‘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 ]
News tagged with: #flight attendant #debut novel

Other Publishing stories related to: '‘Jaws at 35,000 feet’: the flight attendant whose thriller debut sold for seven figures'

Debut The Flames to Doubleday in 'major' six-figure pre-empt

Doubleday has acquired debut novel The Flames about four women "muses" who inspired artist Egon Schiele, in a "major" six-figure pre-empt. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-18 02:34:02 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #six-figure pre-empt

And the winner of the $35,000 Aspen Words Literary Prize is…

The Aspen Institute has just announced the winner of their 2020 Literary Prize: Christy Lefteri, for her novel, The Beekeeper of Aleppo, which tells the story of Syrian refugees in Great Britain. The Aspen Words Literary Prize was established to celebrate a work of fiction that spotlights a... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-04-16 22:00:41 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #aspen institute #christy lefteri #syrian refugees #great britain #literary prize

Debut psychological YA thriller pre-empted in Germany and Russia

Naomi Gibson’s debut YA novel has been pre-empted in Germany and Russia, two weeks after being sent out by Chicken House. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-17 04:24:57 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #debut ya #chicken house #ya novel

Bill Bowder thriller goes to S&S UK amid translation rights frenzy and six-figure audio deal

Simon & Schuster UK has landed Bill Bowder's real-life thriller Freezing Order, which has also been at the centre of a flurry of translation deals and secured a six-figure audio deal. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-02 17:16:51 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #translation deals

Bloomsbury wins satirical debut The Other Black Girl in six-figure deal

Bloomsbury has won Zakiya Dalila Harris’ The Other Black Girl, a satirical debut novel about race and authenticity in the workplace, for a six-figure deal following a nine-way auction. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-01 20:26:38 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #black girl #six-figure deal #satirical debut #debut novel #bloomsbury

Welbeck scoops Matthews' debut thriller

Welbeck Publishing Group is publishing "standout" debut thriller The Prank by L V Matthews. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-02-21 08:37:24 UTC ]
More news stories like this |

Aspen Words $35,000 Literary Prize Names Its 2020 Finalists

The still-young Aspen Words Literary Prize's longlisted titles point up 'humor in the midst of serious situations'–in issue-driven fiction. The post Aspen Words $35,000 Literary Prize Names Its 2020 Finalists appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-02-19 15:30:55 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #issue-driven fiction #literary prize

Ant Middleton to publish debut thriller with Sphere

Sphere is publishing a debut thriller by Ant Middleton, TV star of "SAS: Who Dares Wins" and bestselling non-fiction author behind First Man In and The Fear Bubble. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-02-17 10:01:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #ant middleton #debut thriller #tv star #dares wins

Chicken House signs debut romantic psychological thriller

Chicken House will publish I, Henry, a romantic psychological thriller about artificial Intelligence by debut YA author Naomi Gibson. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-02-13 17:17:02 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #chicken house #artificial intelligence

Viper snares historical thriller debut by Leonora Nattrass

Serpent’s Tail’s newly launched crime imprint Viper have signed a historical "whodunnit" as part of a two-book deal with debut author Leonora Nattrass. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-11-15 02:01:24 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #debut author

Hutchinson snaps up Tucker's 'exceptional debut novel' in six-figure deal

Hutchinson has signed a six-figure deal with author Nancy Tucker for her debut novel, The First Day of Spring, following an auction, with rights sold in the US, Brazil and France. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-15 10:14:07 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #exceptional debut #hutchinson snaps #six-figure deal #rights sold

OUP signs Naomi and James Jones' debut picture book in five-figure deal

Oxford University Press has signed husband-and-wife team Naomi and James Jones' debut picture book in a five-figure deal. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-14 08:36:11 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #five-figure deal #oxford university press #picture book

Transworld lands Henderson's 'powerful' debut in six-figure pre-empt

Transworld has pre-empted The Funny Thing about Norman Foreman by debut author Julietta Henderson in a "significant" six-figure deal. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-08 21:23:29 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #six-figure pre-empt #six-figure deal #debut author

Debut YA by Member of Chippewa Tribe Sells in Seven-Figure Deal

'The Firekeeper's Daughter' by Angeline Boulleywas acquired by Tiffany Liao at Henry Holt Books for Young Readers after a 12-bidder auction. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-10-08 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #debut ya #seven-figure deal #young readers

Doubleday makes 'substantial' six-figure pre-empt for 'exceptional' debut

Doubleday has made a “substantial” six-figure pre-empt on a debut novel by academic and comedian Marianne Cronin about two women who meet at an art class. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-04 09:03:45 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #six-figure pre-empt #art class #debut novel

Jen Williams moves to HarperFiction for thriller debut

HarperFiction has snapped up Dog Rose Dirt, the first thriller from award-winning fantasy novelist Jen Williams. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-04 00:12:15 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #thriller debut

America’s First Banned Book Is for Sale for $35,000

If you have a spare 35 grand or so, you now have a shot at a rare copy of the first book banned in America. Christie’s Auction House in New York recently announced that it will be auctioning a copy of New Canaan by Thomas Morton, a 1637 political satire that caused outrage among New […] The post... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2019-10-03 11:00:38 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #post america #rare copy #book banned #thomas morton #electric literature #banned book

Egmont pre-empts beastly debut in three-book six-figure deal

Egmont has pre-empted a new beastly series in a three-book six-figure deal, described as "a natural successor to the genius of Roald Dahl and Lemony Snicket". Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-09-23 02:04:35 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #beastly series #roald dahl #lemony snicket #egmont

Arrow snaps up playwright Harnetiaux's debut thriller

Arrow will publish playwright Trish Harnetiaux's debut novel, a psychological thriller about a Christmas party that turns deadly, later this year. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-14 21:21:49 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #arrow snaps #debut thriller #psychological thriller