Doctor, teacher, bestseller: why real-life memoirs are such a hit

A Great Ormond Street nurse has sold 100,000 books in a few weeks by joining a growing trend of writers to recount heartfelt first-person accounts of their own livesChristie Watson never imagined writing a bestselling memoir about her job as a nurse, much less about her life. “I didn’t think anyone from the outside would be interested,” she says.After 20 years walking corridors between cubicles and intensive care wards, mostly in children’s hospitals, Watson had plenty to recall – resuscitating patients in cardiac arrest, helping a young boy write a thank-you letter to the parents of a dead child whose organs had saved his life. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2019-05-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #growing trend #bestselling memoir

Other Publishing stories related to: 'Doctor, teacher, bestseller: why real-life memoirs are such a hit'


Schools' library snubs hit literacy rates

Written By: Caroline Horn Publication Date: Fri, 05/08/2011 - 08:40 The government's lack of coherent support for school libraries is one of a number of factors contributing to the fall in children's literacy, according to a report by an All-Party Parliamentary Group for Education. The report... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #school libraries #factors contributing #professional development


July books spending hits seven year low

Written By: Philip Stone Publication Date: Thu, 04/08/2011 - 15:50 Spending on physical books in July slumped to its lowest level in seven years as ebooks continue to encroach onto traditional bookseller territory. According to Nielsen BookScan data, £111.5m was spent on printed books in the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Independent bookstores look to life after Borders

Jay Hancock: Is the death of Borders a bell that tolls for the book trade? Or a business opportunity? Continue reading at Baltimore Sun

[ Baltimore Sun | 2011-07-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #independent bookstores #book trade #business opportunity


Reynolds to write new Doctor Who novel

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Thu, 21/07/2011 - 13:00 British Science Fiction award-winner Alastair Reynolds is the latest author to try his hand writing a Doctor Who novel, after signing a deal with BBC Books. Editorial director Albert DePetrillo bought world rights from Robert... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #latest author #bbc books #robert kirby #united agents #bbc series


HC hits digital Martin milestone

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Wed, 20/07/2011 - 14:45 HarperCollins sold more than 10,000 ebooks of George RR Martin's A Dance with Dragons last week, its biggest digital performance for a new release. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Tyrese Tweets Onto the Bestseller List

Tyrese Gibson's bestselling self-help memoir How to Get Out of Your Own Way (Grand Central) may be his first book, but thanks to more than 1.8 million Twitter followers (@Tyrese), the author is an old hand at connecting with fans through social media. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-07-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bestseller list #grand central


Dragon Tattoo hits 2m UK sales

Written By: Philip Stone Publication Date: Wed, 13/07/2011 - 15:38 Stieg Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Quercus), the first book in the late Swedish journalist's Millennium thriller trilogy, has become only the sixth adult novel to sell more than two million copies since records... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Templar hits the right notes with Drummer Girl

Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Wed, 13/07/2011 - 07:44 Templar Publishing has bought world English language rights to a "gritty yet glamorous tale of murder, romance and rock ‘n’ roll". Helen Boyle, commissioning fiction editor, bought the rights to Drummer Girl by Bridget... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Arrow acquires spiritualist memoir

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 08/07/2011 - 11:00 Arrow has acquired an autobiography of the spiritualist and healer Helen Parry Jones. Editor Gillian Holmes bought UK and Commonwealth rights from Sheila Crowley at Curtis Brown. The book will tell the story of Parry... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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HarperCollins catches Amazon bestsellers

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Fri, 08/07/2011 - 08:27 HarperCollins has bought four books by Louise Voss and Mark Edwards, whose self-published novels have been Amazon bestsellers, in a six-figure, pre-empt deal. Commissioning editor Kate Bradley bought world rights from agent Sam... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #louise voss #mark edwards #self-published novels #pre-empt deal #coleridge white #physical edition


Media Decoder: Memoir of WikiLeaks Founder Is Tabled

A book deal that Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, signed only six months ago has fallen through, according the Guardian. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2011-07-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Little hits back at Rowling and Blair over 'disappointing' split

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Mon, 04/07/2011 - 09:59 J K Rowling's former agent Christopher Little has broken his silence about the author's surprise defection from his agency, saying that he was "disappointed and surprised" by the "premature news". Responding to Little,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Balding to pen childhood memoir

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Fri, 01/07/2011 - 11:25 Viking has signed a childhood memoir by BBC sports presenter Clare Balding, paying what is believed to be around £500,000 for two books. Penguin declined to comment on the sum paid, which was a pre-emptive deal for world rights... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Harvill Secker to publish death row lawyer memoir

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Thu, 30/06/2011 - 13:09 Harvill Secker has acquired a non-fiction title about the work of British lawyer Clive Stafford Smith over 25 years to save those on death row in the US. Editor-at-large Rebecca Carter bought UK and Commonwealth rights... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Media Decoder: Conrad Black, Still in Prison, Finds Publisher for Memoir

The former newspaper baron, serving out a sentence for fraud and obstruction, will publish "A Matter of Principle" in the fall. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #media decoder


HC hits A Song of Ice and Fire milestone

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Wed, 29/06/2011 - 09:16 HarperCollins has printed its one millionth copy of titles from George R R Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series this year, as it announced it has sold 50,000 ebooks of the series to date. A Dance with Dragons, the fifth... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #fire series #sky atlantic


O'Brien Press buys 'X Factor' star's memoir

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Wed, 29/06/2011 - 14:20 The O'Brien Press has bought rights to a memoir by "X Factor" contender Mary Byrne. Managing director Ivan O'Brien bought world rights from Will Talbot, at Modest Management. The book, This is My Life, will be published in... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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French novel UK bestseller

Written By: Philip Stone Publication Date: Tue, 28/06/2011 - 15:11 Dawn French’s A Tiny Bit Marvellous (Penguin), the bestselling hardback début novel of 2010, was the bestselling book in the UK last week, while Lynda La Plante, writing since 1983, scores her first ever Bookseller number one.... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Headline buys memoir by Liverpool cult hero

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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Transworld serves up Connors memoir

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Mon, 20/06/2011 - 10:13 Transworld has bought UK and Commonwealth rights excluding Canada to a memoir by US tennis legend Jimmy Connors. Giles Elliott, Transworld senior editor, bought the rights from Maggie Hanbury at the Hanbury Agency. The as yet... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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