How to use this Page

In May, the University of Chicago Press will publish A Naked Singularity, a 700-page debut novel that Sergio De La Pava self-published in 2008 through Xlibris.

The story behind the book deal may inspire more literary authors to self-publish. In an email, Chicago Press promotions director Levi Stahl recounted how he discovered the self-published book:

late in 2010 I read a review by Scott Bryan Wilson in the Quarterly Conversation that said the novel was the best he’d read all year, maybe the best of the decade. And that praise, I discovered, had led to other critics picking it up—and they all agreed: it was brilliant, and it was a shame that no publisher had signed it. I got a copy, was blown away, and started rattling cages here at Chicago to convince people we should publish the book and give it a shot at reaching a wide audience. And in the midst of all the usual gloom and doom stories about the changing world of publishing, this one looks to be a story of success:, of a great book finding an audience—and then finding a publisher—through the conversations and opportunities that the Web has made possible. Without cheap digital publishing technology, the book would never have existed; without the Web, I would never have heard about it.

continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

The University of Chicago Press has created eBook editions of Anthony Powell‘s 12-volume epic novel, A Dance to the Music of Time. To get readers started, they are offering the first volume for free.

Publicity manager Levi Stahl explained in an email: “The daunting length of the series has always been an obstacle to getting new readers to pick it up–so we’re hoping we can get people to grab the first one [A Question of Understanding] for free and then we’ll have them hooked on Powell’s fascinating characters. Starting on December 1, people will be able to go to pretty much any place that sells e-books, including Amazon, or to our site to get their free copy of the first book. The rest of the volumes will be $8.00 apiece.”

The 1,000,000-word epic novel was originally published between 1951 and 1975. Powell was inspired by a Nicolas Poussin painting by the same name.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

When I was first developing my current style of Colored Pencil work I checked out every book I could find on the topic, and then went out and bought my favorite ones. One of these books was The Colored Pencil: Key Concepts for Handling the Medium by Bet Borgeson. Wow! Now the author of that book has selected one of my step-by-step demos to be included in a new online directory of demonstrations called Might Art Demos and Tutorials . You'll find lots of great work in lots different styles and mediums. And see how it's done. There are even some cool videos! Like Tim Burton- Speed Painting by Nico Di Mattia. Check it out!