Merchants of culture : the publishing business in the twenty-first century /
John B. Thompson.
- Cambridge, UK ; Malden, Mass. : Polity, 2010.
- viii, 432 p. ; 24 cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 416-420) and index.
The growth of the retail chains -- The rise of literary agents -- The emergence of publishing corporations -- The polarization of the field -- Big books -- Extreme publishing -- Shrinking windows -- The wild West -- The digital revolution -- Trouble in the trade -- Conclusion: facing an uncertain future -- Appendix 1. Selected imprints of the main publishing corporations -- Appendix 2. Note on research methods.
"In this book . . . Thompson situates the current challenges facing the industry in a historical context, analysing the transformation of trade publishing in the United States and Britain since the 1960's. He gives a detailed account of how the world of trade publishing really works, dissecting the roles of publishers, agents and booksellers and showing how their practices are shaped by a field that has a distinctive structure and dynamic. By reconstructing this dynamic he is able to shed fresh light on how bestsellers are made and on why many thousands of books and authors find themselves marooned in an industry increasingly focused on short-term growth and profitability. Against this backcloth Thompson analyses the impact of the digital revolution on book publishing and examines the pressures, both economic and technological, that are re-shaping the field of trade publishing today." - BOOK JACKET
9780745647869
Publishers and publishing--History.--Great Britain Publishers and publishing--History.--United States Publishers and publishing--Technological innovations. Booksellers and bookselling--Great Britain. Booksellers and bookselling--United States. Literary agents--Great Britain. Literary agents--United States. Book industries and trade--History.