‘Jaws at 35,000 feet’: the flight attendant whose thriller debut sold for seven figures

TJ Newman dreamt up her terror-in-the-skies novel Falling while guarding the cockpit as the pilots took a toilet break. She reveals how she kept going through furlough and 41 rejectionsFlight attendant Torri Newman was working on the red-eye flight from Los Angeles to New York when the idea for her debut novel came to her. To be precise, she was blocking access to the cockpit, a security procedure required when pilots take a toilet break. “I was standing at the front of the airplane,” she says, “looking out at the passengers. It was dark and they were all asleep. And I had this thought, ‘All of their lives, our lives, are in the hands of the pilots.’ That’s not exactly new – but the flipside of that also came to mind. With that much power and responsibility, how vulnerable does that make a commercial pilot?”Newman, speaking via Zoom from her home in Phoenix, Arizona, was rattled. “I just couldn’t shake the thought. A few days later, I was working a different trip with a different set of pilots, and I said to the captain, ‘Hey, what would you do if your family was taken, and you were told that if you didn’t crash the plane, they would be killed?” What was his reaction? “He had no clue what he would do – the thought terrified him.”I almost gave up. But seeing two authors at a Q&A reminded my why I had to keep going Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2021-05-04 05:00:21 UTC ]
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Linghams Bookshop sold to new owners

Linghams Bookshop in Heswall (Merseyside) has been bought by new owners Sue Porter and Mike King. The 2013 Bookseller Industry Awards’ Independent Bookshop of the Year was put up for sale last September by its owners Eleanor and Peter Davies, who had decided the time was right to retire. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-09-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Rumored Amy Schumer Book Could Fetch High Seven Figures

According to insiders, David Kuhn at Kuhn Projects is shopping an essay collection by the comedian that some believe will draw a high seven figure advance. Kuhn did not respond to requests for comment. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-09-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Worsley's debut wins New Angle Prize

Kate Worsley’s novel She Rises has been awarded the New Angle Prize for Literature. The biennial prize, established in 2009, celebrates the literature of East Anglia. Worsley won the £2,000 prize for her novel She Rises, which was published by Bloomsbury in March 2014. She Rises is a “love... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-09-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ahnhem strikes six-figure deal with HoZ

Head of Zeus has struck a six-figure deal for a thriller series by Stefan Ahnhem. Laura Palmer, publishing director at Head of Zeus, bought UK and Commonwealth rights excluding Canada to the first three books of the Fabian Risk Series from Jolise Beaton and Gillian Fizet at House of Anansi... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-09-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ness, Green, Landy and Moyes match £40,000 of donations for refugees

Readers have donated £40,000 to charity to help refugees, with authors Patrick Ness, John Green, Derek Landy and Jojo Moyes donating a further £40,000. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-09-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Orenda Books signs 'jihadi thriller'

Orenda Books had signed a Jihadi thriller from debut author Yusuf Toropov. Karen Sullivan, publisher of Orenda Books, has acquired world English language rights to Yusuf Toropov’s debut thriller, Jihadi: A Love Story, from Bob Diforio of the D4EO Literary Agency in the USA. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-09-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Poets for Corbyn gets 5,000 downloads in first week

A collection of poetry inspired by the left wing Labour leadership candidate Jeremy Corbyn has achieved 5,000 downloads in its first week. Altogether 20 poets including Michael Rosen, Pascale Petit, Nicholas Murray and Ian Pindar have submitted 20 poems for the free ebook Poets for Corbyn,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hodgson and Carter on HWA Debut Crown shortlist

Antonia Hodgson and MJ Carter are among the authors shortlisted for The 2015 Historical Writers’ Association's (HWA) Debut Crown Award for historical fiction. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Black & White signs psychological thriller from Forry

Black & White Publishing has signed a psychological thriller, Abigale Hall, by the winner of Faber and Faber Creative Writing MA Prize, Lauren A. Forry. Managing director of Black & White Publishing, Campbell Brown, acquired World English rights for the publication from Sandra Sawicka... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sales of Self-Published 'Rabbit' Sleep Book Top 29,000

After selling roughly 300 copies prior to last week, self-published picture book 'The Rabbit Who Wants to Fall Asleep' moved more than 29,000 print copies in the week ended August 23. It's also rumored that the book were acquired by Random House for seven figures. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Nerve-wrackingly tense' thriller to Pushkin

Pushkin Press has acquired a “dark and disturbing” debut novel by Inge Schilperoord, originally published in the Netherlands. Commissioning editor Daniel Seton at Pushkin acquired world English rights to Tench from Podium, via Marleen Seegers at 2 Seas Agency. Tench tells the story of a... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Mario Vargas Llosa hits back at claim he sold story to Hola!

Nobel laureate slams ‘slanderous’ New York Times Book Review article that repeated information from the Daily MailNobel laureate Mario Vargas Llosa has been forced to deny that he sold a story to Hola! magazine in Spain, and that he announced a new relationship on Twitter, following a review in... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-08-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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AMC debuts first 3 minutes of 'Fear the Walking Dead' on Facebook

In anticipation of Sunday's debut of "Fear the Walking Dead," AMC released the first three minutes of the pilot on the show's Facebook page. Serving as a companion series to the most-watched show in cable television history, "The Walking Dead," the new series opens with an unsettling look at one... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2015-08-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Musician Herbert launches debut book on Unbound

Unbound is crowd funding for a new book by ‘iconic’ producer and musician Matthew Herbert.   Instead of producing a new record, Herbert’s debut book, The Music, will describe in “precise and almost poetic detail” how the record will sound. It will be divided into chapters the way an album is... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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iBooks Bestsellers: Weiner Debuts at #3

The latest novel from Jennifer Weiner, 'Who Do You Love,' hit #3 on Apple's iBooks bestseller list for the week ended August 17. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Debut novel wins oldest book prize

Zia Haider Rahman's debut novel In the Light of What We Know wins the prestigious James Tait Prize for fiction. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2015-08-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Down, Up, Down Again: The Diary of a Debut Author

UK author Andrew Shantos tracks the elation, frustration and quantification of the first two months of publication of his debut novel, Dead Star Island. The post Down, Up, Down Again: The Diary of a Debut Author appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-08-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ebooks Sold at Independent Bookstores Garner Pitiful Profits

A survey of Colorado independent bookstores reveals ebooks sales are tiny and offer just a pittance of profit — often just 50 cents a book. The post Ebooks Sold at Independent Bookstores Garner Pitiful Profits appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-08-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Debut Novelist Pops Up at Chicago Dinner Lab Feast

As author J. Ryan Stradal tours the country promoting his debut novel, he's being wined and dined by booksellers, and was the guest-of-honor at a Dinner Lab pop-up dinner in Chicago that featured a menu inspired by his book. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Librarians dispute children's attendance 'fall'

Two library associations – the Society of Chief Librarians (SCL) and the Association of Senior Children's and Education Librarians (ASCEL) - have taken issue with reports of the decline in numbers of children visiting libraries, following publication of a Department for Culture, Media and Sport... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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