‘I wanted to write a suburban Reacher’: Richard Osman talks to Lee Child about class, success and the secret to great crime writing

The two bestselling authors who both started in TV discuss writing as a second career, natural justice – and what they really think of literary fictionIn the four years since Richard Osman published his first Thursday Murder Club novel he has consistently topped the bestseller lists, and now his quartet of retirement-age detectives will be portrayed on screen by a cast including Helen Mirren and Pierce Brosnan. Having grown up in Sussex, Osman started out in TV, where he created and co-hosted the gameshow Pointless. His forthcoming novel We Solve Murders – the start of a new series – features a writer billed as the world’s bestselling novelist, “if you don’t count Lee Child”. Child, the creator of former military police officer Jack Reacher, has enjoyed phenomenal popularity since he left his career – also in TV, where he worked on shows including Brideshead Revisited, The Jewel in the Crown and Cracker – and started writing, with his first novel published in 1997. Raised in Birmingham, he moved to the US in 1998 and now lives between Manhattan and rural Wyoming. He wrote 24 Reacher novels before announcing in 2020 that he would be handing the series to his brother Andrew.Lee Child I feel that writing is always a second-phase career, or at least should be. It’s that rare thing that not only can you do it when you’re older, but you should do it when you’re older. Pick your cliche: your gas tank is full, your database is compiled. You are a person. You are ready to write.... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2024-09-14 09:00:23 UTC ]
News tagged with: #consistently topped #bestseller lists #retirement-age detectives #pierce brosnan #gameshow pointless #solve murders #writer billed #bestselling novelist #rural wyoming #announcing in2020 #brother andrew #rare thing #gas tank #ve spent #cable box #first novel

Other Publishing stories related to: '‘I wanted to write a suburban Reacher’: Richard Osman talks to Lee Child about class, success and the secret to great crime writing'


Wrestling with Faith and Fear: PW Talks with Kate Braestrup

No mother wants to send a son to war--especially not a mother who is a Unitarian Universalist chaplain and pacifist. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Court Denies Class Action in Author Solutions Case

In a 30-page written opinion, Cote ruled that the plaintiffs failed to produce evidence to back up their fraud claims. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #fraud claims


'Jack Reacher week' at The Sun

Transworld has partnered with the Sun to host the first Jack Reacher Week, promoting books featuring the character by Lee Child. The partnership will see coverage in the Sun newspaper and online on its website, with the editorial and promotional campaign running next week (6th to 11th July).... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #lee child #11th july


Amazon wants 'all businesses to survive'

It is in Amazon’s “interests" to "treat suppliers well” but the company should communicate with them better, Amazon’s head of public policy for the UK & Ireland has said. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #public policy


Learn from Nicholas Sparks: how to write a tear-jerker

Nicholas Sparks is more than just a bestselling author of sappy romantic fiction; he's a pop culture phenomenon. A former pharmaceutical salesman from Omaha, Nebraska, Sparks has sold a reported 97 million books worldwide, and the films based on them have, so far, have grossed a total not far... Continue reading at Stuff

[ Stuff | 2015-07-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #nicholas sparks #bestselling author #films based


Why today's teenagers still want to take a peek inside My Mad Fat Diary

Lots has changed since Rae Earl wrote her personal diary in the 1980s, which she later converted into the bestselling book My Mad Fat Diary, but the basic pains of transition from teenager to grownup remain the same – and books help us find the way through itWhen my nan used to tell me about... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-07-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #saturday afternoon


First Look: 'Dressing' for Success with Michael DeForge

In this exclusive preview of the short story collection 'Dressing,' we present a complete short story by acclaimed cartoonist Michael DeForge. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #michael deforge #exclusive preview


When Reporters Write Books, Does The Times Win, Too?

WRITING books must be in the DNA of Times journalists. Even the paper’s founding editor, Henry J. Raymond, cranked them out, including his “History of the Administration of President Lincoln” in 1864. The next year, he r ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2015-06-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #writing books #founding editor


'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child': What will it be about?

'Potter' author J.K. Rowling recently revealed more details about the new play about the boy wizard that's opening in London in 2016. What will the story of the new play be? Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-06-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #harry potter #cursed child #boy wizard


Facebook's Immersive Mobile Ads Finally Give Brands the Creative They Want

After Facebook convinced publishers to go all-in on exclusive content with Instant Articles, it hopes advertisers will do the same. In a presentation at Cannes Lions this week, Facebook's chief product officer Chris Cox showed ad buyers mock-ups of a new mobile format that takes over a screen... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2015-06-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #tv budgets #advertisers today #content users #chris tuff


Children's authors say curriculum hurts creative writing

A group of children’s authors, including this year’s Carnegie winner Tanya Landman, is preparing a letter to the education secretary protesting against the way writing is taught in schools. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-06-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Indies prepare Harper Lee plans

Independents are planning celebrations for the publication of Harper Lee's Go Set a Watchman (William Heinemann) on 14th July, with some holding midnight openings. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-06-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #planning celebrations #harper lee #14th july


Finding Success With Online Stores

In partnership with AdvantageCS, Folio: surveyed more than 100 publishers on their Web store efforts. The post Finding Success With Online Stores appeared first on Folio:. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2015-06-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #finding success #online stores


Re-working Borges is a legitimate experiment, not a crime

Argentine writer Pablo Katchadjian could face jail for remixing Jorge Luis Borges’s story The Aleph – but his is a thoroughly Borgesian experimentIn the short story Pierre Menard: Author of Quixote, Jorge Luis Borges writes of an author’s quest to reproduce Cervantes’ masterpiece, word by word,... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-06-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #considerable amount #literary estate #virtual library


Sean Smith to write on Kim Kardashian

Kim Kardashian West is to be the subject of the next of Sean Smith's celebrity biographies, contracted to Harper NonFiction last year in a deal with agent Gordon Wise. Kim will be published in hardback on 24th September (£14.99) and is described as "the ultimate insight into the reality behind... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-06-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #sean smith #kim kardashian #celebrity biographies #harper nonfiction #modern culture


Media Monkey: Richard Desmond, Simon Heffer, Chris Evans

The unknown Jesse Norman, Murdoch’s parallel universe and a hint of tension between Sarah Montague and James Naughtie• When Richard Desmond has an autobiography to promote, the treatment of the press baron by his Northern & Shell empire is increasingly reminiscent of the cult of personality... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-06-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #front page #daily express #real deal


This Publishing Startup Wants To Crowdfund Books For Indie Bookstores

Inkshares, a crowdfunded book publishing platform, is working with indie bookstores to help them launch their own imprints.A fledgling publishing company is offering a new tool to indie bookstores: crowdfunded imprints.Read Full Story Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2015-06-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #publishing startup #indie bookstores


Great Reads: The vacation edition

Hi there, I'm on vacation this week, enjoying the countryside and making my way through a book a day. (Current read: a vintage paperback of the feel-good "Mrs. Miniver," bought at a wonderful used bookstore on the Maine coast.) I'll be back next week with the Great Reads newsletter. In the... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2015-06-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Crime series to Faber

Faber editor Katherine Armstrong has picked up two books in a series by US illusionist Andrew Mayne. Armstrong acquired UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada, and pen EU rights in a deal with Meredith Miller and the Trident Media Group. Angel Killer and Name of the Devil follow... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-06-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #crime series


Sphere signs crime from Mark Hill

Sphere has acquired two crime thriller by debut novelist Mark Hill. Senior Editor Ed Wood bought world English rights to The Two O’Clock Boy and its sequel from Jamie Cowen at The Ampersand Agency. The Two O’Clock Boy follows the fallout from terrible events that happened in a London orphanage... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-06-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #jamie cowen #ampersand agency