My book wasn’t present, and its omission, due to an oversight some months before, was quite striking. It was, however, in my satchel, so I retrieved it and added it to the group, right at the front, slightly obscuring one or two of the other titles. I took some photos of this, and when satisfied, I stood back, catching the attention of passersby, nodding towards the shortlist. Francis Plug, 'author' of Paul Ewen's How to Be a Public Author, crashes the Man Booker Prize ceremony.
'When does an act of public acknowledgment become a sort of humblebrag?'
Consumers who demand that the price of e-books be slashed to less than half the hardcover list price reveal a belief that the work and expertise of a writer are worth less than a handful of paper and cardboard. Why we need editors now more than ever.