Have teenagers taken control of publishing? With some authors notching up a billion views, we look at how TikTok is electrifying the world of books – creating bestsellers, reviving classics and rescuing neglected genresIt’s four o’clock on a sunny Saturday afternoon and the Krispy Kreme doughnut stall is doing a brisk trade at Lakeside shopping centre, a huge mall in Essex. But a few metres further along, young shoppers are salivating over a different sort of treat. A girl in a silky red dress runs her fingers along the spines of nine novels by bestselling YA author Colleen Hoover, while a couple of twentysomething men in biker jackets pore over shelves of manga comics. They’re in a Waterstones that has been laid out like a pick-and-mix stall, with brightly jacketed paperbacks piled on round tables, or grouped seductively in booths, under headings such as “Romance” or “LGBTQ+”. Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper – a graphic novel series about a love affair between two schoolboys that’s now a Netflix show – has a table to itself.All this is down to #BookTok, a niche on the platform TikTok that became a social media sensation in the early months of Covid, and has been gathering momentum ever since. “We used to rely on millennials,” says the store’s 30-year-old manager, Peter. “But now the majority of our customers are teenagers, who have money and influence and want to find their own stories. A lot of black and Asian authors are coming through. I always wanted to have an LGBTQ... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2022-06-08 05:00:14 UTC ]
Fiction reviews editor Gabe Habash recommends 'What Belongs to You,' the brilliantly structured story of an American teacher in Bulgaria caught in a love affair with a young man. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-12-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Myriad Editions has signed a “stunning” novelisation of the love affair between Simone de Beauvoir and American writer Nelson Algren. Fiction editor Holly Ainley bought UK and Commonwealth rights, including Canada, to Noon in Paris, Eight in Chicago by Chicago-born author Douglas Cowie, from... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Orchard Books has acquired The Ethan I Was Before, the middle-grade debut about friendship and grief, from debut author Ali Standish. Jessica Clarke, editorial director at Orchard Books, brokered a five-figure two-book deal with Polly Nolan at the Greenhouse Literary Agency, acquiring UK... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-06-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishing industry data for 2014 spills the beans on decline in biography and cookbook sales, while children’s literature in print rises by 10%Publishers used to have a simple recipe for a bestseller: sign up a celebrity or a TV chef and get the book out for Christmas.Not any more. The latest... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-05-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The news that Facebook is working with publishers to host their content has caused a lot of hand-wringing among those who worry about ceding too much control of ad revenue and data. But in some cases, it can make sense for a publisher. For new or small ones, Facebook's exposure can help them... Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2015-03-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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For Robert Alter, translating the Old Testament is not only a way of expressing his love of both Hebrew and English, but also of illuminating the Bible as the key work of Western literature. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-02-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Last year the book trade “rekindled its love affair with the physical book”, Pan Macmillan’s m.d Anthony Forbes Watson has told The Bookseller. “Previous years have all been about growing ebook sales, but in 2014, in a market where ebook sales were plateauing, suddenly it was all about forward... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Is it too much to ask for a comic book flick that doesn't rely on three crappy prequels for the plot to make sense? Let's lose the complicated, interwoven storylines and focus on quality standalone films. Angry Nerd explains why Marvel's new Guardians of the Galaxy gets it just right. Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2014-07-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In contrast to last year’s booming comics marketplace, sales of graphic novels and comics periodicals in the early months of 2014 are down. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-03-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Johnston Press is disposing of staff photographers in a swathe of newspapers across England, reports HoldTheFrontPage. Photographers are soon to leave the company's titles in Lincolnshire, Warwickshire, Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire. Most will go after accepting voluntary redundancy... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-01-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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As Asian authors come to prominence, the West should publish them, something that will be impossible without nurturing translators, says a Hong Kong literary agent Kelly Falconer. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-03-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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If you bought a copy of "Fifty Shades of Grey" for your e-reader, you are not alone -- not by a long shot. If you bought a copy of "Fifty Shades of Grey" for your e-reader, you are not alone -- not by a long shot. E.L. James' sexy novel about innocent college student Anastasia Steele and her... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-01-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Comics and magazines have been two of the iPad’s bread and butter categories since the start. Symbolia combines the two. The recent folding of The Daily, News Corp’s much-ballyhooed tablet newspaper, proved one thing: a lumbering daily operation isn’t going to make sense for a news app... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2012-12-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 24/06/2011 - 10:57 Headline has bought a memoir by German footballer and Liverpool cult hero Dietmar "Didi" Hamann, with publishing director Jonathan Taylor making his first acquisition as head of Headline Publishing Group's non-fiction... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Caroline Horn Publication Date: Mon, 28/03/2011 - 09:29 Waterstones is to roll out new teen sections to around 100 of its stores from April, following a pilot in four stores that began last summer. While figures were not available, Waterstones said it was very pleased with... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Caroline Horn Publication Date: Tue, 22/03/2011 - 08:39 Puffin has acquired world rights, including film and TV, in a dystopian romance series Fever by debut author Dee Shulman. The publisher will be showcasing the trilogy at Bologna Children's Book Fair next week and has already... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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