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Article: The Soft-Cover Salvation of Modern Fiction
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- February 16, 1987
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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Pardon me while I gloat. For years I have been boring everyone
in sight by arguing over and again, in public print and private
conversation, that the salvation of literary fiction lies in the
trade paperback, and for years my friends in publishing have been
shaking their heads and solemnly replying that, no, the book business
is a hard-cover business and always will be. So what did Publishers
Weekly report last week? You guessed it:
"The message is clear: quality fiction by contemporary writers
is hot. As trade paperback publishers dole out hefty sums for
reprint rights, they also are competing with hard-cover publishers
for originals and are combing their backlists for contemporary ...