Sam SlatonAndrew AlbaneseIn the weeks before the Frankfurt Book Fair, self-published authors no longer find themselves on the outside looking in. Just ask E.L. James.

“There is a significant uptick in the number of American agents taking books to this year’s Frankfurt that were originally self-published,” Andrew Albanese, Publishers Weekly features editor, tells CCC’s Chris Kenneally. “While it seems to be feeding many authors into the major publishers, you could soon see the midlist that has for decades sustained the industry moving to Amazon.”

Reviewing the week’s reviews, Samuel Slaton, PW Reviews Editor, serves up Foodopoly: The Battle Over the Future of Food and Farming in America, which PW calls “a meticulously researched tour-de-force” from Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Watch.

Hauter cooks up an indictment of the food conglomerates, says Slaton, which alleges that “deregulation and the elimination of anti-trust laws have led to a significant reduction of competition, and that the surviving firms have used their wealth to capture the political system in order to rewrite the regulations for their benefit.”

Every Friday, CCC’s “Beyond the Book” speaks with the editors and reporters of “Publishers Weekly” for an early look at the news that publishers, editors, authors, agents and librarians will be talking about when they return to work on Monday.

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