Earnings soar for UK's bestselling authors as wealth gap widens in books industry

New study reveals Julia Donaldson, David Walliams and JK Rowling lead the top 1% of authors, who account for nearly a third of all UK book salesThe gap between publishing’s rich and poor continues to widen, as figures from Nielsen BookScan reveal that the top 50 authors account for more than 13% of UK sales.Children’s authors dominate the top five print sellers, with Julia Donaldson leading the pack for the sixth year in succession with sales of £14m, followed by David Walliams with £11m and JK Rowling with £8m. Joel Morris and Jason Hazeley, the writing duo behind Penguin’s bestselling series of Ladybird parodies, are in fourth with £7.4m, with Jamie Oliver’s collection of healthier recipes, Everyday Super Food, powering him into fifth with £7.3m. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2016-01-15 00:00:00 UTC ]

Other news stories related to: "Earnings soar for UK's bestselling authors as wealth gap widens in books industry"


Alice Oseman: ‘I’m 50 pages into writing the final Heartstopper... I’m excited but it’s also bittersweet’

The creator of the bestselling graphic novels and TV series on turning 30, making playlists for her books and why it’s important to her to be visibly politicalAlice Oseman, 29, was born in Chatham, Kent and grew up near Rochester. While studying English at Durham University, she published her... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2024-09-22 08:30:04 UTC ]
More news stories like this


The Guardian view on audiobooks: a growing market that asks existential questions | Editorial

When is a book not a book? When it is performed by a starry cast of hundreds. Except it has always been more complicated than thatNews this week of a 17% hike in the UK’s audiobook sales might seem like a niche business story, but it raises an existential question. What exactly is an audiobook... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2024-05-10 17:25:03 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Audible to turn all seven of JK Rowling’s Harry Potter books into full-cast audiobooks

The books will be released sequentially, starting with Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, with a full cast of yet-to-be-named actors and a ‘groundbreaking new soundscape’New audiobooks of all seven titles in JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series will be released exclusively on Audible in late... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2024-04-25 16:37:29 UTC ]
More news stories like this


JK Rowling’s posts on X will not be recorded as non-crime hate incident

Author’s comments on Monday relating to trans women were posted as new hate crime law came into force in ScotlandComments by JK Rowling that described prominent transgender women activists as “men” will not be recorded as a non-crime hate incident, Police Scotland has said.The Harry Potter... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2024-04-03 19:08:34 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Richard Osman to publish first novel in new crime series

We Solve Murders introduces a new detective duo – but the author has not abandoned his Thursday Murder Club charactersA new crime series by Richard Osman called We Solve Murders has been announced, after the huge success of his Thursday Murder Club novels.The beloved elderly sleuths from the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2024-02-20 17:44:06 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Keanu and co: how celebrities became bestselling novelists

From Richard Osman and Millie Bobby Brown to the upcoming book by Keanu Reeves, celebrity novels are everywhere. What’s behind the boom? And how do non-famous writers feel about it?I understood that if I was going to do it, I would have to put 100% of myself into it,” says Richard Osman about... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2024-01-13 09:00:12 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Close-Up on: Jamie Oliver’s ‘Billy and the Giant Adventure’

With the publication of Billy and the Giant Adventure (Tundra), celebrity chef Jamie Oliver becomes a children’s book author. In the inventive and inspiring story, a group of friends enter a portal to another world, where they have a wild adventure and meet a menagerie of creatures. Oliver... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-11-21 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Rare Harry Potter bought for 30p may fetch up to £5,000

First edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone bought by UK book collector goes up for auction next weekIt is a book that has certainly lived up to its name: a rare edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone bought for 30p could fetch up to £5,000 at auction.The first novel... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-06-30 09:29:28 UTC ]
More news stories like this


The Guardian view on Bloomsbury’s success: publishing wizardry | Editorial

The Harry Potter publisher ascribes its record profits to a hunger for affordable diversion. That’s the magic of booksIn the gloom of a UK economy teetering on the edge of recession, a glittering puff of smoke wafted up last week from the publisher that will for ever be associated with Harry... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-06-04 17:25:05 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Harry Potter TV series announced, with JK Rowling executive-producing

Service formerly known as HBO Max, rebranded Max, will host live-action showThe Harry Potter TV series is officially a go at Max, the streaming service known until today as HBO Max.The Warner Bros Discovery CEO, David Zaslav, announced the new service, which combines the original HBO Max with... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-04-12 19:48:47 UTC ]
More news stories like this


‘All the details that were missing’: Harry Potter fans on their hopes for TV series

While many Potterheads celebrated reports of HBO Max show, some feel it would be tainted by JK Rowling’s stance on genderAt Platform 9 3/4 in King’s Cross station, Harry Potter devotees from around the world gathered to take their picture in front of one of the book’s most celebrated... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-04-09 14:00:03 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Jamie Oliver and Geri Halliwell-Horner become the latest celebrities to announce children’s books

Publishers have faced criticism for producing books considered ‘an easy sell’ Chef Jamie Oliver and former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell-Horner have become the latest celebrities to announce new children’s books, with experts saying there is no sign the celebrity-authored children’s book trend will... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2022-10-21 10:05:05 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Marshall Karp Rides Solo on NYPD Red

For many authors, being handed the reins of a bestselling series might seem impossible. But it's exactly what happened to Marshall Karp, who is now the sole writer of the NYPD Red series, which he cocreated with James Patterson. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-09-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Poison pens: leading writers call for overhaul of UK’s Society of Authors

Literary world riven by conflict as trade union is accused of inappropriately taking sides in culture warIt is a literary row that threatens to consume the very organisation set up to protect authors’ rights. And, in spite of the involvement of three prominent names in children’s books, it has... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2022-08-21 09:00:05 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Pinch of Nom narrowly beats Richard Osman to top Christmas book chart

The food bloggers’ fourth book Comfort Food outsold Osman’s second cosy crime novel by just over 1,000 copiesThe fourth Pinch of Nom cookbook, a collection of slimming comfort food recipes, has narrowly pipped Richard Osman to the top of the book charts this Christmas.Sales figures from... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-12-21 15:49:29 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Cosy crime, cookbooks and a surprise hit: what we’ve really read in the pandemic

It was a chance to finally get around to Tolstoy or Proust, but the charts tell a different story. Which books did we actually turn to in the lockdowns? • Let us know in the comments what you were reading Back in spring 2020, when it became clear that coronavirus wasn’t going away, book lovers... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-12-11 09:00:06 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Library audio and ebook loans in 2021 reveal unexpected stars

Alongside Richard Osman and JK Rowling, figures show huge successes for relative unknowns Ellery Adams and Brenda ChapmanThe UK’s library users are widely seen as a traditional bunch when it comes to choosing their next read, but while Richard Osman might have topped the list of the year’s... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-12-08 16:34:37 UTC ]
More news stories like this


The Expanse Saga Takes Its Final Space Flight

The bestselling, Hugo Award–winning science fiction series, which has reimagined the space opera and spawned an acclaimed television series, will wrap up this November with 'Leviathan Falls.' Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, the writing duo known by the pseudonym James S.A. Corey, discusses their... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-10-01 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Illustrations revealed for J K Rowling's Christmas Pig

Two illustrations from J K Rowling's forthcoming children's book The Christmas Pig (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers) have been revealed. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-13 21:29:03 UTC ]
More news stories like this