From: thesofa@dooooooooooowqwqawsasaw.com   
      
   "With all the other forms of entertainment today there are very few people   
   around who would understand what a good paragraph is."   
      
      
      
   The Sunday Times - Britain   
      
      
      
   The Sunday TimesJanuary 01, 2006   
      
   Publishers toss Booker winners into the reject pile   
   Jonathan Calvert and Will Iredale   
      
      
      
   THEY can't judge a book without its cover. Publishers and agents have   
   rejected two Booker prize-winning novels submitted as works by aspiring   
   authors.   
   One of the books considered unworthy by the publishing industry was by V S   
   Naipaul, one of Britain's greatest living writers, who won the Nobel prize   
   for literature.   
      
      
   The exercise by The Sunday Times draws attention to concerns that the   
   industry has become incapable of spotting genuine literary talent.   
   Typed manuscripts of the opening chapters of Naipaul's In a Free State and a   
   second novel, Holiday, by Stanley Middleton, were sent to 20 publishers and   
   agents.   
   None appears to have recognised them as Booker prizewinners from the 1970s   
   that were lauded as British novel writing at its best. Of the 21 replies,   
   all but one were rejections.   
   Only Barbara Levy, a London literary agent, expressed an interest, and that   
   was for Middleton's novel.   
   She was unimpressed by Naipaul's book. She wrote: "We . . . thought it was   
   quite original. In the end though I'm afraid we just weren't quite   
   enthusiastic enough to be able to offer to take things further."   
   The rejections for Middleton's book came from major publishing houses such   
   as Bloomsbury and Time Warner as well as well-known agents such as   
   Christopher Little, who discovered J K Rowling.   
   The major literary agencies PFD, Blake Friedmann and Lucas Alexander Whitley   
   all turned down V S Naipaul's book, which has received only a handful of   
   replies.   
   Critics say the publishing industry has become obsessed with celebrity   
   authors and "bright marketable young things" at the expense of serious   
   writers.   
   Most large publishers no longer accept unsolicited manuscripts from   
   first-time authors, leaving the literary agencies to discover new talent.   
   Many of the agencies find it hard to cope with the volume of submissions.   
   One said last week that she receives up to 50 manuscripts a day, but takes   
   on a maximum of only six new writers a year.   
   Last week, leading literary figures expressed surprise that Naipaul, in   
   particular, had not been talent spotted. Doris Lessing, the author who was   
   once rejected by her own publishers when she submitted a novel under a   
   pseudonym, said: "I'm astounded as Naipaul is an absolutely wonderful   
   writer."   
   Andrew Motion, the poet laureate, who teaches creative writing, said: "It is   
   surprising that the people who read it (Naipaul's book) didn't recognise it.   
   He is certainly up there as one of our greatest living writers."   
   While arguing that the best books would still always find a publisher, he   
   added: "We need to keep the publishers on their toes as good books are as   
   rare as hens' teeth."   
   Middleton, 86, whose books have a devoted following, wasn't surprised.   
   "People don't seem to know what a good novel is nowadays," he said. Naipaul,   
   73, said the "world had moved on" since he wrote the novel. He added: "To   
   see that something is well written and appetisingly written takes a lot of   
   talent and there is not a great deal of that around."   
   "With all the other forms of entertainment today there are very few people   
   around who would understand what a good paragraph is."   
      
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