From Richard Osman and Millie Bobby Brown to the upcoming book by Keanu Reeves, celebrity novels are everywhere. What’s behind the boom? And how do non-famous writers feel about it?I understood that if I was going to do it, I would have to put 100% of myself into it,” says Richard Osman about writing his debut crime novel The Thursday Murder Club, which was an immediate bestseller when it was published in 2020. He had attempted a novel before, but “I wasn’t giving it everything, I had too much on. And this was the first time where I thought: No, I’m able to focus on this for a couple of years now.” Osman’s agent, Juliet Mushens, adds: “He told me he was working on a novel, but he didn’t want to show it to anyone until he finished the whole thing.” When he did, “we did a couple of drafts and submitted it to publishers”. The rest is history: since The Thursday Murder Club was released, Osman has published three further novels and sold more than 10m books worldwide.He is the most successful example of a phenomenon that is more prominent than ever: the celebrity novelist. Of course, famous people have written novels for decades – from Alan Titchmarsh to Ben Elton. And the children’s market has become saturated with celebrities, including David Walliams, Geri Halliwell-Horner, Paul McCartney and Jamie Oliver. But sales of adult fiction by celebrities have remained relatively low, until recently. According to Nielsen BookScan data, in 2018 the Top 100 paperback fiction... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2024-01-13 09:00:12 UTC ]
Two sequels which show how the Victorian novelist's stories can be adapted to reflect post-colonial narratives. Continue reading at The Conversation
[ The Conversation | 2020-06-08 16:19:12 UTC ]
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The sadness, exhaustion, anger and frustration that have been expressed by Black people across social media this week have, of course, been felt for centuries.But, by living so much through our screens right now, observing video footage, scrolling through reposted statements and infographics,... Continue reading at British Council global
[ British Council global | 2020-06-05 16:46:27 UTC ]
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Books by authors including Reni Eddo-Lodge, Ibram X Kendi and Robin DiAngelo are selling out on both sides of the AtlanticBooks tackling racism and white supremacy by authors including Reni Eddo-Lodge, Ijeoma Oluo and Layla F Saad are selling out in Britain in the wake of eight days of protests... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-06-03 14:40:35 UTC ]
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Although it was the nineteenth century when the novel arguably came into its own, with novelists like Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, George Eliot, and the Brontë sisters writing novels that are still widely read and studied today, the eighteenth century was the age in which the novel emerged as a... Continue reading at Interesting Literature
[ Interesting Literature | 2020-05-23 14:00:38 UTC ]
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It always takes a little time for novelists to shape a real-life nightmare into a story. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2020-05-21 06:58:16 UTC ]
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Joe Wicks' Wean in 15 (Bluebird) has star-jumped into the UK Official Top 50 number one spot according to Nielsen BookScan. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-19 05:58:51 UTC ]
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Debut and veteran novelists dive into the world of digital events amid the pandemic. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-05-15 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Costa award-winning love story of Connell and Marianne takes top slot from David Walliams’ bestselling children’s book SlimeSally Rooney’s Normal People has flown to the top of the UK’s book charts more than two years after it was published, thanks to the release of the TV adaptation starring... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-05-13 15:44:19 UTC ]
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Solid gains in the adult fiction and juvenile nonfiction categories lifted print unit sales up 4.7% in the week ended May 2, 2020, over the comparable week in 2019, at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-05-08 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Novelists Hilary Mantel, Maggie O'Farrell and Margaret Atwood are among the list of big-name writers and thinkers taking part in the first fully digital Hay Festival. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-06 10:09:46 UTC ]
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Unit sales of print books fell 3.5% through April 18, 2020 compared to the same period a year ago at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. Sales of juvenile nonfiction sales were up 21.7% in the period over 2019, somewhat offsetting declines in both adult fiction and nonfiction. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-04-23 04:00:00 UTC ]
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David Walliams' Slime (HarperCollins Children's) has leapfrogged Mrs Hinch's The Little Book of Lists (Michael Joseph) at the top of the UK Official Top 50 through Nielsen BookScan's TCM, for the comedian-turned-author's 57th week atop the chart. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-14 13:04:11 UTC ]
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Doctors, novelists and other writers are exploring, as quickly as they can, the pandemic’s impact on a country that was among its earliest victims. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2020-04-09 14:40:54 UTC ]
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The surge at Amazon for such items as household staples and health and medical goods has resulted in extended shipping times for other products, including books. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-03-24 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Cultural Cross Sections Baret Magarian Photos by Pierpaolo Florio A novelist living in quarantine in Florence looks back at Italy’s cultural history and then forward, considering whether something positive might rise from the ruins that the virus will... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2020-03-23 21:14:07 UTC ]
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Hilary Mantel's The Mirror and the Light (Fourth Estate) has held the UK Official Top 50 number one spot for a third week running, selling 30,280 copies through Nielsen BookScan's TCM. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-23 20:03:58 UTC ]
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Two novelists have partnered to build A Mighty Blaze, a initiative to promote other authors and their new books on social media. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-03-23 04:00:00 UTC ]
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First-time novelists with books out or coming soon talk about their changes of plans and how they’re spending these unusual days. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2020-03-18 20:00:14 UTC ]
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JK Rowling, Zadie Smith and Jamie Oliver have made the shortlist for the British Book Awards "30 from 30" trophy that will crown one book the “best” of the past three decades. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-18 13:31:41 UTC ]
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Bonnier Books UK has announced a raft of new books by Louise Pentland publishing across its adult non-fiction, adult fiction and children’s fiction imprints. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-12 12:01:32 UTC ]
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