[ganeumann]

> Has anyone of equivalent ability been signed in the last twenty five years?

Whether they're of equivalent ability is subjective, of course, but plenty of difficult but beautiful literary works are published every year. And I would bet that their first run is a lot larger than Ulysses' was :)

Authors I've read in the past couple of years that were not mainstream but were published recently include Roberto Bolano, John Banville, Tom McCarthy, Eduardo Galeano...and I'm not much of a fiction reader. There's an enormous number of books published and almost all of them are not mainstream.

[TheOtherHobbes]

Most of those have had established careers for a long time. McCarthy is relatively new, but he was soundly rejected by all the big pubs, published by a tiny house, and then the big pubs reconsidered when he started shifting copies.

Which is almost exactly what happened to JK Rowling, only her books are slightly more accessible.

The big pubs do not take risks. If a writer can show evidence of critical interest and existing strong sales, they suddenly become interested.

Signing on the basis of a strong, original manuscript? Not any more.

I'm sure there's an exception every year or five, but it's a good bet that unless you're incredibly lucky and/or know commissioning editors personally already because you all went to university together, the odds of getting in through the front door are not good now.