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 ]
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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For centuries, novelists and fiction writers have imagined what plagues and virus outbreaks could look like, and many readers are seeking these books out amid concerns about the coronavirus. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2020-03-12 09:00:29 UTC ]
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Hilary Mantel's The Mirror and the Light (Fourth Estate) has held the Amazon Charts' Most-Sold: Fiction top spot for a second week, the same week the eagerly awaited title sold 95,141 copies across all print editions through Nielsen BookScan's TCM. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-10 16:43:19 UTC ]
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Jamie Oliver has revealed the cover for his latest cookbook, 7 Ways, which will offer new takes on supermarket staples. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-10 06:26:08 UTC ]
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We can’t stop telling stories about pandemics, even as we wait for one to hit us. As coronavirus spreads across the world, so have headlines about the ways that storytellers, from those in Babylonia to contemporary novelists and Hollywood, have used infectious disease for narrative effect. The... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-03-02 16:51:35 UTC ]
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My Dark Vanessa author Kate Elizabeth Russell was driven to reveal details of her past when accused of inauthenticity – but should we be seeking the truth elsewhere?Our world, more than at any time in history, is all about stories. Snapchat feeds capture your entire day, Instagram users... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-03-02 06:00:36 UTC ]
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Novelists rub shoulders with presidents, chefs, comedians and thriller megastars on longlist to define the title with the biggest impact on the book worldIt could be almost the setup for a joke, but a former president, a Booker winner and an erotic fiction superstar have walked on to the British... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-02-14 06:01:23 UTC ]
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Kay Featherstone and Kate Allinson’s Pinch of Nom: Everyday Light (Bluebird) reigned over the UK Official Top 50 for a fourth week in total, with 51,842 copies sold through Nielsen BookScan’s TCM. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-01-14 01:31:35 UTC ]
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