Reading the classics seems like a great idea until you hit a passage that is particularly hard to decipher. Many classics are published using old translations, meaning that the writing can feel unfamiliar and almost foreign. Now, imagine that, like me, you’re dyslexic, or have a learning disability that makes reading more challenging.
Just how accurate would it be to claim that there are now more publishing opportunities for people of color and other marginalized persons if only one side of the coin is polished? The publishing industry doesn’t just need to diversify its writers, but the people who help and support those writers too.
With the rise of the internet and social media, combined with the ever-shifting digital landscape, it can be hard to sit down in the peace and quiet and actually get some reading done. Often, it feels like a chore to read, especially with the allure of content platforms like Instagram or TikTok singing a siren song, begging to steal you away from your books. But in recent years, an alternative way to read has come into the forefront of the public eye: audiobooks.
I am in a program where the classroom is an example of a trade press, and I assist in the book publishing process. Yet, when I get home, I can’t read the printed books. This is the reality of being visually impaired at Ooligan Press.
If you have ADHD, you’ve heard it before. Just use a timer. Make detailed lists. Try this app. As if the problem is not knowing these tools exist, rather than how to adapt them for ADHD. Building a sustainable editing practice isn’t about finding the right system. It’s about building one around how your brain actually works.
These days, the printed word faces a six-headed hydra. Artificial intelligence subsists off of human ingenuity and threatens education, entertainment, and the publishing sector.
Most readers don’t have a favorite imprint—most probably couldn’t even name more than a handful. But it’s possible you could have a favorite—or a few favorites—without even realizing it.
“Last year, my voracious appetite was awakened as I realized what kinds of characters and storylines I was craving, and it was not sated—not by a long shot—as there are not nearly the number of romances featuring transmasculine protagonists as my heart strains to read. The market has yet to catch up, and I am excited to see it do so, but in the meantime, here are some of my favorite queer reads of last year and four trends in book cover design I have noticed across them in my quest to read as many queer romances as I can find.”
Are you a fan of manga? Are you someone who would rather scroll through Webtoon than your Instagram feed? Are you a webcomic creator with a dream to publish? You’re in luck because in recent years, there’s been a growth of imprints tailored towards manga, manhwas, manhua, webcomics, graphic novels, and light novels.
Historically, bookstore communities have risen spectacularly to the occasion in times of crisis, and they continue to do so. This is especially true in bookstores that focus on specific minority identities, such as the Black and queer communities. These communities have faced, and continue to confront, threats from a prejudiced world that targets them.