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If it's written, will the Great American Novel be published?
What the publishers won't admit about the demise of the Great American Novel
Date published: 2/3/2008
URBANA-CHAMPAIGN, Ill.-- Want to read a contemporary American novel written in the tradition of "For Whom the Bell Tolls" or "Absalom, Absalom!" or "The Adventures of Augie March" or "Manhattan Transfer"? Good luck.By the 1980s, fiction that was meaningfully engaged with America had all but disappeared. Yes, there are a few writers in their 70s and 80s today still committed to storytelling with its finger on the pulse of society--think of Tom Wolfe and Philip Roth. But is this departure from telling the American story because the number of readers of great literature has declined, or have publishers simply decided that audience is not worth pursuing? Or to pose the question differently, do publishers really have a sense of our national marketplace or have their global predilections for "literary tofu" dramatically altered story selections, thereby ignoring the desires of readers hungry for truth or excellence to be found in American exceptionalism? And, most important The global nature of American publishing today is dramatically illustrated by examining the top five trade publishers in the U.S. (based on the 2006 figures represented on michaelhyatt .com). The German conglomerate Bertelsmann owns Random House, the No. 1 trade publisher in the U.S. (17.2 percent). News Corporation, overseen by Australian media mogul Rupert Murdoch, owns HarperCollins, the second-largest trade publisher in the U.S. (13.3 percent). In 2004 the company, which had been incorporated in Australia, was reincorporated in the state of Delaware. Simon & Schuster is ranked third (9.2 percent) and held by American media giant CBS. Penguin Group (USA) is fourth (8.7 percent). It is an affiliate of the U.K. Penguin Group, the second-largest trade publisher worldwide. Having purchased Time Warner Book Group, Hachette Livre is the fifth-largest trade publisher in the U.S. (5.9 percent) and owned by the French media group Lagardere, the third-largest trade publisher worldwide.
Read more stories about Fredericksburg Date published: 2/3/2008
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