‘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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Debut author will give grants to six independent bookstores

Author Jeffrey Stayton, whose first book is being published this February, recently sponsored a competition to select six independent bookstores as recipients of $250 grants. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-12-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Oyster Adds 1,000 Bloomsbury Titles

E-book subscription service Oyster is adding 1000 books from Bloomsbury to its inventory of titles. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-12-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Pan Mac signs debut trilogy from Cho

Pan Macmillan has acquired a trilogy by a debut novelist. Senior commissioning editor Bella Pagan bought UK and Commonwealth rights to Sorcerer to the Crown and its two sequels by Zen Cho from Penguin US. Sorcerer to the Crown follows Zacharias Wythe, England's first African Sorcerer Royal, as... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Booktrust gives 2,000 books to foodbanks

Reading charity is donating around 2,000 books to foodbanks in London and the Midlands this Christmas. The charity is teaming up with The Trussell Trust foodbank network to distribute books to foodbanks in Wandsworth, West Norwood, Manchester, Coventry and Birmingham. Each foodbank will receive... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Costello debut voted Irish Book Awards' Book of the Year

Mary Costello’s debut novel Academy Street (Canongate) has been voted the Bord Gáis Energy Book of the Year for 2014. The book was chosen via public vote from the list of category winners announced at the recent Bord Gáis Energy Irish Book Awards. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Blogger Zoe Sugg sets new record for fastest-selling debut novel

Sugg's debut book, 'Girl Online,' now holds the record for the highest sales in its first week for a new writer in the UK.  Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-12-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Yellow Kite signs Whole30 title in six-figure deal

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[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Slicebooks Debuts Customizable Storefront App

Founded in 2011 by Jill and Ron Tomich, Denver-based Slicebooks is a digital publishing platform that gives publishers the ability to “slice” their titles into smaller chunks and sell them by chapter. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-12-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Robb Report Sold to PE Group

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[ Folio Magazine | 2014-12-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Chronicle Donates 10,000 Books in Record Time

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-12-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Big Rights Deals for Barcelona Author’s Debut Novel

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[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-12-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Good book for your flight? JetBlue can provide

JetBlue is adding ebooks from HarperCollins to its entertainment mix. Passengers can read excerpts from new titles and then choose to purchase the rest. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-11-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Orchard Books acquires debut YA author Hunt

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[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Pelican’s new browser-based reading website takes flight with grace

With subtle interactive features and simple, bold design, Penguin’s resurrected non-fiction imprint places the focus on the reading experienceAfter reading Economics: The User’s Guide by Ha-Joon Chang, published by Pelican Books, I feel confident enough to explain the word “disintermediation”.... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-11-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Three thrillers to Orenda Books

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[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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SIBA Receives $40,000 Grant On Its 40th Anniversary

The Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance received a $40,000 grant from the Reba and Dave Williams Foundation in honor of its 40th anniversary serving Southern booksellers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-11-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Rise of the Seven-Figure Advance

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-11-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Oyster Debuts Online Literary Journal

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-11-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Chu re-signs with Angry Robot in six-figure deal

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[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Canongate signs Kavanagh debut

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[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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