'I've never felt less festive': the art of writing Christmas novels, 365 days a year

Drinking sherry, bingeing Downton Abbey ... how authors keep up the spirit of the season, even when writing during heatwaves and a nightmarish ChristmasChristmas novels are not a new phenomenon. Charles Dickens sold out of his first print run of A Christmas Carol in days in December 1843, while Agatha Christie played on seasonal stresses with titles including The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding in 1923 and Hercule Poirot’s Christmas in 1938. But these days, there are acres of festive crime and rags-to-riches romances under the mistletoe to choose from. All tastes are catered for, whether it’s a love of trains (Edward Marston’s Victorian railway detective story A Christmas Railway Mystery), religion (Unlikely Santa: An Amish Christmas Story) or even festive erotica. Ebook retailer Smashwords stocks romance titles including The Old Dragon of the Mountain’s Christmas, and the inventive-sounding A Cyborg’s Old Terran Christmas. (“Interstellar bride Nell and her three children are forced to enter space-sleep capsules in the hope of surviving a calamity. She wakes over 700 years later on a ship of cyborg warriors. In this strange environment, Nell can’t imagine what their future will hold, but she is determined to keep her promise and make Christmas for her children.”)It may sound futuristic, but it is part of a long tradition beloved by readers. As Christina Storey at Allison & Busby, an independent publisher whose titles this year range from Anna Jacobs’ Christmas in... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2020-12-17 15:22:04 UTC ]
News tagged with: #print run #allison busby #wonderful time #independent publisher

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The day I met EL Doctorow: from Persian translations to his view of a writer's duty

After celebrated novelist’s death last week, Saeed Kamali Dehghan remembers an interview with him on everything from books to Iran’s copyright infringementMost famous writers don’t have a clue that their work has been translated into Persian and that they are literary celebrities in Iran. When... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-07-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #eventually find #copyright protection


Boris Johnson to write Shakespeare biography

Boris Johnson is to write a biography of William Shakespeare for Hodder & Stoughton for October 2016. The publisher has confirmed the deal, which was reported in the Sunday Times to have been done for £500,000. The newspaper reported that Johnson’s advance was almost seven times his salary... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #hodder stoughton #sunday times #boris johnson #william shakespeare #winston churchill #nielsen bookscan


South Carolina Cancels Book Festival

After nearly 20 years of connecting authors and readers, the South Carolina Book Festival has been cancelled and will be replaced by smaller, statewide events. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #connecting authors


Andrew McCarthy will make his fiction debut with a young adult novel

Good news for '80s kids who preferred Blane McDonough to Duckie Dale: "Pretty in Pink" star Andrew McCarthy, who went from Brat Pack actor to travel writer and television director, is coming out with his first novel. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2015-07-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #fiction debut #young adult #television director


Does the age of an author matter when writing YA fiction?

The Book Doctor goes right back to beginnings of YA and teen fiction in the 1950s and 1960s to investigate whether author age has anything to do with reader experienceI saw several really young writers at the Young Adult Literature Convention (Yalc) who seem to know just what their readers are... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-07-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #teen fiction #young writers #young authors #malorie blackman #helena coggan #role models


Jane Furze to step down from Cheltenham Literature Festival role

Jane Furze is to step down as literature festival director for the Cheltenham Literature Festival after four years in the post. A statement from the board of Cheltenham Festivals said it was announcing the news “sadly”. Furze said she was leaving to “allow myself some time out”. She will step... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #cheltenham festivals #30th september #takes place #11th october #significant contribution


Two Roads acquires novel about Vanderbilt women

Two Roads is to publish a book reimagining the lives of three women from the Vanderbilt family. Publisher Lisa Highton bought UK rights for the currently untitled book by Therese Anne Fowler from Jenny Meyer on behalf of Wendy Sherman. The book will “take readers from the extravagant world of... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #untitled book #jenny meyer #gilded age #jazz age


Translating Steve Jobs’ Life into a Graphic Novel

Jessie Hartland knew many people interested in Steve Jobs wouldn't read Walter Isaacson’s 630-page biography, so she depicted Job's life in a graphic novel. The post Translating Steve Jobs’ Life into a Graphic Novel appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-07-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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At Jewish Lights, Two Graphic Novels Exceed Expectations

Two graphic novels by Steve Sheinkin and former 'Village Voice' cartoonist Stan Mack each took the publishing world by surprise after becoming bestsellers for Jewish Lights recently. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #jewish lights #graphic novels #village voice #publishing world


Jaipur Lit Festival Expands to Colorado, Marginalized Americans

The ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival comes to Boulder, Colorado this September and will focus on on Native American, Latino literature and more. The post Jaipur Lit Festival Expands to Colorado, Marginalized Americans appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-07-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Southbank releases literature festival line up

A four-day live reading of Herman Melville’s Moby Dick featuring actors and writers including Liza Klaussmann, Chibundu Onuzo and A L Kennedy will be among the events at Southbank Centre’s London Literature Festival. The festival, which takes place from 28th September to 12th October, will also... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #chibundu onuzo #southbank centre #takes place #28th september #12th october #world premiere #poetry readings #short film


'We've Gone Headlong': Inside Time Inc.'s Video Strategy

Over the past two years Time Inc., the magazine company, has attempted to position itself as Time Inc., the digital content brand.   Core to the push has been video, which Time Inc. has produced in multiple forms. On the Web, its video team, now ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2015-07-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #years time #video strategy #video team #magazine company


Amazon breaks global sales record on Prime Day

Amazon said sales during its first ever Prime Day broke global records, receiving 398 orders per second across Prime-eligible countries.   Sales on 15th July or Prime Day – when the retailer offered heavy discounts to encourage shoppers to sign up to Amazon Prime membership – were 18% higher... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #prime day #15th july


Scribner acquires "powerful" French novel from Tuil

Scribner has acquired a novel by French novelist and playwright Karine Tuil called The Age of Reinvention. Editorial director Rowan Cope acquired British Commonwealth rights from Heidi Warneke at Editions Grasset & Fasquelle for Scribner UK. The novel will be published by Peter Borland at... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #french novelist #scribner uk #atria books #english translation #sam taylor


National Journal Magazine to Cease Publication By Year’s End

Resources to be redirected to faster-moving digital and daily products. The post National Journal Magazine to Cease Publication By Year’s End appeared first on Folio:. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2015-07-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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What did you buy for Prime Day?

Well, July 15th is behind us and Amazon's promise of deals bigger than Black Friday. If you were looking for Christmas in July, did you get it? I wasn't that impressed with the selection of Lightning Deals and exclusives, but perhaps you were. Or not. My purchase, and call me crazy (some... Continue reading at Betanews

[ Betanews | 2015-07-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #prime day #black friday #lightning deals #kindle unlimited #personal library


'Establishment' is Blackwell's Book of Year

Blackwell’s has named Owen Jones’s The Establishment (Penguin) as its Book of the Year 2015. The company’s employees were asked to vote for their winner from a shortlist of six, namely Atul Gawande’s Being Mortal (Profile Books), Emma Healey’s Elizabeth Is Missing (Penguin), The Buried Giant by... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #atul gawande #emma healey #missing penguin


First-day sales for Harper Lee 'top 105k'

Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman (William Heinemann) racked up first-day sales in the UK of over 105,000 copies, across print and digital editions, according to publisher Penguin Random House. Meanwhile Waterstones' own sales for the title are approaching 30,000, m.d. James Daunt told The... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #first-day sales #harper lee #digital editions


Historic Day One Sales for 'Watchman'

Barnes & Noble and Book-A-Million have both pronounced that 'Go Set a Watchman' had the largest first day sale of any adult fiction book in the history of both retailers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #historic day #barnes noble #day sale


Go Set a Watchman's UK sales top 100,000 in one day

Harper Lee’s ‘parent novel’ to To Kill a Mockingbird sets tills ringing despite ambivalent receptionDespite the widespread doubts over the decision to publish Go Set A Watchman, and despite the cries of horror that went up around the world over the weekend as readers discovered that the godlike... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-07-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #atticus finch #william heinemann #wednesday morning #news agenda #publishing history