Are authors running out of book titles?

Novels by Kate Atkinson, Stephen King and Muriel Spark have all had namesakes. Should writers adopt the imitator-proof JK Rowling approach instead?People first started to notice last year when Kate Atkinson's Life After Life coincided in the US with Jill McCorkle's Life After Life, which had been published just six days earlier. Since then examples of novels with the same name have kept on cropping up. There is, for instance the story of Canadian writer Erica Schultz, who had no idea when she brought out Joyland in 2005 that Stephen King would find that title irresistible eight years later. This resulted in King fans buying Schultz's ebook in error, initially irritating her, but she's "not so upset any more" after receiving "a big royalty cheque for those mistaken books".Could authors and publishers be starting to run out of titles? It can look that way when you come across examples such as Bret Anthony Johnston's Remember Me Like This (just out, and this week's Book of the Week on Radio 4) and Sabine Durrant's Remember Me This Way (out in mid-July), from divisions of the same publisher yet both granted their unaccountable wish to reference the same 1970s Gary Glitter single. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2014-06-27 00:00:00 UTC ]

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Maggie Smith: the magisterial star of Harry Potter and Downton had the courage and talent to do absolutely everything

The real-life dame and on-screen dowager countess, who has died aged 89, earned fame in her 70s and 80s for blockbuster roles. But her early work at the National Theatre marked her out as a talent for the agesDame Maggie Smith’s trophy cabinet reflected her extraordinary achievements across... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2024-09-27 13:37:47 UTC ]
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With Print Sales Up, These Were The Bestselling Books in May 2024

Print book sales were up in May, books by Stephen King, Kristin Hannah, Emily Henry, and Dr. Seuss. Check out the top 10 books sold in the adult and children's markets. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2024-06-20 13:30:00 UTC ]
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Oprah’s Book Club and… Dying? How Do Writers Get Famous

Why are some authors and books iconic? Why do other authors and books tank? It’s tempting to say that William Shakespeare is uniquely talented, and so is Stephen King. But, of course, there are plenty of amazing writers out there that you haven’t heard of them. Benjamin Franklin had a sister,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2024-05-21 08:59:13 UTC ]
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OpenAI says it can clone a voice from just 15 seconds of audio

OpenAI just announced that it recently conducted a small-scale preview of a new tool called Voice Engine. This is a voice cloning technology that can mimic any speaker by analyzing a 15-second audio sample. The company says it generates “natural-sounding speech” with “emotive and realistic... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2024-03-29 19:03:56 UTC ]
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Rizzoli International to Launch U.K. Publishing Arm

The London-based Rizzoli UK will be headed up by Stephen King, who has been appointed managing director. The new business will also develop original titles to be published under the Rizzoli Universe imprint. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-03-07 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Print Book Sales Improved Last Week, But Still Fell 4%

Unit sales for print books had their best weekly performance since mid-June, in part thanks to Stephen King, but still fell 4% from a year ago. Once again, sales were down in all categories. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-09-14 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Stephen King Has 1 Simple Demand For Lauren Boebert, Marjorie Taylor Greene

The bestselling author urged all Republican lawmakers to stop the distractions and focus on this key issue. Continue reading at HuffPost

[ HuffPost | 2023-05-04 08:27:12 UTC ]
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An Open Letter to Stephen King: Book Censorship News, January 27, 2023

No, kids CAN'T get the books being banned at libraries and bookstores, Mr. King. That, plus this week's book censorship news. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2023-01-27 11:40:00 UTC ]
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PW 2022 Notable: Colleen Hoover

Colleen Hoover is well on the way to selling more books in 2022 than Stephen King, James Patterson, and John Grisham. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-12-16 05:00:00 UTC ]
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DOJ v PRH: Jonathan Karp and Stephen King Take the Stand

Day two of the DOJ's trial to block PRH from acquiring S&S featured a little star power: bestselling author Stephen King. In terms of the case before the court, however, the highlight of the day was the testimony of S&S CEO Jonathan Karp. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-08-03 04:00:00 UTC ]
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‘Fantastical claims’ and Stephen King: Penguin Random House and DOJ face off for antitrust battle

In one of the biggest antitrust showdowns of President Biden’s tenure, the Justice Department is pulling out the big guns to stop a mega-publishing merger. The Justice Department’s ambitious bid to stop Penguin Random House from buying rival publisher Simon & Schuster has started taking on... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2022-07-25 16:10:21 UTC ]
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Stephen King, Andrew Solomon, and a bunch of agents are set to testify in the PRH antitrust trial.

The federal government’s civil suit to block the acquisition of Simon & Schuster by Penguin Random House is chugging along, with the trial set to begin on August 1. Exhibits to the joint pretrial motion, filed July 15, included lists of witnesses for both sides. Witnesses for both sides... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-07-20 16:13:34 UTC ]
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Unseen works by ‘queen of gothic fiction’ Shirley Jackson published

Two previously unseen short stories by Jackson, rated by Stephen King as one of the great horror fiction writers, are to appear in US magazine the StrandTwo previously unpublished short stories by Shirley Jackson, the queen of gothic fiction, have been released.Charlie Roberts and Only Stand and... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2022-06-09 14:05:30 UTC ]
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Stephen King's ‘Scariest Work Yet’ Might Be This Ridiculous Microwave Recipe

The internet is in “misery” after the horror legend shared the recipe on Twitter. Continue reading at The Huffington Post

[ The Huffington Post | 2022-04-22 03:28:54 UTC ]
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Stephen King, Janelle Monáe and more: Let’s talk about speculative fiction to read this year

2022 is turning out to be a great year if you love science fiction, fantasy and horror books Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-03-15 11:00:26 UTC ]
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Hodder signs King's 'magnificent' Fairy Tale for September release

Stephen King has written  “a magnificent and terrifying tale” about a teenage boy with keys to a parallel world. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2022-01-25 09:54:00 UTC ]
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Trevlyn D’Cruz obituary

My father, Trevlyn D’Cruz, who has died aged 83, was an accountant who became managing director of the publishing company New English Library (NEL) in 1974. His years there read like a primer of 70s culture: he distributed Bob Guccione’s Playboy magazine rival, Penthouse, was involved in the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-12-24 16:49:25 UTC ]
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Let’s talk about the best sword and sorcery books

Our favorites include works by Tanith Lee, Karl Edward Wagner, Stephen King and Charles R. Saunders Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-09-18 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Beach-read refill: 12 titles to get you to the end of summer (and beyond)

Read new books by Stephen King, Helen Hoang, Lelila Slimani, Andrea Bartz and more. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-08-21 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon Charts: King and Jane's Patisserie rise to the top

Jane Dunn's Jane's Patisserie (Ebury) and Stephen King's Billy Summers (Hodder & Stoughton) have topped Amazon's Most-Sold: Non-Fiction and Most-Sold: Fiction rankings respectively. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-08-11 22:55:21 UTC ]
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