It’s another inimitable blend of the profound and the profoundly peculiar this evening: only on Litopia After Dark can we move transcendentally from the works of John Berger to the World Gravy-Wrestling Championships without missing a beat.

Our very own publishing business guru Martyn Daniels is back with us tonight – Martyn is one of the few people to grasp what’s really going on in the publishing business at the moment – and what’s more, he can explain it clearly, too!  And that’s one of the key subjects tonight: are publishing conglomerates a thing of the past?  Or is more consolidation necessary for publishing to compete against the likes of Google, Amazon, Sony, Apple?  As Richard Howse puts it (and only Richard would put it like this) “Baboo’s Jumbalia takes on the Amazoogle eMasterbator!”.  Don’t worry – you’ll understand perfectly when you listen.

Also on the panel tonight – from Florida, leading lawyer and author of the forthcoming Writer’s Guide to the Courtroom Donna Ballman… and from England’s West Country, the master of the fromage á trois - (remember last week?) it’s Dave Bartram.

Topics covered and links include:

• Your humble host (Peter) is unceremoniously kicked off a live BBC program for discussing the Google Book Settlement (none of that censorship on Litopia After Dark – as if you hadn’t noticed)
• The Mighty Mouse pwns Superman
• Happy Birthday to the interweb thingy
• What is the relationship between words and mind pictures? John Berger’s “The Red Tenda of Bologna” is a clue
• Tom Philip‘s ‘A Humument’ is worth checking out
• Is “Big Publishing” dying?
• Or should it get bigger?
• Traditional publishing’s digital pricing is all over the floor – but Smashwords supply B&N and give the author 82% of the sale
• Morrisons rent poets to re-write their recipes

This week’s bouillabaisse of titles for the outrageously disrespectful Commissioning Meeting comprise:

DONNA
“The Bad Boy At Home – And His Experiences In Trying To Become An Editor”
Metta Victoria Fuller Victor, 1831-1885

RICHARD
“Baboo Jabberjee, B.A.”
F. Anstey, 1856-1934

MARTYN
“The Big Bounce”
Walter S. Tevis

DAVE
“Bird Day;  How To Prepare For It”
Charles Almanzo Babcock

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