Around The Web: DVcon, Book Prices, Gatekeepers, and Book Restoration

Hello and welcome to Around the Web, our weekly roundup of bookish internet content. This week, we have some valuable writing resources, a look at the history of book prices, a list of publishing’s most influential gatekeepers, and a video on book restoration. Hope you enjoy!

Writing Resources: DVcon

Some of you might be familiar with the Twitter pitch event #DVPit. Well, recently #DVPit ran DVcon, a virtual writers conference for self-identifying marginalized book creators. They had a whole week of programming, and have now collected all the streams on their YouTube page, so if you missed out you can still get all the information they shared!

Book Prices

Ever wonder why books include prices on their covers? Even if you haven’t, Marketplace dives into the history of book pricing to answer this question and discuss the pros and cons of printed prices on books. It’s surprisingly interesting.

Publishing’s Influential Gatekeepers

Book & Film Globe recently released their list of the “Power 30” of publishing—a list of industry pros who are key players in the book business. While there are some divisive folks on the list, there are also people like L.L. McKinney who are advocating for inclusion and exposing disparities in the industry. Check it out if you want to know who decides what ends up on your bookshelf.

Rare Book Restoration

We’ve talked about rare books here before, and because rare books aren’t always in the best condition, it makes sense to talk about book restoration. LitHub recently shared a great video showing Sophia Bogle of Save Your Books restoring a book of fairy tales by Hans Christian Anderson. It’s a satisfying watch and you may learn a bit too.