‘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'


This Is How You Write a Memoir

There has lately been a rising backlash against the ubiquity of personal writing. Hamilton Nolan’s anti-confessional diatribe in Gawker claims that journalism students are now taught only to write about themselves, which I can say as a full-time faculty member at a journalism school is patently... Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2013-01-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #younger writers #life experience #york magazine


Eoin Colfer to write Dr Who story for Puffin

Eoin Colfer has been named as the author of the first of Puffin's eleven Dr Who short stories... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-01-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #eoin colfer #short stories


Pearson buys a small stake in Nook Media, wants a fast track for digital education

Publishers often want to work closely with ebook outlets -- possibly a little too closely -- but it's rare that they involve themselves directly. Pearson is taking that uncommon step by making a 5 percent, $89.5 million investment in Nook Media, the joint venture between Barnes & Noble and... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2012-12-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #joint venture #barnes noble #made public #sea change


Great Hill Partners Acquire SheKnows.com

SheKnows.com, a women's lifestyle site, has been acquired by Great Hill Partners, a private equity firm specializing in high-growth companies.  Formerly under the umbrella of Evolve Media Corp., SheKnows.com was a hallmark property of the brand, responsible for over 41 million unique visitors... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2012-12-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #company announced #lifestyle site #$650 million #$175 million


Hot Key launches writing project

Hot Key Books has launched a free interactive writing project, "Fleur Hitchcock's Story... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-12-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


'50 Shades' Success Yields $5,000 Bonuses at Random House

Employees at book publisher Random House are getting a little something extra in their fishnet Christmas stockings this year, a $5,000 bonus. The bonus, which will be the same for top editors as their secretaries, follows a particularly good year for the publishing house in... Continue reading at ABC News

[ ABC News | 2012-12-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #good year #random house #top editors


Santa Writes a Comic Book

A couple of years ago, I embarked on a quixotic quest: I gave up the Internet. Surfing, emailing, YouTube-watching—it had taken over my life, eating into time I wanted to be spending with my family, my students, and my work. I documented my four-month Internet fast in a series of articles for... Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2012-11-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #comic book


Take Your Child to a Bookstore Day is celebrated at stores around the world

Founded by a writer and mother, Take Your Child to a Bookstore Day is set for Dec. 1 this year. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-11-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bookstore day


Secret Race takes William Hill prize

An exposé of doping in professional cycling has won the William Hill Sports Book of the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-11-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


HC in 'merger talks' with S&S

HarperCollins is in early talks about merging with Simon & Schuster, according to reports in... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-11-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #merger talks #simon schuster


Arundhati Roy Writing New Novel

Arundhati Roy, author of The God of Small Things, announced at the Sharjah International Book Fair that she is currently working on a new novel. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2012-11-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #arundhati roy #small things


Oliver Sacks Wants To Destigmatize Hallucinations

Oliver Sacks is a practicing neurologist and professor of neurology and psychiatry at Columbia University. He was born in London but has lived in New York since 1965. He is the author of The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, and his latest book is Hallucinations. Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2012-11-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #oliver sacks #columbia university


Lee Enterprises: Emerging From The Shadows Of Bankruptcy

The story of Lee Enterprises is as interesting as an investigative piece reported by the local newspaper in town. Recently emerged from a prepackaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January 2012, it is now a newspaper publishing company trading at a minuscu ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2012-11-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #lee enterprises #recently emerged


Pan Mac joins creative writing surge

Pan Macmillan is the latest publisher to start offering creative writing tutoring. It will begin... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-11-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #pan macmillan #latest publisher


Penguin talks lift Pearson shares

Pearson shares open higher on news that two of the world's biggest publishers, Penguin and Random House, are in talks about a possible merger. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2012-10-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #biggest publishers #random house


Pearson in Penguin merger talks

Publisher Pearson says it is holding talks with German media group Bertelsmann about combining their Penguin and Random House businesses. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2012-10-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #publisher pearson


Random House and Penguin in "merger" talks

Pearson has confirmed that it is in talks with Bertelsmann regarding a potential merger between... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-10-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #potential merger #random house


Shifting Strategies Lead to Success for US Small Publishers

At the Frankfurt Book Fair this year, representatives from a number of indie publishers demonstrated the impact they are having on the industry as a whole. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2012-10-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #small publishers


Australia launches Stella Prize for women's writing

Australia's first major literary prize for women's writing, the Stella Prize, said to be... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-10-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #stella prize


Self-published crime for TFP

The Friday Project has signed up a self-published crime writer who sets her novels among London... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-10-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #friday project