To
Tauranga last weekend to do two sessions at Escape!, their mini literary
festival. It was very good – well-organised, a wide range of authors, good attendance
and, as always at these events, good gossip from the authors.
One told
me about her recent experience with a Certain Major Publisher. In a chapter on
Roman food, i.e. from Rome 2000 years ago, she wrote that they couldn’t use
ingredients from the new world such as tomatoes, potatoes and corn. The editor
corrected this to “from New World”.
The author
changed it back to “from the new world” on the page proofs.
The editor
corrected this again to “from New World”.
This must have annoyed the editor, because on the final set she changed it to “from the supermarket”.
Hilarious, if it weren't an awful comment on recent educational standards.
ReplyDeleteHilarious. But didn't the Romans have supermarkets? I sort of remember one in the ruins of Pompeii. Only they probably called it a superforum!
ReplyDeleteCould she not have changed it to 'from the Americas'? Which are not actually any more 'new' than Europe.
ReplyDelete