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The book industry: this week in quotes

“I suddenly understood what fiction was for…I had to read books that I wouldn’t have necessarily read. I had to read them well and I had to read them in a short space of time. Back to back. Annie Proulx and ­Margaret ­Atwood and Beryl Bainbridge and Anne Michaels – boom, boom, boom. And I started to realise what fiction could be. And I thought, wow! You can be ambitious, you can take on the world – you really can.” – Andrea Levy, on judging the 1997 Orange Prize

“It’s important to note that we are not looking to the agency model as a way to make more money on e-books. In fact, we make less on each e-book sale under the new model; the author will continue to be fairly compensated and our e-book agents will make money on every digital sale. We’re willing to accept lower return for e-book sales as we control the value of our product–books, and content in general. We’re taking the long view on e-book pricing, and this new model helps protect the long term viability of the book marketplace.” – David Young, CEO of Hachette Book Group, in a letter to agents supporting Macmillan and the agency pricing model for e-books

“We are removing Amazon.com links from our website. Our authors depend on people buying their books and since a significant percentage of them publish through Macmillan or its subsidiaries, we would prefer to send traffic to stores where the books can actually be purchased.” – The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America

“Forlorn as this hope may be, I can only fantasize that at least you might read my letter through and consider the pleasures and prestige of being an author at Faber, the last great family-owned independent publishing house in the western hemisphere.” – Faber editorial director Lee Brackstone in an open letter to Morrissey requesting he publish a memoir with Faber

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