'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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How to Write a Science Fiction Novel

In this post, learn how to write a science fiction novel from beginning to end, including 4 approaches for the first chapter of your novel, tips for writing about fictional technology, writing dystopian fiction, writing a science fiction series, and more. The post How to Write a Science Fiction... Continue reading at Writer's Digest

[ Writer's Digest | 2019-08-13 22:00:55 UTC ]
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‘Landmark’ BBC series on the novel kicks off year-long celebration of literature

The BBC is to host a year-long celebration of literature with new programming across BBC TV, Radio and online, including a “landmark” BBC2 series “The Novels That Shaped Our World”, to be broadcast this autumn. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-08 18:20:23 UTC ]
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Think you’ve read every twist on the nanny-in-distress novel? Ruth Ware adds a new wrinkle.

“The Turn of the Key” pays scrupulous homage to James’s “The Turn of the Screw” and also slyly updates it. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2019-08-08 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Sharlene Teo to deliver National Creative Writing Industry Day keynote

The National Creative Writing Industry Day returns for the fifth year in November, with author Sharlene Teo as the keynote speaker. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-01 16:03:30 UTC ]
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Juno Dawson joins panel for BBC Arts’ The Novels That Shaped Our World

Author, screenwriter and columnist Juno Dawson has joined the panel for the BBC’s The Novels That Shaped Our World.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-07-24 22:29:55 UTC ]
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Cavanagh wins Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award

Steve Cavanagh has been named as the winner of this year’s Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award for his book Thirteen (Orion). Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-07-19 05:35:02 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #peculier crime #steve cavanagh


Lisa Taddeo wanted to write about female desire. It set her on an eight-year odyssey.

The author reflects on “Three Women,” which was the result of countless interviews and a cross-country drive in an RV. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2019-07-03 12:54:00 UTC ]
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Warning: In just a few days, the ebooks you've purchased from Microsoft will vanish

It's a little while since Microsoft announced that is dropping the Books category from the Microsoft Store, but a serious deadline is now looming. If you have bought books or downloaded free books from the Store, you only have a few more days to read them -- so if there are any you haven't... Continue reading at Betanews

[ Betanews | 2019-06-28 15:41:08 UTC ]
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BBC Arts launches 'ambitious' new season celebrating the novel

BBC Arts is launching an "ambitious new season" across BBC TV and radio this autumn, with a year-long festival celebrating the novel and a series on how novels have shaped the world.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-05-27 15:33:06 UTC ]
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Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival holds inaugural library conference

This year’s Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival will host an inaugural library conference, with speakers including Ann Cleeves and Arts Council England c.e.o. Darren Henley. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-05-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Photo Mania: Toronto Comic Arts Festival 2019

The Toronto Comic Arts Festival 2019, organized by an innovative partnership between the Toronto Public Library and Toronto’s The Beguiling comics store, was held May 11-12 at the Toronto Reference Library. PW was on hand to bring back images of the artists, publishers and fans at TCAF 2019. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-05-13 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Independent Bookstore Day 2019: Like Christmas in April

With a record number of stores participating, independent booksellers held a wide range of events to attract customers to April 27's Independent Bookstore Day. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-04-28 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Piatkus snaps up Weiner’s first fiction novel in four years

Little, Brown imprint Piatkus will publish Jennifer Weiner’s first fiction novel in four years, later this year.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-04-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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IPA Leaders Tour Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival Ahead of World Book Day

On the eve of Sharjah's year as UNESCO's World Book Capital, the International Publishers Association brass sees the 11-year-old children's reading fair. The post IPA Leaders Tour Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival Ahead of World Book Day appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2019-04-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Trump, immigration, dystopias are topics on last day of L.A. Times Festival of Books

After Donald Trump was elected president, Ben H. Winters put aside the novel he was writing in favor of a new project. The result was “Golden State,” set in a society where every interaction is recorded and lying is severely punished. Trump’s election was also the catalyst for some key essays in... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-04-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Susan Orlean talks ‘The Library Book’ on first day of L.A. Times Festival of Books

Susan Orlean cracked open her book and bent toward the microphone. “Covers burst like popcorn,” she said, reading from her book about the mysterious 1986 fire at downtown L.A.’s Central Library. “Pages flared and blackened and then sprang away from their bindings, a ream of sooty scraps soaring... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-04-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Photo Mania: MoCCA Arts Festival 2019

The MoCCA Arts Festival, an annual show of Indie and self-published comics and graphic novels organized by the Society of Illustrators, attracted another impressive crowd to the Metropolitan West event space on West 46th Street where the event was held this past weekend April 6-7. 'Publishers... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-04-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Primadonna festival 'gives prominence' to women's writing

New literary event the Primadonna festival will give "prominence to work by women”, with support from author Kit de Waal and Curtis Brown agent Cathryn Summerhayes. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-04-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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PRH launches three-day festival to celebrate Obama at the O2

Penguin Random House is partnering with the Black Girl Festival to create a free three-day event at Canada Water Library celebrating Michelle Obama’s memoir Becoming (Viking). Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-03-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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On Dogs and the Unique Hell of Writing Novels

Jen Beagin, author of 'Vacuum in the Dark,' on the long, winding path of writing two novels with the same protagonist. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-02-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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