'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 12 Comics of Christmas

Here are a dozen Christmas comics—both naughty and nice, promising to entertain or, at least, suffice. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-12-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Books of the Year: Newspaper review round-up

Last year marked our first round up of the numerous “books of the year” features across the media. It saw a total of 660 books being touted by various critics, writers and celebrities. This year, our spreadsheet collating the reviews boasts 910 titles that have been recommended across several... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #year features #year marked


Harris to chair Costa Book of the Year judges

Author Robert Harris will chair the judging panel for the 2014 Costa Book of the Year. He will be joined by writers Maggie O’Farrell, Bernadine Evaristo, Jonathan Stroud, Owen Sheers and Wendy Moore, actress Dame Diana Rigg, the BBC’s economics editor Robert Peston, and actress Samantha... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #jonathan stroud #owen sheers #costa book #category winners


Call for indies to fill out Christmas Trading Survey

The Bookseller is running its annual Christmas Trading Survey once again to gauge a picture of the Christmas market for indie booksellers in the UK and Ireland. The survey is now live and probes how sales compared with last year, if deliveries held up and what books proved great Christmas hits... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #christmas market #indie booksellers #hot topics


The Year’s Fattest Cookbooks

From 'How to Cook Everything Fast' to an authoritative collection of Mexican recipes, here's a look at a few of the hefty cookbooks of 2014. ] Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-12-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Curtis Brown digital arm Studio 28 launches next year

Curtis Brown Literary and Talent Agency will officially launch its digital publishing arm, Studio 28, in March next year. Studio 28 will publish in the UK and other territories, seeking rights from authors already on the agency’s books or “rediscovering and reinventing literary gems from 100... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #talent agency #officially launch


The Bookseller's Books of the Year

The main question we asked when compiling the second Books of the Year list, was: what are these sort of lists good for? Until last year, in its previous 155 years The Bookseller eschewed this kind of listing, partially because it was felt that, as the august Organ of the book trade, we were to... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #year list #book trade


William Boyd's next novel 'most daring yet'

Bloomsbury has signed a global deal for the next novel by William Boyd, titled Sweet Caress. Editor in chief Alexandra Pringle signed world English rights, excluding Canada, on behalf of Bloomsbury UK and US in a deal with Jonny Geller at Curtis Brown and Amanda Urban at ICM. The book will be... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bloomsbury uk #global deal #william boyd #jonny geller #curtis brown #amanda urban #absolutely thrilled


Gino D'Acampo writes vegetarian cookbook

Chef Gino D’Acampo is to write a vegetarian cookbook for Hodder & Stoughton. Gino’s Veg Italia! The Healthy Way to Eat Like an Italian will be D’Acampo’s first exclusively meat-free book. Lifestyle publisher Nicky Ross commissioned the title in a two-book deal with agent Jeremy Hicks of... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #chef gino #vegetarian cookbook #hodder stoughton #home country


Slate, Whiting Team Up to Celebrate Sophomore Novels

The Whiting Foundation and the Slate Book Review have joined forces on a new campaign that, according to the two partners, aims to "breathe new life into second novels." This year, the initiative, We Second That, recognizes five of the "greatest second novels of the last five years." Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-12-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #joined forces


Fifty libraries have closed in the UK this year

The UK has lost nearly 50 libraries over the past year, according to full figures released today (11th December) by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA). Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #chartered institute #public finance #accountancy cipfa


Kinney takes US top spot again as Christmas sales surge 26%

As the Christmas rush got underway, the US book market surged again last week with print volumes increasing by 26% week on week. Overall, just over 20m book sales registered through Nielsen BookScan in the seven days ending 7th December. Jeff Kinney's The Long Haul (Amulet), enjoys another... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #chart-topping week #christmas rush #nielsen bookscan #jeff kinney


Small loss for Faber in 'tough' year

Faber saw a sharp drop in turnover for the year ending March 2014, and made a small operating loss for the year. The independent publisher recorded a turnover for the year of £16.3m, down 18% from £20m in the previous year. From an operating profit of £2.3m in the year to end March 2013, the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #small loss #operating profit #operating loss


Bloomsbury Announces New William Boyd Novel

William Boyd has moved to Bloomsbury for his next novel. The British author, who was at HarperCollins, will release 'Sweet Caress' with his new publisher in September 2015. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-12-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #william boyd #british author #sweet caress


Iceland’s Jólabókaflóð: The Christmas Book Flood

In Iceland, the holiday season sees more than 800 books published and is responsible for 60-70% of all book sales in the country. The post Iceland’s Jólabókaflóð: The Christmas Book Flood appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-12-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book sales


Wiley half-year revenue up 5%

John Wiley & Sons has reported a 6% rise year-on-year in second quarter revenue to $477m, due to growth in its Research and Education divisions, up 5% and 3% respectively, as well as to contributions from its recent acquisitions CrossKnowledge and Profiles International. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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JK Rowling crime novels to be adapted for BBC series

Crime novels The Cuckoo’s Calling and The Silkworm, written under the author’s pseudonym, to form the basis of new dramaThe BBC will adapt the crime novels written by JK Rowling under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, its second collaboration with the Harry Potter author.The Cuckoo’s Calling, the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-12-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #jk rowling #bbc series #crime novels #huge bestseller


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 | News stories tagged with: #aka zoella #straight week #young adult


Unseen Dredd art to be published

Previously unseen sketches of one of the UK's best-known comic book characters are to be published for the first time. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2014-12-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Zoella retreats from web amid row about ghostwritten novel Girl Online

YouTube blogger Zoe Sugg asks fans for patience while she takes a few days off, saying book controversy was ‘clouding up my brain’The YouTube blogger Zoella has revealed she is temporarily quitting the internet amid controversy over her record-breaking debut novel.Zoe Sugg’s Girl Online, about a... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-12-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #girl online #book controversy #record-breaking debut #zoe sugg #american musician #week -