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This Ph.D. thesis consists of a novel, EXEUNT, and research associated with it, both being specifically concerned with literary/cultural representations of love and relationships over the age of sixty-five. In consideration of the changing dynamics of ageing, declared internationally by gerontologists during the 1990s, the research investigates the perceptions of British writers, publishers and readers regarding their acceptance of late-life sexuality in British contemporary novels. It identifies key stakeholders in specific interest groups, and operates within an interpretive perspective as a suitable analytical framework for a pragmatic mixed methods investigation. Although the initial focus of the research was on publishers and writers, the inclusion of readers resulted in wider consequences that call for more transparency and a fuller understanding of concepts linked to ageism. Having explored the dynamic between author, publisher and reader, the study concludes there is a superficial disharmony between them, whereas in fact they are mutually complementary. This dichotomy appears to be due to misunderstanding, and lack of trust. In reality, a large percentage of readers, in line with recent research on film audiences, feel it acceptable for people over the age of sixty to have such sexual needs and desires. This acceptability and the new dynamics of ageing inform the novel which places the research in a wider context and constitutes the second part of the Ph.D. The multi-layered novel EXEUNT, in part ontogenetic, works against ageism within current prejudice by depicting the lovers in their fifties, sixties and seventies, and by doing so reveals the wide gap between subjective reality and the perceived public image. Their relationship is accepted by the British woman s friends, family and contemporaries, so that the epistemology of age is acquired only through negative opinions or actions, with the narrative embodying much of current research on the subject. Contrasting attitudes to ageing are found within the ethnographic detail of Romania during the period of communism, revolution and consequential freedom: 1982-2005. The frameworks of the fiction are encapsulated in the concept of Theatre as an analogy for life and death with a unique structure that portrays an ontological viewpoint. This underpins a reality where the attention of the reader/audience is disrupted by an intermittent reminder of the analogy. The term fictodrama has been used to describe this combination of fiction and theatrical effects.

Submitted to the Faculty of Humanities in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of M.A (Publishing Studies) University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, 2017 / Gérard Genette famously noted that paratexts are ‘those liminal devices’, elements, both within and outside the book, that form part of the complex relationship between book, author, publisher, and reader. He determined that titles, forewords, epigraphs, and publishers’ jacket copy are part of a book’s ‘private and public history’. By considering each of these liminal devices in the larger context of marketing strategies, this research report addresses the question of how paratexts are altered to appeal to different markets in different countries – specifically South Africa and Germany – and how this is done in relation to five translated novels: Stadt des Goldes by Norman Ohler; Portrait with Keys by Ivan Vladislavić; Township Blues and Themba by Lutz van Dijk; and Fiela se Kind by Dalene Matthee. The research report argues that the relationship between paratext and reader is of vital importance when it comes to understanding how cultures are perceived by foreign readers. With each comparison between the paratexts of the original and their translated novels, the research report demonstrates that paratextual alterations are predominantly influenced by alterations in time and geography; use or dismissal of clichés and stereotypes; educational value; and either techniques which familiarise or defamiliarise the reader. By uncovering the way novels are marketed to a foreign readership, it becomes possible to uncover why translations occur and how the source-culture is perceived. / XL2018

Through its depiction of heroines, romance fiction has the capacity to reflect the attitudes and concerns women face in society. However, the depiction of heroines in romance novels is bound by the constraints publishers place upon them. A vibrant, passionate mid-life heroine gets pushed into a subgenre where romance no longer exists as an option, while a mid-life reader in search of a romance heroine to identify with is relegated to novels where romance is a marginal issue, rather than the main impetus that leads the story. This study, and the novel A Basic Renovation, addresses a neglected demographic of reader and heroine who are marginalised within the romance genre. As well, it gives reasons why heroines need not be characterised in particular roles or situations as they age, and a rationale for why their underrepresentation as romance heroines should end.

The Tide Lords series of fantasy novels set out to examine the issue of immortality. Its purpose was to look at the desirability of immortality, specifically why people actively seek it. It was meant to examine the practicality of immortality, specifically — having got there, what does one do to pass the time with eternity to fill? I also wished to examine the notion of true immortality — immortals who could not be killed. What I did not anticipate when embarking upon this series, and what did not become apparent until after the series had been sold to two major publishing houses in Australia and the US, was the strength of the immortality tropes. This series was intended to fly in the face of these tropes, but confronted with the reality of such a work, the Australian publishers baulked at the ideas presented, requesting the series be re-written with the tropes taken into consideration. They wanted immortals who could die, mortals who wanted to be immortal. And a hero with a sense of humour. This exegesis aims to explore where these tropes originated. It will also discuss the ways I negotiated a way around the tropes, and was eventually able to please the publishers by appearing to adhere to the tropes, while still staying true to the story I wanted to tell. As such, this discussion is, in part, an analysis of how an author negotiates the tensions around writing within a genre while trying to innovate within it.

This dissertation thesis deals with electronic self-publishing of literary fiction, i.e. its publishing by the authors themselves, without involving publishers. Support from big technology companies led to unprecedented growth of this type of publishing in the 2010s and electronic self-publishing has in some countries become one of the standard ways of publishing. In spite of its expansion, electronic self-publishing is affected by many problems. The most prominent one is comparatively lower quality of many independently published e- books, mainly caused by limited knowledge of the publishing process from the side of the authors, many of which are not proper acquainted with publishing practices. The activities that should an independent author perform during the publishing process are the same as those performed by a publisher. Due to complicated character of some of these activities, many independent authors outsource them to other parties, or do not perform them at all. In the Czech Republic, electronic self-publishing is relatively undeveloped. It is true that there has probably been hundreds or thousands e-books published independently and that the number of downloads of these books is in hundreds of thousands copies. On the other hand, majority of this literature is offered for free or for...

Doctorat en sciences sociales, politiques et économiques / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished