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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[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Barbara Casassus Publication Date: Tue, 29/03/2011 - 15:29 French culture minister Frédéric Mitterrand has called for the European Union to regulate ebook prices as soon as possible, and to introduce a reduced rate of VAT on all cultural goods and services, whether they are sold... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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"Upbeat" start to Bologna Book Fair

Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Tue, 29/03/2011 - 08:51 Busy schedules and a strong presence from US publishers in an "upbeat" mood were reported on the first day of the Bologna Book Fair. Hodder Children's Books publishing director Anne McNeil said the fair was busier than it had... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Print book sales continue to fall

Written By: Philip Stone Publication Date: Tue, 29/03/2011 - 15:50 Book sales slipped for the fourth week in a row last week, and were down more than £3.3m last year, according to Nielsen BookScan data. A total of £24.2m was spent on printed books at UK retail outlets in the seven days to 26th... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Paver and Seuss among new Bologna deals

Written By: Benedicte Page and Graeme Neill Publication Date: Tue, 29/03/2011 - 15:32 Penguin's international deals for Michelle Paver, HarperCollins' new collection of stories from Dr Seuss and Simon & Schuster paying six figures for a young adult trilogy were among the day two deals... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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App debate dominates Bologna Tools of Change

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[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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WH Smith reopens shops under British Bookshops deal

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[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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ALCS welcomes MPs' PLR call

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[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Desmond's magazine sale called Project Odyssey

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[ Media Week | 2011-03-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Catherine Cookson estate goes direct in ebook deal

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[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The New York Times | 2011-03-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Mainstream, J R Books and Pan to rush Elizabeth Taylor titles

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[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ Folio Magazine | 2011-03-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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