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The rise in self-publishing, digital folk culture and social media participation, have revolutionized reading and writing practices. Readers can directly contact their favourite authors, and publishers, through social media and become authors, and publishers, themselves. One of the outcomes of digital reading and writing is that writing is now becoming more democratic: traditional publishers are no longer the sole gatekeepers of culture. The popularity of social writing platform Wattpad is a recent example of how a new generation of influential and innovative writers is entering the publishing arena. This also demonstrates that there is a demand for authorship without the intervention from publishers. Despite this, traditional notions of authorship, ownership and control are prevalent in contemporary publishing hindering the true potential of creativity. The disharmony between the rise of the amateur author and the control of the traditional publisher is confronted in the digital public sphere. Consequently, issues such as authority and influence are mediated during the activities and interactions that take place on social media and other online platforms. Established authority figures, such as famous authors or well-known publishers, that exert authority and influence in the traditional sphere, can shift this authority and influence to the digital world; however, this sphere is also occupied by emerging networks of influencers, such as emerging authors or micro-celebrities, who gain popularity as a result of specific trends, in specific domains, at specific times. This article will examine how new and established authors are using social platforms, and social media, to publish their writing, build communities and extend their dialogue with readers and other writers. A netnographic study of Wattpad will identify which authors are the influencers and innovators in social publishing. Consequently, this article will underscore the increasing importance of social networks and social relationships in 21st century publishing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates contemporary independent publishing in the UK. It explores whether independent publishers based outside London believe they can: compete in the global publishing environment; help to promote and preserve regional cultures and identities; and maintain diversity in cultural output. It also examines how independent presses based outside of London see themselves situated in the national and international publishing arena. Small publishers in the North and Midlands of England are used as case studies in this research because they constitute small publishing communities that exist alongside the larger, dominant publishing industry in London. Although the foci of the empirical research are the industries in the North and Midlands of England, the paper is contextualized within national publishing discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates contemporary independent publishing in the UK. It explores whether independent publishers based outside London believe they can: compete in the global publishing environment; help to promote and preserve regional cultures and identities; and maintain diversity in cultural output. It also examines how independent presses based outside of London see themselves situated in the national and international publishing arena. Small publishers in the North and Midlands of England are used as case studies in this research because they constitute small publishing communities that exist alongside the larger, dominant publishing industry in London. Although the foci of the empirical research are the industries in the North and Midlands of England, the paper is contextualized within national publishing discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through interviews with agents based in London and Scotland, a survey of Scottish authors, and a survey of Scottish publishers, this paper will illuminate the importance of the literary agent in the 21st century and the role they play in the process of rights sales. A study of the Scottish publishing industry will be used to examine whether literary agents can operate successfully outside London. Little literature covering these issues is currently available. This empirical research will help to redress this lack. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the origins of the economy of authorship, focusing on the evolution of copyright laws and their effect on the position of the author. Previous studies have examined the role of the patron, the industrialisation of writing and the professionalisation of authorship, and the advent of literary agents. This paper reviews the models and concepts derived from these studies, and extends them into the last fifty years. It outlines the changing nature of authorship with particular reference to the different ways in which authors have derived income over the years. It evaluates the role of the contemporary literary agent and offers a perspective on the role of copyright in defining contemporary authorship particularly in the contexts of digital media and of globalisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]