Heartstopper author Alice Oseman: ‘If you don’t have sex and romance, you feel like you haven’t achieved’

The writer and illustrator on turning her ‘weird hobby’ into a bestselling YA series and Netflix hit, the importance of asexual representation and lessons from her fans on love bitesAt 28, the author and illustrator Alice Oseman recently achieved what so many of her peers cannot: she bought a flat. But instead of giving up Netflix so she could save for a deposit, as Kirstie Allsopp notoriously recommended, she sold the streaming service the rights to her gay romance comic book series.The series in question is of course Heartstopper, the web comic turned graphic novel turned Netflix show that this paper’s reviewer described as “completely lovely” when it aired earlier this year. The boy-meets-boy tale, set in a British secondary school, sees rugby captain Nick and socially awkward Charlie navigate friendships, bullying, coming out – and falling in love. It’s not hard to see why the TV adaptation won over teenagers and adults alike, with its lovable characters, quirky nods to its comic book origins – for example, tiny animations of hand-drawn flowers form a circle round the actors when Nick and Charlie share their first kiss – and an injection of starriness in the shape of Olivia Colman (Nick’s mum) and Stephen Fry (headmaster Barnes). The show’s success resulted in a huge increase in book sales for Oseman: the Heartstopper series has now sold more than 6m copies worldwide. Volume One recently won the Books Are My Bag readers’ choice award and is a contender for the 2022... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2022-11-19 09:00:53 UTC ]
News tagged with: #adults alike #huge increase #book sales #recently won #bag readers #choice award #graphic novel #comic book

Other Publishing stories related to: 'Heartstopper author Alice Oseman: ‘If you don’t have sex and romance, you feel like you haven’t achieved’'


Heartstopper author Alice Oseman: ‘If you don’t have sex and romance, you feel like you haven’t achieved’

The writer and illustrator on turning her ‘weird hobby’ into a bestselling YA series and Netflix hit, the importance of asexual representation and lessons from her fans on love bitesAt 28, the author and illustrator Alice Oseman recently achieved what so many of her peers cannot: she bought a... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2022-11-19 09:00:53 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #adults alike #huge increase #book sales #recently won #bag readers #choice award #graphic novel #comic book


Black Romance Authors and Editors Share Their Passion for Love Stories

Amid ongoing challenges, Black authors and editors are creating the love stories they want to read. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-11-17 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #love stories #black authors


Don’t write what you know, write what you feel: bestselling authors offer tips on World Book Day

Malorie Blackman advises budding authors to pick up on news stories, but Julia Donaldson warns of pitfalls – and Alan Moore says you should read terrible books as well as good onesThe key to being a good writer? It’s being a good reader, authors including Carol Ann Duffy and Alan Moore have said... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-03-02 15:43:52 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #news stories #alan moore #lee child #important things #world book


Review: With 'Yerba Buena,' a top L.A. author of queer YA romance is all grown up

Nina LaCour's first novel for adults, "Yerba Buena," follows a promising and complicated lesbian love story in the mold of Sarah Waters. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-05-26 13:00:31 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #nina lacour #sarah waters #first novel


French author Alice Zeniter has won the eye-popping €100,000 Dublin Literary Award.

The Art of Losing (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) by French novelist Alice Zeniter has won the prestigious Dublin Literary Award, a prize which comes with a handsome glass trophy and the world’s largest purse for a single novel published in English—a whopping €100,000. Nominations for the Dublin... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-05-24 16:21:57 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #whopping €100 #public libraries #literary award


'I believe in romance': remembering Valerie Parv, the Australian author who sold 34 million books

The author of 70 novels translated into 29 languages, Valerie Parv has passed away just before her 70th birthday. Continue reading at The Conversation

[ The Conversation | 2021-04-30 05:02:04 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #70th birthday #australian author


Alice Oseman | 'It’s more of an episodic story, so I decided a comic would be a better format'

Nick and Charlie, the lead characters in graphic novel series Heartstopper, first appeared in Alice Oseman’s début Young Adult novel Solitaire. The pair were fairly minor characters, but almost as soon as she finished writing the book, she knew she wanted to expand on their story. “They have... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-02-05 10:51:49 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #alice oseman #lead characters #finished writing #graphic novel


Feeling moody? One author shares wisdom about halting those downward spirals.

In “The Book of Moods,” Lauren Martin borrows from cognitive therapy, Buddhism, New Age pop psychology and neuroscience. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-12-14 13:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Watch the L.A. Times Book Club's virtual meet-up with author Fanny Singer and chef Alice Waters

'Always Home' author Fanny Singer worries more about running out of garlic than toilet paper. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-04-22 22:32:48 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #virtual meet- #times book


Author Fanny Singer and chef Alice Waters talk food and family with L.A. Times Book Club

In a virtual meet-up, "Almost Home" author Fanny Singer and mother and famed chef Alice Waters join book club readers April 21 for a kitchen conversation. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-04-07 20:33:16 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #virtual meet- #book club #times book


RITA romance awards cancelled after race row sparks author boycott

The Romance Writers of America has cancelled its annual RITA awards ceremony after hundreds of authors staged a boycott over an ongoing race row. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-01-07 22:15:04 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #romance writers


Serpent's Tail signs two-book deal with debut author Alice Ash

Serpent’s Tail has acquired an "irresistibly surreal" debut short story collection by Alice Ash. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-11-26 21:39:09 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #debut author


S&S Children’s signs debut author and illustrator Alice McKinley

Simon & Schuster Children’s UK have signed a two-book deal with debut author and illustrator Alice McKinley, including Nine Lives Newton, which was the subject of a US pre-empt at the Bologna Book Fair. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-07-22 03:50:48 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #ss children #bologna book #debut author


See-Saw Films acquires screen rights to Oseman’s Heartstopper

Production company See-Saw Films has optioned the screen rights to Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper series of YA graphic novels. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-07-11 11:08:58 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #alice oseman #screen rights


Romance author Nora Roberts sues Brazilian writer, claiming plagiarism

Nora Roberts, one of the world's most successful romance novelists, has filed a lawsuit against author Cristiane Serruya, who she claims plagiarized her work, the Associated Press reported. In the lawsuit, filed in Serruya's home country of Brazil, Roberts claimed that Serruya's books are a... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-04-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #nora roberts #home country


Feeling anxious about that stack of books you haven’t read? This video wants to help you

Just in time for World Book Day, filmmaker Max Joseph delivers a visual essay that will soothe your reading FOMO. A recent study found that we spend more than a quarter of the day engaging with digital content. That means, on average, 8.8 hours a day are spent on social media, watching videos,... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2019-04-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #digital content #watching videos #younger generations


Allison & Busby bags historical romance by debut author Cooper

Indie publisher Allison & Busby has bagged a "wonderful" historical romance set on the Isle of Wight by debut author Heather Cooper. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-02-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Author Alice Walker under fire for endorsing book by 'anti-Semitic conspiracy theorist'

"The Color Purple" author Alice Walker last week endorsed a book by a British conspiracy theorist frequently accused of anti-Semitism, and literary observers are speaking out on social media. Walker, the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, poet and activist, was interviewed for the New York Times... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2018-12-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #color purple


Romance writer's bid to stop authors from using word 'cocky' fails in court

Self-published author Faleena Hopkins asserted her right to the word, but judge calls attempt to stop other authors using it ‘weak’ Romance writers around the world can breathe a sigh of relief after a US court ruled that they can continue to use the adjective “cocky” in their book titles, after... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2018-06-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book titles #trademark office #individual titles #common words


Romance so white? Publishers grapple with race issues amid author protests

New report exposes decline in diversity in romance writing, as editor resigns after telling author they avoid putting non-white characters on covers ‘because we like the book to sell’Readers, writers and editors of romance books are grappling with the genre’s record on diversity, after a week... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2018-03-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #romance writing #editor resigns #report found #romantic fiction