From Uber driving to huge book deal: Adrian McKinty's life-changing phone call

Despite awards and acclaim for his crime fiction, the impoverished novelist lost his home and was set to quit – then the phone rangIt was1.30 in the morning in Melbourne and Adrian McKinty had just got home after dropping off his last Uber customer of the night at the airport. His phone rang. It was Shane Salerno, agent to authors including Don Winslow, and it was a call that would pull McKinty into “some major league craziness”, ending in a six-figure English-language book deal and, last week, a seven-figure film deal from Paramount for his forthcoming novel The Chain.“Don told me you’ve given up writing,” said Salerno. McKinty, an award-winning crime novelist, had recently blogged about his decision to quit being an author. Beginning with his debut, Dead I May Well Be, written while he taught high school English in Colorado, and continuing with his award-winning series about Northern Irish detective Sean Duffy, McKinty’s books might have won him prizes and great reviews, but they weren’t making him any money. The family moved from the US to Australia in 2008 because McKinty’s wife, author and academic Leah Garrett, was offered a job there. Now the family had been evicted from the home they’d had lived in for eight years, and he was working as an Uber a cab driver (“the world’s worst,” he says now) and bartending in an attempt to actually bring in some cash.When they were evicted from their home, 'I was thinking to myself, "Oh God Adrian, what have you done with your... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2019-07-08 06:00:17 UTC ]
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Wedding Magazine’s Name Change Faces Legal Challenge

"Weddings in Houston" publisher alleges that "Modern Luxury Weddings Houston" violates its federal trademark. The post Wedding Magazine’s Name Change Faces Legal Challenge appeared first on Folio:. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2016-11-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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NASA demonstrates EM Drive theory, but don't get too excited

A fuel-free engine is the stuff of science fiction for now, but scientists at NASA Eagleworks have published a peer-reviewed paper that suggests the ideas behind an EM Drive are worth testing further. Researchers at Eagleworks, a small NASA team task... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2016-11-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'It's like they were selling heroin to schoolkids': censorship hits booksellers at Kuwait book fair

Many Arab book fairs have been a free space for publishers to sell titles banned in shops, but Kuwait has seen raised levels of censorship – turning the book trade into a risky businessArab book fairs are like a giant travelling circus; no sooner does one end than publishers are boxing up books,... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2016-11-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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New Owners for Village Books and Kramerbooks Early Next Year

Two of the country’s most iconic bookstores are about to change hands. The management team is buying Village Books and Paper Dreams in Bellingham, Wash., while a local D.C. restaurateur is purchasing Kramerbooks & Afterwords Cafe. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-11-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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International Hot Book Properties, Week of November 21, 2016

A "gentle" Swedish guide to preparing for death and a French book on estranged youth who join ISIS are among the books making waves abroad. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-11-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Village Books Owners to Receive Rittenhouse Award

PubWest has named Chuck and Dee Robinson, owners of Village Books in Bellingham and Lynden, Wash., recipients of the 2017 Jack D. Rittenhouse Award. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-11-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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UKIP's Douglas Carswell pens book on 'how to overthrow emerging oligarchy'

UKIP MP Douglas Carswell has penned an "energetic polemic" called Rebel: How to Overthrow the Emerging Oligarchy, set to be published by Head of Zeus. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-11-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Life begins at thirty for Honno

One of the oldest women’s publishing ventures in the UK has big plans for its fourth decade in the trade, its founders tell Natasha Onwuemezi. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-11-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Norman Bettison defends book on Hillsborough disaster

Sir Norman Bettison, the former chief constable of both Merseyside and West Yorkshire Police, has defended his book about the Hillsborough disaster, saying he is “entitled" to tell his story. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-11-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Spectre of Trump hangs over US National Book Awards

As the 67th National Book Awards were about to get underway in New York last night (16th November), 76-year-old US Congressman John Lewis, an American hero and living legend of the Civil Rights Movement, told The Bookseller: "We have to continue to stand up, speak up, and continue to fight. We... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-11-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Books on Politics, Trump Get Election Sales Bump

Books with "Trump" in the title got a post-election boost, as did many titles that deal with the big themes of the campaigns. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-11-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Keyes and Norton among Irish Book Awards winners

Marian Keyes, Graham Norton, Mike McCormack, Paul O’ Connell and Tana French are some of winners of the Bord Gáis Energy Irish Book Awards 2016 held in Dublin’s Double Tree Hilton yesterday evening (16th November). Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-11-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Abrams & Chronicle UK reveals structural changes

Abrams & Chronicle Books' m.d. Brenda Marsh has made her first structural changes to the company since her appointment in June. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-11-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Six Books for a Post-Election Spiritual Detox

New books releasing this fall through January feature spiritual practices and insights for finding hope, solace, and a new way forward in a divided and hectic world. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-11-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Faith-Based Books on Recovery and Healing From Addiction

New books publishing this spring are making a case for the transformational effect that spiritual practices can have on addictive behavior. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-11-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Colson Whitehead wins for fiction at the National Book Awards

In a year plagued by racial tensions, Colson Whitehead took the National Book Award for fiction for his novel "The Underground Railroad," a visceral and creative imagining of a female slave's escape from slavery. Although it takes years to write a book and bring it to publication, the National... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2016-11-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Author asks for books to be withdrawn from Daily Mail

YA author Melinda Salisbury has asked her publisher not to submit her books for review to newspapers such as the Daily Mail in support of the ‘Stop Funding Hate’ movement. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-11-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'March: Book Three' Wins 2016 NBA for Young People's Literature

Members of the publishing industry gathered at Cipriani Wall Street for the 67th National Book Awards, where John Lewis, Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell won for 'March: Book Three.' Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-11-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Colson Whitehead Wins National Book Award for ‘The Underground Railroad’

The author Colson Whitehead won the National Book Award for fiction this year for his novel “The Underground Railroad.” Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2016-11-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The 2016 National Book Awards: Lewis, Kendi, Borutzky, Whitehead and Politics

In an evening of references to the US general election, the National Book Award ceremony brought to the fore writers of color, the Civil Rights movement, and joy as 'an act of resistance.' The post The 2016 National Book Awards: Lewis, Kendi, Borutzky, Whitehead and Politics appeared first on... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-11-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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