How Minecraft has bewitched 40 million of us

The worldwide domination of Markus Persson's building-blocks game is a triumph for the power of human imaginationA funny thing happened on the way to this column. Browsing idly through the Publishers Weekly site, I came on the list of the Nielsen bestselling books of 2014 (so far) in the US. The Top 20 list was dominated by "young adult" fiction, books such as Divergent by Veronica Roth and John Green's The Fault in Our Stars, plus the usual movie tie-ins. At No 9 ,there's a religious book, Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence by missionary Sarah Young. At No 11 is Heaven is for Real ("A little boy's astounding story of his trip to Heaven and back").Two slots further down there's a "junior novelisation" of the Disney film, Frozen. At No 15 is an "activity book", complete with 50 stickers, based on the same film. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2014-08-03 00:00:00 UTC ]

Other news stories related to: "How Minecraft has bewitched 40 million of us"


US stats show children's dominating 2014

Children's books dominated the top of the US book charts in 2014, Nielsen BookScan's full-year statistics have revealed. Seven children's titles hit the number one spot last year and claimed pole position for 39 of the 52 weeks ending 28th December. This included an unbroken run of 15 weeks... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


‘The Fault in Our Stars’ Tops Print And Digital

Led by John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars, the top of the 2014 print bestseller list was dominated by children’s and young adult titles that sold more than one million copies. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-01-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Bestselling books 2014: the kids are all right

Books for children and young adults are top of the league, bagging seven of this year’s top 10, but non-fiction has endured another annus horribilisSee the chart in fullAt long last, kids ruled in 2014. Books aimed at them have often figured in the top 10 of the all-year sales chart for printed... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-12-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


5% uplift for US publisher revenues

US publishers have reported a sales revenues rise of nearly 5% across 2014, mainly fuelled by the success of children's and young adult. Figures released by the Association of American Publishers (AAP), covering the first nine months of the year, show that across publishing as a whole,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Should the Young Adult Book Category Be Rebranded?

The book term 'young adult' is generally disliked by both teen readers and adult fans. But is there a better alternative? The post Should the Young Adult Book Category Be Rebranded? appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-12-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Zoella keeps top spot in Christmas-fuelled charts

YouTube star Zoe Sugg, aka Zoella, shrugged off a mild ghostwriting controversy to retain the top spot of the UK Official Top 50 for the second straight week, with her Young Adult novel Girl Online (Penguin) becoming 2014's fastest selling book. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Apple iBooks Store: The Most Downloaded Titles of 2014

Books by John Green and Michael Lewis were the most-downloaded paid titles in the iBooks store this year. James Patterson topped the free download list. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-12-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Zoella smashes first week début record

YouTube sensation Zoe Sugg has eclipsed superstars such J K Rowling, Dan Brown and E L James to record the biggest first week sale for a début since records began. Sugg, known as Zoella on her fashion and beauty vlog, which has over five million subscribers, shifted 78,109 copies of her Young... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Fault in Our Stars author backs literature diversity campaign

We need to reflect the reality of our communities, says The Fault in Our Stars writer John Green in video backing social media-led We Need Diverse Books campaignAll readers need to know that they too can be the heroes of a story, according to the bestselling author of The Fault in Our Stars,... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-10-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Kinsella YA Novel Coming

Random House Children’s Books imprint Delacorte Press has acquired U.S. rights to 'Finding Audrey,' the first young adult novel from the author of the bestselling Shopaholic series, Sophie Kinsella Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-10-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Canadian Bestsellers: Canadian Publishing 2014

John Green and Veronica Roth have ruled the U.S. bestseller list for most of 2014, and the two authors have also dominated the Canadian juvenile list for the year to date. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-09-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Inspired by John Green, bookstores celebrate Esther Day

Esther Day is celebrated on Aug. 3, the birthday of teenager Esther Earl, with whom 'The Fault in Our Stars' author Green became acquainted before she died in 2010. Earl suggested the holiday center on 'the kinds of love that are too often overlooked in our culture: love among friends and... Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-08-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


How Minecraft has bewitched 40 million of us

The worldwide domination of Markus Persson's building-blocks game is a triumph for the power of human imaginationA funny thing happened on the way to this column. Browsing idly through the Publishers Weekly site, I came on the list of the Nielsen bestselling books of 2014 (so far) in the US. The... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-08-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


John Green's novels will stay in Wisconsin, Florida schools

Parents complained about Green's books 'Looking for Alaska' and 'Paper Towns,' but a school committee in Wisconsin decided not to remove 'Alaska' and 'Towns' was taken off a reading list in Florida, then restored.  Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-07-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Green Tops In Spain in June

In the run up to the July 4 release of the film adaptation of The Fault in Our Stars in Spain, John Green’s novel jumped four places on the country’s fiction list, landing in the top spot for June. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Children's leads US 2014 print revival

The success of John Green and Veronica Roth has lifted the children's market in the USA to a... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-07-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Nadine Dorries' novel The Four Streets reaches No 1 in the charts

Ebook sales for the Conservative MP in May topped 100,000, ahead of John Green and Jo NesboDigested read: The Four Streets by Nadine DorriesExtract: The Four StreetsNadine Dorries' first novel, a "heartbreaking family saga set in 1950s Liverpool", has sold more than 100,000 copies, according to... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-07-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Young adult books: 'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty' author James Thurber picks the best YA titles

Beyond John Green and Veronica Roth: James Thurber compiled his own list of books that he thought young adults might enjoy, and his picks still hold up today. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-07-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


John Green's 'Looking for Alaska' to be adapted to film

"The Fault in Our Stars" author announced that Sarah Polley has been chosen by Paramount to write and direct a film based on his YA book, 'Looking for Alaska.' Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-06-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Rumble Fish

Long before the best-seller lists were dominated by John Green, Veronica Roth, and Stephenie Meyer, there was S.E. Hinton. Her novel The Outsiders—written when Hinton was only 15—revolutionized the young adult publishing world, causing teenage readers to demand books that reflected the realities... Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2014-06-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this