'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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Chapman: S&S UK's 'challenging' year

S&S UK has seen a "challenging year" which has not been helped by a number of staffing changes, its c.e.o Ian Chapman has told The Bookseller.  The c.e.o and publisher of S&S UK and International was speaking following the release of S&S's global results by its parent company CBS on... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-02-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #challenging year #ian chapman #ss uk #sales drop #operating profit


Nick Hornby writes first TV drama Love, Nina

Author of Fever Pitch is adapting a book of the same name based on the memoirs of Nina Stibble, a nanny who worked for some of London’s leading literary lightsThe author of Fever Pitch, Nick Hornby, is penning his first TV drama, based on the memoirs of a nanny who worked for some of the leading... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-02-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #literary london #nina stibbe #award-winning book #fever pitch #nick hornby #tv drama #leading lights #half-hour episodes


Valentine's Day: Bookstores take part in celebrations

One store is having staff act out famous rom-com bookstore scenes, while another is giving a prize to someone with a great love story. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-02-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Chatto pre-empts Scream-inspired novel

Chatto & Windus has pre-empted a debut novel inspired by Edvard Munch’s painting The Scream. Publishing director Clara Farmer acquired world rights to The Strawberry Girl by Lisa Strømme from Bill Hamilton at A M Heath. The novel is set in 1893 in a small fishing community in the Norwegian... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-02-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #chatto windus #bill hamilton #young girl


Booktrust made LBF charity of the year

Reading charity Booktrust has been chosen as The London Book Fair’s Charity of the Year for 2015, the year of Booktrust's 90th anniversary. Benefits will include promotion and marketing support in the lead-up to the Fair and at the event itself, as well as year-round promotion and an... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-02-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #90th anniversary #marketing support


Scribd Adds 10,000 Comics and Graphic Novels

Ebook subscription service Scribd has expanded its library to one million titles with the recent addition of more than 10,000 comic books and graphic novels. The post Scribd Adds 10,000 Comics and Graphic Novels appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-02-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #graphic novels #million titles


Time Inc. CEO: No Mergers Until at Least Next Year

Don't expect Time Inc. to merge with any of its magazine rivals soon.Time Inc. CEO Joe Ripp told investors Thursday that no mergers would happen until at least June 2016, which is the two-year anniversary of Time Inc. spinning off from Time Warner."The safest thing is to wait two years," he... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2015-02-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Indie Book Day backed by bookshops and publishers

Indie Book Day is set to make a mark on the UK this year after starting in Germany two years ago and quickly spreading across Europe. The campaign – which hopes to become comparable to the American Record Store Day event, but for books – wants readers to flock to independent bookshops on 21st... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-02-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #independent bookshops #independent publisher


Inferno is UK's most-borrowed novel

Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code follow-up Inferno was the most-borrowed book in UK libraries last year, while James Paterson was the most popular author. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2015-02-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Digital Love Stories for Valentine’s Day from Africa

Nigerian romance publisher Ankara Press has produced a free digital Valentine’s Day Story Anthology featuring several of Africa's top writers. The post Digital Love Stories for Valentine’s Day from Africa appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-02-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #africa appeared


'Into the Wild' author Jon Krakauer will write a book about sexual assaults on campus

Jon Krakauer's upcoming book 'Missoula' will center on stories he was told by those who said they experienced sexual assault at the University of Montana. Krakauer is also the author of 'Into Thin Air.' Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-02-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Karen Joy Fowler novel to Serpent's Tail

Serpent’s Tail is to bring out a novel by Karen Joy Fowler, Sister Noon, which appeared in the US in 2002 but which has never been published in the UK before. The indie publisher had success last autumn with Fowler’s Man Booker Prize-shortlisted novel We Are All Completely Beside... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-02-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Do you love Amazon? There's a Valentine's Day sale going on

Amazon, originally known as a book seller, has become an all-around retail super store with a growing list of its own electronics. Sales are not infrequent as the company tries to push its devices, in many cases selling them at a loss with plans to make up the money once the customer is... Continue reading at Betanews

[ Betanews | 2015-02-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #day sale #book seller #growing list #special gift


Scribd Adds Comics, Graphic Novels

Through agreements with such comics publishers as Marvel and IDW, the ebook subscription service will add more than 10,000 comics and graphic novels to its inventory. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-02-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #comics publishers #graphic novels


Cardiff's 'strong message' on National Libraries Day

Library campaigners in Cardiff believe they "sent a strong message" to the city council with a National Libraries Day protest against planned cuts to the service. More than 200 people gathered outside the city's Central Library on Saturday (7th February) to hold a mass "read-in", with people... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-02-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #city council #library campaigners #planned cuts #central library #favourite books


The great internet swindle: ever get the feeling you've been cheated?

The internet was meant to liberate and empower its users. But the real effect has been to create vast monopolies and turn us into victims, argues web sceptic Andrew Keen in his controversial new book The Internet is Not the AnswerDuring every minute of every day of 2014, according to Andrew... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-02-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Celebration and protest marks National Libraries Day

Around 700 events took place to celebrate National Libraries Day on Saturday (7th February), 100 more than the previous year, according to CILIP, the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, which now organises the day. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-02-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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No Second Year for Toronto Book Fair

The Inspire! Toronto International Book Fair, which launched last November as a three-day consumer event, will not be held again in 2015. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-02-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Harper Lee's 'lost' novel was intended to complete a trilogy, says agent

Agent reveals plan for abandoned third novel and dismisses manipulation claims as ‘nonsense’Harper Lee’s agent revealed on Thursday that To Kill a Mockingbird was originally intended to be the first of a three-book series, and described as “total nonsense” claims that the 88-year-old author was... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-02-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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How European publishers set their tech priorities for the year

European executives from Mashable, Quartz, Dennis, RTE and Sanoma share their tech priorities for the coming year. The post How European publishers set their tech priorities for the year appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2015-02-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #coming year #year appeared