'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

Other Publishing stories related to: ''I've never felt less festive': the art of writing Christmas novels, 365 days a year'

Elmore Leonard's unpublished stories to be published next year

From small-town New Mexico to a military base in Kuala Lumpur, publisher promises 'razor-sharp dialogue and headlong pacing'A collection of previously unpublished short stories by the late Elmore Leonard will be released next year, his publisher has said. Continue reading... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-07-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #publisher promises #elmore leonard #military base #kuala lumpur

Okwiri Oduor Wins 15th Caine Prize for African Writing

Kenyan Okwiri Oduor has won the 15th Caine Prize for African Writing, often described as Africa’s leading literary award. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-07-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #african writing

12 Great Graphic Novel Adaptations

Everything from novels to movies, video games, and even government reports have been given the graphic novel treatment. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #video games

Panel Mania: Jamie Coe and the Tribulations of 'Art Schooled'

Nobrow Press continues its strong of notable releases with 'Art Schooled', the vivid debut graphic novel of English cartoonist Jamie Coe. Please note this preview is for mature readers and NSFW. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #notable releases

Comics, Graphic Novels Market Hit $870 Million in 2013

Led by book format comics with $415 million in sales, the North American comics and graphic novel marketplace generated $870 million in sales in 2013, according to a new estimate by ICV2 and Comichron. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |

Creator of Scott Pilgrim Finally Returns With New Graphic Novel Seconds

More than 10 years after the first Scott Pilgrim book came out, O'Malley is back with Seconds, his first new graphic novel since the series ended. Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2014-07-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |

Chicago Indie Bookstore Day A Huge Success

Despite torrential rains, the first Chicago Independent Bookstore Day on July 12 was a huge success that exceeded all expectations, participating indie booksellers told PW. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #huge success #torrential rains

Don't put your daughter on the page. She'll only earn a measly 11k a year

A survey of nearly 2,500 writers has shown that median income of a working author last year was just £11,000, down by 29% since 2005A new breed of publishing event, a secretive curtain-raiser, designed to tease the book trade and the critics, is to take place somewhere in London on Monday... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-07-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #median income #publishing event #book trade #monday evening #profit margins

Owen Sheers wins Book of the Year

Poet Owen Sheers wins Wales Book of the Year for his work about three young soldiers who are deployed to Afghanistan. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2014-07-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |

For Lynne Rienner, 30 Years and Counting

The year was 1984, and things were about to get interesting for a young publishing executive at the academic Westview Press, in Colorado, named Lynne Rienner. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |

Chicago Mayor Sets City's Independent Bookstore Day

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel issued an official proclamation earlier this week, declaring Saturday, July 12 to be Chicago Independent Bookstore Day. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |

Penguin Random House to Sponsor California Bookstore Day

Just days ahead of Chicago Bookstore Day on July 12, California Bookstore Day, which inspired it, announced a new sponsor. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #days ahead

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 | News stories tagged with: #nadine dorries #ebook sales #conservative mp #john green

Microsoft gives away almost 300 ebooks -- master Windows 8.1, Office 365, and much more

Eric Ligman, Microsoft Senior Sales Excellence Manager, has released a whole new batch of free ebooks, covering topics such as Windows 8 and 8.1, Windows 7, Office 2013 and Office 365, Azure, Lync 2013, and SQL Server. There are ebooks and resource guides for all things Microsoft. For the past... Continue reading at Betanews

[ Betanews | 2014-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #free ebooks #eric ligman #resource guides

Rowling writes story about 30-plus Harry Potter

J K Rowling has written a new piece about a thirty-something Harry Potter and his friends at the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #harry potter

Five Finalists Named in Amazon Novel Contest

The judges have winnowed down 10,000 entries to the top five. Consumers vote on the grand prize winner from today through July 18. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #finalists named

Chipping Norton festival offers profit share to authors

Chipping Norton Literary Festival is to split its profits with authors in lieu of paying... Continue reading at The Bookseller

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

ALA Awards 2014 Will Eisner Graphic Novel Grants for Libraries

Michigan’s Ypsilanti District Library and Montana’s Lewis & Clark Library were both awarded 2014 Will Eisner Graphic Novel Grants for Libraries at the recent American Library Association convention in Las Vegas. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #las vegas

Mobile Ads Will Surpass Print and Radio This Year

Yes, there's money to be made in mobile advertising. New York-based eMarketer predicts mobile will account for 9.8 percent of the total United States ads marketplace this year, surpassing newspapers (9.3 percent), magazines (8.4 percent) and radio (8.6 percent). Brands are spending 83 percent... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2014-07-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #advertising marketplace #research company #tv advertising