'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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Extensive marketing campaign planned for new Ness novel

Walker is printing exclusive editions of Patrick Ness’ new novel, The Rest of Us Just Live Here, as part of its sales and marketing campaign.   The special editions (priced £12.99) are case-bound and hardback, and come with a special print. The first 1,000 copies can be pre-ordered through... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Pullman blasts government over status of arts in schools

Author Philip Pullman has said the UK is run by “philistines and barbarians” as government plans appear to reduce the status of arts subjects in secondary schools. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #arts subjects #secondary schools #government plans


'Heavy hitting' campaign for new Boyd novel

Bloomsbury has promised a “high profile and heavy hitting” marketing campaign for the global release of William Boyd’s new novel Sweet Caress next week (27th August). The publisher said marketing plans include a “major” National Rail advertising campaign, third party partnerships, national... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #william boyd #high profile #global release #sweet caress


Authonomy writing community closed by HarperCollins

The peer-review site for budding authors, which generated publishing contracts for some of its members, is to close at the end of SeptemberAuthors are mourning the closure of Authonomy, the online community for would-be writers set up by HarperCollins seven years ago as a way to source new... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-08-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #online community #cory doctorow #including works #miranda dickinson #steven dunne #kat french


The State of the Magazine Media Business, Mid-Year 2015

12 top industry leaders see opportunity amid a “fog of choices.” The post The State of the Magazine Media Business, Mid-Year 2015 appeared first on Folio:. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2015-08-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Laurence King hires Valli as art commissioning editor

Marc Valli, managing director of the independent book and gift shop Magma and editor-in-chief of Elephant contemporary art magazine, has been appointed as art commissioning editor at Laurence King Publishing. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Debut novel wins oldest book prize

Zia Haider Rahman's debut novel In the Light of What We Know wins the prestigious James Tait Prize for fiction. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2015-08-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Kerr pens first children’s novel since 1978

HarperCollins Children’s Books will publish Judith Kerr’s Mister Cleghorn’s Seal this September, her first children’s novel since 1978’s A Small Person Far Away.  Mister Cleghorn’s Seal, which HarperCollins is fast-tracking for publication in September, is inspired by the author’s father, who... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Solid' Quarto half-year revenues rise 1%

The chief executive of The Quarto Group, Marcus Leaver, said the company achieved a “solid” set of results in the first half of the year, with revenues rising 1% compared to the same period a year earlier.   For the six months ending 30th June 2015, revenues totalled $66.2m (£42.4m), 1% higher... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Better Together: SparkPoint, She Writes Press

Almost one year after SparkPoint Studio acquired the hybrid publisher She Writes Press, the purchase is providing the type of synergy that SparkPoint CEO Crystal Patriarche had hoped for. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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FT/McKinsey Business Book of the Year Longlist Announced

Fifteen titles have made the cut for the 2015 longlist of the FT/McKinsey Business Book of the Year, last year won by Brad Stone's "The Everything Store." The post FT/McKinsey Business Book of the Year Longlist Announced appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-08-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Oyelowo named narrator for new Bond novel

Actor and director David Oyelowo has been named as the narrator of the audiobook edition of Anthony Horowitz’s forthcoming James Bond novel, Trigger Mortis (Orion). Oyelowo is known for roles in theatre, film, radio and television. This year he received a Golden Globe Best Actor Award... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #audiobook edition #anthony horowitz #golden globe #ian fleming


Spy The Unsung Psychedelic Pop-Art Landscapes Of Roy Lichtenstein

A new exhibition chronicles the iconic artist's lesser known fascination with sea and sky.Roy Lichtenstein was once derided as the "worst artist in America," but time has proven him to be synonymous with 1960s Pop Art and cemented him in the annals of art history. After all, good art typically... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2015-08-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #art history #status quo #comic books


Find Waldo Local: Four Years of Searching

For the fourth year in a row, the American Booksellers Association partnered with Candlewick Press to Find Waldo Local. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Anti-whaling novel wins top prize at children's book awards

A novel with an anti-whaling message has taken the title of the Margaret Mahy Book of the Year at the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. Continue reading at Stuff

[ Stuff | 2015-08-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Fairfax Media reports a 62.9% drop in full-year profit after 5.3% fall in revenue

Despite a 45% increase in revenue from its Domain real estate advertising, publisher of the Sydney Morning Herald was unable to offset print decline• News Corp sees strong growth in digital real estate services and book publishingFairfax Media has reported a 62.9% drop in full-year profit to... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-08-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Mandy Hager wins 2015 Margaret Mahy Book of the Year

A story about a teen and an Orca has taken a top prize and judges said the author was "writing out of her skin". Continue reading at Stuff

[ Stuff | 2015-08-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Harlequin Makes HC's Year

Eleven months of results from Harlequin helped to offset the strong performance of Divergent in fiscal 2014 giving HarperCollins a 16% increase in revenue for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2015 over fiscal 2014 while EBITDA rose 12%. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Saltaire Bookshop to close after takings drop to £2 a day

Saltaire Bookshop will close in six months unless local customers rally to support it, its owner has said. The independent, based in the World Heritage site of Saltaire in West Yorkshire, tweeted last week: “Six month countdown begins today - unless we start getting more customers x.” Owner... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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First Look: David Petersen Talks ‘The Art of Mouse Guard’

Mouse Guard creator David Petersen talks about his evolution as an artist, as seen in this exclusive excerpt from 'The Art of Mouse Guard.' Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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