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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iPad is a devil's deal for publishers

By Joe Wilcox, Betanews Apple's approach to magazine and newspaper subscriptions and third-party ebook sales stink of the kind of practices that got Microsoft into trouble with trustbusters on two continents during the late 1990s and early 2000s. A year ago, publishers embraced iPad as the... Continue reading at Betanews

[ Betanews | 2011-02-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Save our Libraries: a call for action

Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Fri, 04/02/2011 - 17:00 Remember everyone: Saturday 5th February is Save Our Libraries day. Four hundred of our libraries up and down the UK are currently threatened with closure. Show your support for our treasured service: go to your local... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Emma Hopkin to leave Macmillan Children's Books

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 04/02/2011 - 16:42 Emma Hopkin, managing director of Macmillan children's books, is to leave the company on 21st April to "pursue an exciting new challenge elsewhere in children's publishing". Hopkin said: "It's been fantastic and I've... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apple sets 31st March deadline for app changes

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Fri, 04/02/2011 - 10:49 Apple is set for a collision course with Amazon after setting a 31st March deadline for its changes to its app terms. From that date, all apps must make any content they use available for purchase within the app itself. This... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Check Google Books data for errors, publishers warned

Written By: Caroline Horn Publication Date: Fri, 04/02/2011 - 09:01 Publishers are being warned to check their Google Books data online as thousands of titles have been mistakenly attributed to publisher BPR. Independent UK publisher Children’s Story Publishers spotted the mistake after its... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Penguin Children's Books creates new licensing wing

Written By: Benedicte Page A new Media and Entertainment group has been created within Penguin Children’s Books under newly promoted publishing director Eric Huang. The group combines the BBC Children's, Sunbird and Ladybird licensing teams. Penguin Children's Books m.d. Francesca Dow said... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Goldsboro Books to double in size with new shop

Written By: Lisa Campbell Central London independent Goldsboro Books is expanding to a new premises more than double its size. The retailer, is currently based in Cecil Court in a 40 square metre premises. However, at the end of March the store is moving to a new site in the same street that is... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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ASA drops W H Smith R&J book club ad complaint

Written By: Lisa Campbell A complaint against a W H Smith advert for the Richard and Judy Book Club has not been upheld by the Advertising Standards Authority. The television broadcast, promoting the husband-and wife team’s exclusive deal with W H Smith to run Richard and Judy’s Book Club,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Registration opens for Tools of Change Bologna

Written By: Katie Allen Registration is now open for the first Tools of Change Bologna, which is to be held on 27th March. The conference, which focuses on digital development, will take place a day before the Bologna Children’s Book Fair opens. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apple confirms rule change over ebook apps

Written By: Philip Jones Apple has confirmed that it wants a cut of Amazon's Kindle sales made via its iPad and iPhone apps. The giant hardware company has said that it will no longer allow apps to sell content via a separate browser link, unless customers are also given the option of... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Open Road to Publish Virginia Hamilton E-books

On February 15, Open Road Integrated Media will publish the first children’s titles in its “author branded program”: seven ebooks by Newbery Medal and National Book Award winner Virginia Hamilton, who died in 2002. Among the ebooks on the list are Newbery and NBA winner M.C. Higgins, the Great. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Juliet Rogers to leave Murdoch Books

Written By: Graeme Neill Juliet Rogers, chief executive of food and illustrated publisher Murdoch Books, is stepping down from the publisher with immediate effect after 10 years in charge. She will be replaced by Bruce Haslett, who ran the Time Magazine and Sports Illustrated businesses of... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Random House buys book on BP oil crisis

Written By: Charlotte Williams Random House Books has acquired one of the first books on the Gulf of Mexico oil leak, Spills and Spin: The Inside Story of BP by Reuters oil-industry reporter Tom Bergin. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Cairo Book Fair cancelled amid demonstrations in Egypt

Written By: Bookseller Staff The 43rd Cairo Book Fair, due to have been held this week, has been cancelled. The Guardian reports that "many foreign exhibitors" have been left stranded after failing to secure flights home, while others have had to abandon stands and books after the fair was... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Googlization of Books

There have been a few popular books in recent years detailing Google's ascent in the digital world, notably Ken Auletta's Googled: The End of the World as We Know It and Jeff Jarvis's What Would Google Do. But there is another story, says author and media scholar Siva Vai-dhyanathan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-01-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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It's a Digital Book World

There was no shortage of debates and discussions at last week's second annual Digital Book World, where about 1,300 members of the trade publishing industry turned out in New York to explore ways to navigate the digital transition. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-01-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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E-books and More at Winter Institute 6

Despite pressure coming from a number of different areas on bricks-and-mortar bookstores, the American Booksellers Association's sixth annual Winter Institute, which took place January 18–21 at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, Va., was surprisingly upbeat. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-01-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon Claims E-book Sales Beat Paperbacks

The ebook sales milestone "has come even sooner than we expected," CEO Bezos says. Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2011-01-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon Kindle Book Sales Soar

Online retailer reports sales of its digital ebooks has outstripped those of traditional paperbacks. Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2011-01-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Eric Carle to write first book in four years for Puffin

Written By: Charlotte Williams Puffin is to publish a new picture book by The Very Hungry Caterpillar author Eric Carle, his first in four years. The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse will be published in October 2011, in a global, simultaneous publication with Philomel, a Penguin Young Readers... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-01-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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