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 ]
Despite the much-discussed 15% drop in Christian fiction print unit sales from 2013 to 2014, as reported by Nielsen BookScan, publishers aren’t sounding the category’s death knell yet. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Explainer,' the upcoming book by 'What If?' writer Munroe, is already near the top of bestseller lists despite not being published until November. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-05-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Clinton Cash' and 'Selfish' both landed in the top 15 adult nonfiction bestsellers, according to data released by Nielsen BookScan on Wednesday. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Jamie Oliver’s new book will focus on healthy eating, following a “personal journey” taken by the TV chef. Penguin Random House’s Michael Joseph division will publish Everyday Super Food in August this year, to tie in with a new six-part Channel 4 series. The book will contain recipes for 30... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-05-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Lee Child and Paula Hawkins gave Transworld two fiction number ones last week, with Child nabbing his 11th top spot on the Official UK Top 50 since records began. Child’s 19th Jack Reacher book, Personal (Bantam), sold 31,994 copies through Nielsen BookScan’s Total Consumer Market, shifting... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-04-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A third "Robert Galbraith" novel featuring detective Cormoran Strike, Career of Evil, will be published by Little, Brown this autumn, it has been confirmed. No precise publication date has yet been revealed. The first in the series authored by J K Rowling, The Cuckoo's Calling, was published... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-04-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Two authors and a fanzine have withdrawn their work from the Hugo science fiction awards, claiming alleged right-wing activists are skewing the voting process. The annual awards honour the best science fiction and fantasy works and achievements of the previous year across a number of... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-04-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Unit sales of print books rose 3% in the quarter ended April 5, 2015, compared to the first quarter of 2014, at outlets that report to Nielsen BookScan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-04-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Former Vice President Dick Cheney and his daughter Liz Cheney plan to publish "Exceptional: Why the World Needs a Powerful America" on Sept. 1. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-04-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ann Leckie’s Ancillary Sword (Orbit), the sequel to her multi award-winning Ancillary Justice (also Orbit), is among the finalists for this year’s Hugo Awards. The annual awards honour the best science fiction and fantasy works and achievements of the previous year across a number of... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-04-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Former Vice President Dick Cheney and his daughter Liz Cheney plan to publish "Exceptional: Why the World Needs a Powerful America" on Sept. 1. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-04-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Winds' is the upcoming book in the 'Song of Ice and Fire' series on which the HBO TV series 'Game of Thrones' is based. Check out which character the excerpt focuses on. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-04-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Simon and Schuster Children’s Books has bought a new title in the Underpants series from author and illustrator team Claire Freedman and Ben Cort. The series was launched in 2007 with Aliens Love Underpants and includes titles such as Dinosaurs Love Underpants and Monsters Love Underpants,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-03-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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They agree deal to turn an online brand into print format for LondonersJamie Oliver and Time Out have gone into partnership to launch a print version of the chef’s online Food Tube brand.The first issue of the monthly “mini magazine” will be published on 28 April and will be distributed, at... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-03-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The upcoming book by Pratchett, who died recently, will reportedly be titled 'The Shepherd's Crown' and center on a familiar character. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-03-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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World Book Day titles claimed nine of the coveted positions in the Top 10 in the most successful WBD week since 2012. A combined total of 339,133 copies of the 10 books published to celebrate the annual charity reading event (held on Thursday 5th March) registered through Nielsen BookScan in... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-03-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Wake' centers on the sinking of the British ship the Lusitania in 1915. The book will be released on March 10. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-03-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Minneapolis-based Lerner Publishing Group has acquired nearly 100 Egmont USA titles, following Egmont’s decision to close its US office. Lerner said it has published Egmont’s remaining US assets, including books by Ilsa J Bick, Patrick Jennings, Jon and Pamela Voelkel, Lex Thomas and Len... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-02-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Jon Krakauer's upcoming book 'Missoula' will center on stories he was told by those who said they experienced sexual assault at the University of Montana. Krakauer is also the author of 'Into Thin Air.' Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-02-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Serpent’s Tail is to bring out a novel by Karen Joy Fowler, Sister Noon, which appeared in the US in 2002 but which has never been published in the UK before. The indie publisher had success last autumn with Fowler’s Man Booker Prize-shortlisted novel We Are All Completely Beside... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-02-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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