Betting Big on Literary Newcomers – WSJ

It’s increasingly a winner-take-all economy, publishing executives say.

As a result, publishers are competing for debut literary talent with the same kind of frenzied auction bidding once reserved for promising debut thrillers or romance novels. “If they feel they have the next Norman Mailer on their hands, they’re going have to pay for that shot,” literary agent Luke Janklow said. “It’s usually the result of a little bit of crowd hysteria in the submission.”

From Betting Big on Literary Newcomers – WSJ