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"The World Has No Center"

KFSM.com's Global Viewpoint offers an interview with 2008 Nobel literature prize winner  Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio, who says that for literature,

The world has no center ...

Literature now is the expression of a global concern, not only of the European culture, but literature emerging from all voices and from all nations. This is what interests me most. It's why I like so much to travel. I'm able to meet writers in many diverse places, such as America, Africa or India. All those writers are trying to express something particular which belongs to the universal.

... literature is essential because you create interculturality through imagination. Literature in the 21st century is the only place to understand the other, because literature is about compassion for humanity. I do not have the Christian message in mind here. I mean the capacity of understanding others and being aware of their connection to you. But, in order to be compassionate, one should be able to understand the human condition, to understand another culture's point of view, to see the meaninglessness of "otherness."

Today we see the possibility of unprecedented connections between very distant places, like some children living in a forest in Panama becoming aware of the poetry of Homer. This is amazing; it never happened before in the history of humanity.

The Creativity Chemical

New Scientist describes the results of research into N-acetyl-aspartate, a chemical in the brain that is associated with creativity:

"People say you have to let your mind wander freely to be creative," says Jung. "For people of average intelligence, perhaps it's true that you need to utilise more areas of your [frontal cortex] for something truly novel and creative to emerge, but in more intelligent folks, there's something different going on."

Publishers Vs. Librarians

Library Journal, a sister publication to Publishers Weekly, discusses the differences in the goals and cultures of librarians versus publishers:

For two professions so committed to meeting the needs of readers, publishers and librarians have distinct cultures. Put simply, one culture is all about developing and selling books; the other is about sharing them and fostering a culture of reading. But there's another basic difference, too. Publishers work closely with authors and use sales figures to tell them what readers want, interpreting those figures like tea leaves. Librarians work closely with readers, using them as informants to help them select books that will satisfy the diverse tastes of a community.

Though sharing may seem contrary to the imperative to sell books, many publishers have recognized the importance of the library market. Traditionally, children's book houses have been especially aware of libraries as a catalyst for the industry (libraries represent about 40 percent of the children's book market), and libraries are critical for some small publishers. On the adult side, larger publishers often have library marketing departments that actively network with librarians.

Read the rest of the article here.

They Learn, You Win

Here is a novel way to put together a dictionary of religious philosophy: make the book a class project. At St. Olaf College, professor Charles Talafierro challenged students in his Philosophy of Religion seminar

... to define difficult, often complex religious terms and concepts for a reference book and companion guide, which will be published by Scarecrow Press in 2010.

For the project, each of the participating students was assigned several religious term or historical figures. Their goal: to conclusively define each term in a single, short entry, often no longer than 12 to 15 sentences in length.

The students will receive credit for their work, along with other scholars involved in the project. All the entries are edited by Talafierro, who expects "the final product [to] be around 240 pages long, and contain roughly 300 definitions."

 

USA: Recycling Bibles

In Tacoma, Washington, The News Tribune reports,

The Holy Bible, in its various translations, ranks as the No. 1 best-selling book of all time with roughly 6 billion copies sold.

So it stands to reason the Holy Bible would rank as the No. 1 discarded book of all time too.

Phil McMullin wouldn’t fight you on that point.

The CEO of Thrift Recycling Management in Lakewood – the world’s largest seller of used books on the Internet – says Bibles and religious books of all kinds make up roughly 4 percent of his company’s incoming stream of raw materials.

While some religious books are sold online, and ships books to other countries as well, it still has a steady stream of Bibles to give away. 

Writer's Cramp Begins in the Brain

Writer's cramp begins in the brain, at least according to a study from French researchers, as reported in this Health Day item at U.S. News & World Report and this article in the Los Angeles Times.

Colombia: Christian Organization Prepares Youth Curriculum

In a country where there are "incredibly high rates of violence, sexual promiscuity and suicide attempts among youth," a Christian ministry has the opportunity to help.  Robert Hoskins, director of OneHope (formerly Book of Hope) explains:

"We are working with the department of education to create a curriculum that has value education in it that will be used in the school system to address some of these issues from a Biblical worldview perspective. So it really allows the Word of God to be implanted into the hearts of children and young people at the youngest possible age, and in cooperation with the government

... God's Word and the message found in His Word--the hope of Jesus Christ--is really the only way to overcome these systemic issues that are facing the country."

Anniversaries, Anyone?

A tip that public relations professionals often share is that if you can tie your press releases or ad campaign to an upcoming event, newspapers and other media will be far more likely to see it as timely. Here is a list of upcoming anniversaries that might be of interest to your publishing house:

• April 18, 2009: 100 years since Joan of Arc's beatification.
• June 20, 2009: 200th anniversary of German theologian Isaak August Dorner's birth.
• July 10, 2009: 500th anniversary of John Calvin's birth. (See more here.)
• July 12-16, 2009: dates for CBA's 60th international gathering. (Visit the International Christian Retail Show here.)
• August 24, 2009: 250th anniversary of William Wilberforce's birth.
• October 14-18: dates of the 60th Frankfurt Book Fair.
• October 19, 1609: 300th anniversary of the death of Jacobus Arminius.
• November 24, 2009: 150 years since the publication of Charles Darwin's The Origin of the Species.
• Unspecified dates: 150 years ago, the Codex Sinaiticus was found; 800 years ago, the Franciscan order was founded.

 

Bad Books Got You Down?

The Wall Street Journal describes where readers go to vent about bad books: the Web.  Book retail sites that allow readers to post reviews, such as Amazon.com, provide a place where those who did not enjoy a bestseller can find like-minded readers:

Amazon makes it easy for you to find your affinity group, although the positive reviews aren't nearly as much fun to read. On-line critics award from one to five stars (many readers resent that they aren't permitted to give zero -- or even negative -- stars). You can click right to the one-star (or any other star) reviews, and wallow in other people's censure.

I always find people who think I'm right and everyone else is wrong. 

So here's a challenge: write a positive review of a book you enjoyed, and make sure the review is crafted with as much wit and intelligence as a bad review. Engage your readers!

PDF Grab Bag

What can you find online? Well, using search sites such as PDF Genie or PDF Search Engine, you can find free documents like these:

• Are We There Yet? A Communication Evaluation Guide (40 pages)
• Book Selling Demand Today (19 pages)
• Global Digital Book Sales and Distribution Channel Strategies (14 pages)
• Guide to Proposal Planning and Writing (11 pages)
• Marketing and Advertising Using Google (156 pages)
• Online Communities and Their Impact on Business (37 pages)
• Toolkit for Responsible Paper Use (8 pages)
• Using Book Awards to Boost Your Book Sales (5 pages)
• Value of Online Books to University Libraries (11 pages)

You can also look for information on the publishing industry in specific markets and unearth items like the following:

• Book Publishing in Nigeria (4 pages)
• Book Publishing Market in Brazil (75 pages)
• Conditions of Private Publishing in China (3 pages)
• Uneven Distribution of Cultural Capital: Book Reading in Urban China (45 pages)
• Textbook Publishing in Indonesia (3 pages)

The length, quality, and relevance vary, as they range from white papers by private companies and associations to dissertations and government reports. Still, you might find something useful!