Keanu and co: how celebrities became bestselling novelists

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 ]

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Super Thursday: battle for UK book charts Christmas No 1 begins

Jamie Oliver and Phil Collins go up against Ladybird parodies and Danish coziness on bumper publishing day Jamie Oliver and Phil Collins will do battle against Ladybird and the Danish concept of hygge in the race to be Christmas No 1 in the UK book charts, which begins in earnest with the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2016-10-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Cole and Oliver among heavyweights to be published on Super Thursday

Booksellers are preparing for this year’s Super Thursday (20th October), with anticipated blockbusters from Jamie Oliver, Phil Collins and Martina Cole among a host of titles released that day with hopes of securing the Christmas number one. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-10-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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With sales like this, baby, Bruce is number one

Bruce Springsteen has thundered into the Official UK Top 50 number one spot with his memoir Born to Run (Simon & Schuster), which sold 37,518 copies for £437,540, according to Nielsen BookScan’s Total Consumer Market. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-10-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Girl on the Train lines up in first and second place

The Girl on the Train (Black Swan) has run away with both first and second place in the Official UK Top 50, according to Nielsen BookScan’s Total Consumer Market. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-09-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Great British Bake Off' boost for booksellers

As "The Great British Bake Off" marks its last series on the BBC, ending an era, The Bookseller's charts and data editor Kiera O'Brien takes a look at how much dough books related to the programme have made via Nielsen BookScan. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-09-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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High five for Cursed Child in book chart

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Little, Brown) has racked up five weeks as the Official UK Top 50 number one—but the gap is closing. According to Nielsen BookScan’s Total Consumer Market, the playscript sold 36,485 copies for £455,824, just 7,503 units above runner-up The Girl on the Train... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-09-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Cursed Child' gives Rowling her 75th number one

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Little, Brown) has snatched the Official Top 50 number one for a fourth week, according to Nielsen BookScan’s Total Consumer Market. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-09-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Dolly Parton: "Always Keep Something Just For Yourself"

The country music legend talks about her new album, Pure & Simple, and why you should stick to your crazy ideas. The country music legend talks about her new album, Pure & Simple, and why you should stick to your crazy ideas.Dolly Parton has spent more than 50 years... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2016-08-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Rowling keeps rolling: Cursed Child claims third straight number one

J K Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany’s Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Little, Brown) once again easily triumphed at the top of the charts, shifting 86,525 units last week through Nielsen BookScan’s Total Consumer Market. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-08-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Mass Merchants Feel the Love from 'Cursed Child'

Mass merchandisers accounted for 33% of the first week sales of 'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Parts 1 & 2,' according to Nielsen BookScan. The uptick was a much needed boost for the embattled retail channel. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-08-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Cursed Child racks up biggest single-week sales since Deathly Hallows

J K Rowling and Jack Thorne’s Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Little, Brown) has become the fourth fastest-selling title of all time, with 847,886 copies worth £8.76m shifted through Nielsen BookScan's Total Consumer Market last week, making it 2016's biggest selling title of the year in just... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-08-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Joy for Moyes as After You leapfrogs Joe Wicks' The Shape Plan

Jojo Moyes has toppled clean eating behemoth Joe Wicks, as After You (Penguin), the sequel to bestseller Me Before You (Michael Joseph), sold 53,867 copies for £214,008 to hit the Official UK Top 50 number one spot, according to Nielsen BookScan’s TCM. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-07-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Joe Wicks earns eleventh number one

Joe “The Body Coach” Wicks’ second title Lean in 15: The Shape Plan (Bluebird) has scored a second consecutive week in the Official UK Top 50 number one spot, according to Nielsen BookScan’s Total Consumer Market. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-06-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Walliams derails Hawkins for 14th number one

David Walliams has claimed his 14th Official UK Top 50 number one, as The World’s Worst Children (HarperCollins) shunted Paula Hawkins’ The Girl on the Train (Black Swan) off the top spot, selling 64,137 copies for £441,875 through Nielsen BookScan's Total Consumer Market. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-06-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Girl on the Train is tops again, steams towards one million mark

The Girl on the Train (Black Swan) has run away with the Official UK Top 50 number one spot for a second week, selling 89,852 copies for £347,113, according to Nielsen BookScan’s Total Consumer Market. This is a 51.9% increase in volume on its first week at the top. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-05-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BEA 2016: 'Strange Disease Books' and Other YA Trends

For the Thursday morning panel called Current Trends in YA, author Daniel Kraus rattled off a few crops of recent strains he’s observed, including books about “body parts, agoraphobia, and strange disease books.” Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Zoella is top of the vloggers

Twelve vloggers have collectively racked up sales of more than £15m in the UK in just 18 months, according to figures from Nielsen BookScan. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-05-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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New Jamie Oliver cover features Jools

Michael Joseph has revelealed the cover for Jamie Oliver's upcoming book Super Food Family Classics, featuring his wife Jools. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-04-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Lee Child makes it two weeks at number one

Lee Child’s Make Me (Bantam) has held the number one spot for a second consecutive week, selling 36,697 copies for £138,058, according to Nielsen BookScan’s Total Consumer Market. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-04-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Roald Dahl scores first number one in book chart

Roald Dahl has scored his first ever Official Top 50 number one, as World Book Day title The Great Mouse Plot (Puffin) leapfrogged Cavan Scott’s The Escape: Star Wars (Egmont). The Great Mouse Plot, illustrated by Quentin Blake, sold 32,096 copies for £32,096, according to Nielsen BookScan’s... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-03-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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