'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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2018 Festival of Faith & Writing ‘Mixes It Up,' Touts Diversity

Nearly 2,000 writers, literary agents, and publishers gathered in Grand Rapids, Mich. from April 12-14 for the Calvin College Festival of Faith & Writing, which featured speakers of color and panels on racial issues. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-04-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #literary agents #publishers gathered #grand rapids #faith writing #featured speakers

First day of Los Angeles Times Festival of Books offers a little something for everyone

President Trump’s immigration policies, L.A.’s homeless crisis, the women’s movement and the culture of food were just a few of the topics covered during the first day of the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books on the USC campus. The 23rd annual festival, which celebrates reading and... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2018-04-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #books offers #president trump #immigration policies #topics covered #usc campus #celebrates reading

Photo Mania: MoCCA Arts Festival 2018

The MoCCA Arts Festival, an annual gathering of Indie and self-published comics and graphic novels organized by the Society of Illustrators, attracted one of its biggest crowds in recent memory. 'Publishers Weekly' was there to bring back images of the artists and events during the weekend show,... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-04-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #photo mania #annual gathering #self-published comics #recent memory #weekend show

Books: Writing and gun violence, women in criticism, politics at the Festival of Books and more

I’m L.A. Times books editor Carolyn Kellogg — welcome to this week’s newsletter. THE BIG STORY What can poetry do in the face of gun violence? Critic at large Adriana E. Ramirez attended a reading — in Florida, not long after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland — that... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2018-04-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #gun violence #big story #large adriana

Ten year wait for Zusak's next novel is over

Transworld is publishing a new literary novel from The Book Thief author Markus Zusak, which has been a decade in the making. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-03-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Atkins wins Romantic Novel of the Year accolade

Dani Atkins has won the Romantic Novelists' Association's highest accolade, The Goldsboro Books Romantic Novel of the Year, for her novel This Love (Simon & Schuster). Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-03-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #year accolade #romantic novelists #highest accolade

Grisham to headline Theakston Crime Writing Festival

Legal thriller writer John Grisham is to headline the 2018 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate this July. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-02-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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German trade looks to Christmas to salvage disappointing year

German booksellers are hoping for a shopping frenzy in the final run-up to Christmas to salvage an otherwise disappointing year. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-12-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Susan Straight read more than 500 novels this year. But her favorite is a memoir.

You might not believe it. I read or re-read more than 500 novels this year, to make an epic interactive map of our literary nation with regional fiction. There are 737 novels on that map, which I made for Granta. In choosing specific locations for each novel, I often stayed up all night... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2017-12-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Handmaid's Tale' Was the Year's Most Read Novel On Amazon

'The Handmaid's Tale' and 'The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck' were the most-read fiction and nonfiction titles, respectively, on Amazon in 2017. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-12-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apple’s App of the Year Makes Sense If You've Been Paying Attention to the News

For a picture of what life was like in 2017, look no further than the apps, movies, books, and music that topped the App Store and iTunes charts. This week, Apple revealed the most popular titles that iOS users downloaded over the course of the year. In terms of media, the top choices weren’t... Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2017-12-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Grumpy squirrel' story wins Amazon Christmas Writing competition

A digital marketing manager has won the Amazon Christmas Writing Competition for his tale of a greedy squirrel who learns compassion from "three wise trees". Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-12-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Powerful' Kate Atkinson novel coming next year

The multi-million-pound-selling Kate Atkinson is back next September with a new novel based on the life of a female former Secret Service worker. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-12-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Eighty-six-year-old shortlisted for Manchester Writing Competition

An 86-year-old former Town Hall clerk and an organiser of the Milton Keynes Festival are among those shortlisted in the Manchester Writing Competition. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-11-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Books: Matthew Weiner of 'Mad Men' fame writes a novel; an edgy local debut; bestsellers and more

Hello! I’m Carolyn Kellogg, books editor of the L.A. Times. Let’s get to this week’s newsletter. THE BIG STORY Matthew Weiner concluded “Mad Men,” the show he created, with a shelf of Emmys and the ability to do anything he wanted. It’s not as easy as it sounds, he told Meredith Blake, explaining... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2017-11-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Philip Pullman on indie booksellers, graphic novels, festival pay and more

As well as writing, Philip Pullman has been outspoken on a number of issues affecting fellow authors over the years. Here, we take a look at some of his best quotes. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-10-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Butchart writes Secret Seven novels for Hachette

Pamela Butchart will write two novels about Enid Blyton’s Secret Seven for Hodder Children’s Books. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-10-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #pamela butchart #enid blyton #hodder children

Leonard Cohen's last book, finished 'days before his death', due out next year

The Flame collects unpublished poetry, as well as notebook entries and song lyrics, and offers ‘an intimate look inside the life and mind of a singular artist’A book of Leonard Cohen’s final poems, completed in the months before his death and tackling “the flame and how our culture threatened... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2017-10-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #leonard cohen #song lyrics #publisher canongate #overwhelming majority