‘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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S&S buys debut from comedian Kane

Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Fri, 11/11/2011 - 11:19 Simon & Schuster has bought world rights in an “outstanding” literary début by comedian Russell Kane. Fiction editorial director Maxine Hitchcock acquired The Humorist from Avalon Management for an undisclosed sum and... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Kobo sold to Rakuten

Publication Date: Wed, 09/11/2011 - 09:30 Japanese e-commerce firm Rakuten has acquired e-reading service Kobo for $315 million. The move follows Rakuten’s acquisition of internet retailer Play.com earlier this year for £25m in cash, as part of the company’s European expansion plan. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Heinemann buys crime debut

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 04/11/2011 - 10:53 William Heinemann has acquired a debut crime novel, the first in a series to feature civilian investigator Catherine Berlin, written by Annie Hauxwell. Publisher Jason Arthur bought UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hay House Fiction Debut Marks 25 Years

In a major departure for Hay House, the self-help and spirituality publisher is jumping into the fiction market. Its debut mystery novel, The First Rule of Ten by psychologist Gay Hendricks and screen writer Tinker Lindsay, will be published in January. Hay House has signed up 10 additional... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-11-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hot Key buys debut trilogy

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 04/11/2011 - 10:30 Hot Key Books has bought a trilogy by a debut novelist for a "strong advance", with the three books focusing on a young boy whose life changes when his virtual-reality prowess is discovered. Managing director Sarah... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Jobs biography sells 379,000 Stateside

Written By: Philip Stone Publication Date: Wed, 02/11/2011 - 14:00 Walter Isaacson's biography of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs sold 379,000 copies in the US in it first week on bookshops shelves, BookScan US data has revealed. The $35 publication, published by Simon & Schuster in the US,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #$35 publication #simon schuster #bestselling book #john grisham #litigators doubleday #journalist bill


Jobs biog sells 379,000 copies Stateside

Written By: Philip Stone Publication Date: Wed, 02/11/2011 - 14:00 Walter Isaacson's biography of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs sold 379,000 copies in the US in its first week on bookshop shelves, BookScan US data has revealed. The $35 publication, published by Simon & Schuster in the US,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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National Geographic Magazine Exceeds 100,000 Paid Digital Subscribers

National Geographic Magazine topped 100,000 paid digital subscribers this past weekend and the magazine's special series on world population, which was collected into one app called "7 Billion", was the number one free app for iPad in iTunes. The 7 Billion app was promoted in Apple's new and... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-11-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Two six-figure deals for Gollancz

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 28/10/2011 - 10:39 Gollancz has signed two six-figure pre-empt deals, with editorial director Gillian Redfearn acquiring trilogies by début authors. The first acquisition was made just before the Frankfurt Book Fair, with Redfearn buying UK... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'PW' Tops 200,000 Twitter Followers

Publishers Weekly now has more than 200,000 Twitter followers, passing that mark last week and as of today has more that 203,000 following the magazine via @PublishersWkly. Eileen Gardner, a self-professed pop culture junkie and aspiring author, was the 200,000th PW follower. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-10-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Murakami in France, a Debut In Germany: International Bestsellers October, 2011

With Knopf set to release Haruki Murakami’s 1Q84 this week in the U.S., the latest novel from the award-winning Japanese author was an instant bestseller in Japan and debuted at #3 in France in September. Topping the French fiction chart last month was The Passenger, the most recent thriller... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-10-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Random orders 75,000 reprint after "joyous" Booker win

Written By: Charlotte Williams and Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Wed, 19/10/2011 - 10:09 Random House is reprinting 75,000 copies of Julian Barnes' The Sense of an Ending this morning, following its victory at the Man Booker prize last night, with Random House c.e.o. Gail Rebuck heralding... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Regional Arlington Magazine Debuts

The regional magazine sector continues to expand as new publication Arlington Magazine debuts this month. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-10-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Gollancz wins six-figure auction for SF series

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Tue, 11/10/2011 - 11:47 Gollancz has won out in a "hard-fought" auction, with three publishers in the final round, acquiring world rights to three books in a new science-fiction series for a six-figure sum. Deputy publishing director Simon... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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German govt seeks to avert flight strikes

Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Tue, 11/10/2011 - 08:45 The proposed strike action by German air traffic controllers, which would have affected flights into Frankfurt this week, could be averted as talks are planned with the German government to resolve the issue tomorrow (12th... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Possible strikes threaten to disrupt Frankfurt flights

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Mon, 10/10/2011 - 08:25 Delegates flying to the Frankfurt Book Fair this week could face delays, as the prospect of a strike by German air traffic controllers looms. Contract negotiations with German air traffic controllers have collapsed, with... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bidding frantic for Beukes' thriller

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 07/10/2011 - 16:16 A high-concept thriller is currently the subject of a five-way UK publisher auction, with North American rights already sold to Mulholland Books by Oliver Munson of Blake Friedmann. Editor John Schoenfelder acquired The... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Transworld wins nine-way auction for debut

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Tue, 27/09/2011 - 09:20 Transworld and Random House Australia have acquired debut novel The Light Between Oceans by M L Stedman, winning a nine-way auction for the title. Doubleday editorial director Jane Lawson bought UK and Commonwealth rights... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Play.com sold to Rakuten

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Wed, 21/09/2011 - 12:10 Play.com has been bought by Japanese e-commerce firm Rakuten for £25m in cash. The move is part of the company's European expansion plan, with Play.com the third company it has bought during the last two years. The deal is... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Former RDA CEO’s Severance Package Set at $500,000

Earlier this week, it was reported that former Reader Digest Association’s CEO Tom Williams was awarded $500,000 in a severance package. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-09-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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