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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Audiobooks Turn More Readers Into Listeners as E-Books Slip

It’s unclear if publishers will bounce back by year’s end, but there are encouraging signs. There have been some prominent best sellers, including “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.” Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2016-09-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Become Awake and Aware: New Books on Conscious Living

A wave of new books looks to help readers plumb ordinary life for deeper meaning. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-09-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Athens Named World Book Capital as 118-Year-Old Bookstore Closes

Athens learns it's UNESCO's World Book Capital 2018 and that its largest bookstore, the 118-year-old Eleftheroudakis, is going under. The post Athens Named World Book Capital as 118-Year-Old Bookstore Closes appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-09-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Lizzie Skurnick Books Suspends Acquisitions

Ig Publishing announced that, due to what its editor-in-chief Robert Lasner described as "very disappointing" sales, the Brooklyn press is no longer making acquisitions or publishing frontlist under its three-year-old Lizzie Skurnick YA fiction imprint. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-09-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Parents spend 25% less on books for boys, study reveals

A new study reveals that parents of pre-school children spend on average £6 per month on books for boys, 25% less than they spend on books for girls. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-09-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Maggie Nelson, new MacArthur fellow, says, 'You've just got to do what each book demands'

Maggie Nelson has been named a MacArthur Foundation Fellow for her work that blends frank autobiography with criticism and philosophy. A poet who leads the MFA program at CalArts, Nelson’s work wrestles with issues of gender, LGBT theory, art and violence; her most recent books are the... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2016-09-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Game Developer Ubisoft Launches Book Line

The creator of the wildly popular Assassin's Creed franchise is launching an in-house publishing line that will debut in November with two titles based on the action-adventure game. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-09-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hachette Children's strikes publishing deal with child YouTuber Tiana

Hachette Children’s Group is publishing a new book in the Rainbow Magic series inspired by the Toys AndMe YouTube channel, presented by child YouTuber Tiana.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-09-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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14% off iHome iPL23 White Clock Radio with Lightning Dock, Support for iPhone 7/7+ - Deal Alert

iHome's iPL23 is compatible with iPhones 5, 6 and 7 (including Plus models), features premium speakers, a Lightning charging dock, FM radio, and alarm clock in one compact device. This handy radio clock charges Lightning-capable iPhone and iPod devices, while letting you wake or sleep to your... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2016-09-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BIBF exhibitors report book confiscations

A number of exhibitors at this year's Beijing International Book Fair have reported the confiscation of books containing politically or culturally sensitive content. But others said they had experienced no increase in censorship activity despite increased tensions over freedom of speech in the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-09-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Comic book creators unite for 'Love Is Love' to honor victims of Orlando attack

The comic book community is coming together for "Love Is Love," a comic to honor those killed in June's Orlando attack. Organized by writer Marc Andreyko, "Love Is Love" will feature more than 100 one- to two-page stories from some of the biggest names in comics. Contributing... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2016-09-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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2016 German Book Prize Shortlist Highlights Six New Novels

Out of 156 original submissions, the seven-member jury led by Christoph Schröder chose six novels for the prestigious German Book Prize shortlist. The post 2016 German Book Prize Shortlist Highlights Six New Novels appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-09-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Philip Pullman calls for UK to adopt EU plans to protect authors' royalties

His Dark Materials author has appealed for EU directive to be introduced in Britain, to block ‘unfair practices that currently prevent authors making a living’His Dark Materials author Philip Pullman has welcomed a “badly need[ed]” new proposal from the European Commission that would protect... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2016-09-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Can We Like Abby Wambach’s Book Without Liking Her?

For Monday’s edition of the Hang Up and Listen Slate Plus bonus segment, Stefan Fatsis, Josh Levin, and Mike Pesca discuss recently retired soccer star Abby Wambach’s new memoir, Forward. Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2016-09-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Google Play Books App Adds Discover Feature

The new feature, intended to help users with book discovery, mines information from online book news, reviews and video content. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-09-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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At The Week Live, Magazine Content Comes to Life

The news magazine launches a new event to boost its profile in cultural coverage. The post At The Week Live, Magazine Content Comes to Life appeared first on Folio:. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2016-09-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Trade Book Sales Down in Q1 of 2016

According to figures released by the AAP's StatShot program, sales of adult books fell 10.3% and sales of children's/YA titles fell 2.1%, compared to the same period last year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-09-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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These authors are in the running for the $50,000 Kirkus Prize book awards

The Kirkus Prizes, which at $50,000 each are among the most lucrative literary prizes in the country, announced their finalists Tuesday morning. The awards, sponsored by the book review magazine Kirkus Reviews, are given in three categories: fiction, nonfiction and young readers' literature.... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2016-09-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Biography of explorer Humboldt wins Science Book Prize

Andrea Wulf has been named the 29th winner of the Royal Society Insight Investment Science Book Prize for her biography of Alexander von Humboldt, The Invention of Nature (John Murray), about an explorer, naturalist and foreign member of the Royal Society. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-09-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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