the globe for the past 10 years. Yes, this week is the 10th anniversary of an idea that makes the world better. Thank you to Todd H Bol, whose untimely death I reported earlier this year.
StreetLib’s new directions
We often hear about StreetLib’s expansion, and this week we saw further progress in their global storefront rollout. Timed to coincide with Book Expo, they have announced they almost have every country in the Americas covered. But two more announcements see more than just the same kind of expansion. StreetLib's partnership with Italian audiobook platform Il Narratore audiolibri sees their global ebook ambitions matched by an equal reach for audiobooks. As if that weren't enough, the company has signed a partnership with YouScribe. This will give them access to the Francophone markets in Africa.
Selfies Awards come to America & other top #selfpub news stories for #indieauthors, in one quick read, by #ALLi News Editor Dan Holloway @agnieszkasshoes #digitaleconomy #publishingopenup Click To TweetOver to You
Will you be entering the Selfies Awards next year? Let us know in the comments below.
Upcoming Conferences and Events
JUNE 2019
Dublin Writers Conference, 21-23 Jun [Dublin] Historical Novel Society, 20-22 June [Maryland]
SEPTEMBER 2019
DigitalBookWorld, 10-12 Sep [Nashville]
OCTOBER 2019
Futures Thinking, 1-3 October [Oxford] Frankfurt Book Fair, 16-19 Oct [Frankfurt]
NOVEMBER 2019
Independent Self-publishing Authors Fair, 17 Nov [Henley-in-Arden]
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From the ALLi Author Advice Center Archive
Yes, I will be entering the Selfies! I’m so excited it has come to the US!
And thank you for the beautiful photos of the Trinity College Long Room. That is my favorite place on earth and what I pray heaven looks like.
I look forward to this update every week. Even though ALLi is a UK-based organization, I find it much more helpful than our US versions. Keep up the good work!