'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 ]
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Kindle Books to Be Loaned From Libraries Later This Year

Amazon said Wednesday that its popular Kindle e-reader will allow customers to borrow Kindle books from more than 11,000 U.S. libraries starting later this year. Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2011-04-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Helen Dunmore to write for Hammer

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Thu, 21/04/2011 - 10:29 Random House imprint Hammer has acquired the latest title by Orange-prize winner Helen Dunmore, in a special project for the Penguin author. Century and Arrow publisher Kate Elton bought UK and Commonwealth rights to The... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Spielberg to write for Palazzo retrospective

Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Wed, 20/04/2011 - 15:13 Palazzo Editions will publish a "major" retrospective of the work of Steven Spielberg in August 2012, written in co-operation with the director. Steven Spielberg: A Retrospective will be written by film critic and documentary... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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National Libraries Day could become a 'week of events'

Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Wed, 20/04/2011 - 07:27 A first planning meeting is to be held to establish a National Libraries Day, after widespread support for the idea from organisations including the Booksellers Association, the National Union of Teachers, Booktrust, The... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #royal society #widespread support #organisations including #booksellers association #national union #chartered institute #information professionals


Canongate reveals release date for J J Abrams novel

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Mon, 18/04/2011 - 15:11 Canongate will publish a book co-created by JJ Abrams, the man behind "Lost" and "Star Trek", next year after a deal was signed during London Book Fair. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publicist by Day, Poet by Night

Melissa Broder, Penguin Group publicity manager, who works on titles from the Berkley, NAL, Riverhead, and Perigee imprints, just signed a contract for her own second book, Meat Heart. The books she works on for Penguin are mostly women's fiction and nonfiction, but her own books are poetry.... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-04-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Tor pushes for China Miéville ‘year’

Written By: Katie Allen Publication Date: Fri, 15/04/2011 - 14:59 Tor is to rejacket three-times Arthur C Clarke Award-winning novelist China Miéville to coincide with publication of his latest novel, Embassytown, in hardback. The new look, on supermatt paper, is being rolled out across eight... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Americans drive "vibrant" first day of LBF

Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Tue, 12/04/2011 - 09:10 Optimism from across the Atlantic was evident during the opening day of the fair, as UK publishers fret over the effect of digital on physical sales. Agent Luigi Bonomi said the more advanced ebook market in the US was... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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LBF Day 1: rights round-up

Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Mon, 11/04/2011 - 16:10 A flurry of rights deals have been announced at this year's London Book Fair, with a Condoleeza Rice memoir and four Paullina Simons novels in the works. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Daily Will Release Subscriber Numbers Some Day That's Not Today [MediaMemo]

News Corp.'s Daily tablet newspaper had a high-profile launch in February, but didn't start charging customers until two weeks ago. So how's it selling? "We're happy with where we are," publisher Greg Clayman told the Ad Age Digital conference today. What about that study showing a marked... Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2011-04-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Tindal Street signs festival find

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Thu, 07/04/2011 - 08:59 Tindal Street Press has acquired a debut novel after discovering the author at a writing festival. Editor Luke Brown bought world rights to Robyn directly from author Deborah Morgan. He discovered her work when judging a... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Quercus acquires Hull-set crime novel

Publication Date: Wed, 06/04/2011 - 14:24 Quercus has won a "keenly contested" auction to a debut literary crime novel set in Hull and East Yorkshire. Editor Jon Riley acquired UK and Commonwealth rights excluding Canada to The Dark Winter from Oliver Munson at Blake Friedmann in a two-book... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Fears over access to children's poetry after Arts Council cuts

Written By: Caroline Horn Publication Date: Wed, 06/04/2011 - 09:37 Children's poetry is among the biggest losers in the children's literature sector following the recent cuts in Arts Council funding, it has emerged. As well as the Poetry Book Society (PBS) which has seen 100% of its funding... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sales soar in Mother's Day week

Written By: Philip Stone Publication Date: Tue, 05/04/2011 - 15:57 Substantial pre-orders and a plethora of half-price offers have lead Jean M Auel's sixth and final Earth's Children installment, The Land of Painted Caves (Hodder), to be the bestselling book in the UK last week, scoring 39,513... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Arts Council defends Poetry Book Society cuts

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Mon, 04/04/2011 - 09:16 The Arts Council has defended its funding cut to the Poetry Book Society (PBS), claiming its "reach and distribution was not as wide or effective as other applicants'". In a letter to the Times, Antonia Byatt, director of... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Blackwell Group halves losses within a year

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Thu, 31/03/2011 - 09:14 Blackwell UK hopes to become profitable in two years, after nearly halving its operating losses to £5.6m. The academic bookseller’s year-end results to 26th June 2010 show the company has narrowed its operating losses from... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Fourth Estate to publish next Tan novel

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Wed, 30/03/2011 - 14:55 Fourth Estate will publish the latest novel by The Joy Luck Club author Amy Tan after HarperCollins bought The Valley of Amazement. Publication date for the novel is expected to be autumn 2012. Daniel Halpern, president and... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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S&S and Templar among Bologna day one dealmakers

Written By: Caroline Horn and Benedicte Page Publication Date: Mon, 28/03/2011 - 16:07 Simon and Schuster UK and Templar have announced deals on the first day of the Bologna Book Fair, as Walker Books reveals a new digital partnership. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Forbes wins £50k Warwick Prize for Writing

Publication Date: Wed, 23/03/2011 - 07:50 Writer, journalist and editor Peter Forbes' exploration of mimicry and camouflage in nature, art and warfare has been awarded the £50,000 Warwick Prize for Writing. His Dazzled and Deceived (Yale University Press) was described by chair of judges... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Indiebound in Mother's Day push

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Fri, 18/03/2011 - 16:25 Posters reminding book buyers that "Mum's The Word" are being made available for indie retailers to encourage Mother's Day sales. The Booksellers Association has produced a series of designs, which can be downloaded and... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #indie retailers #day sales #booksellers association