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 ]
Led by hits from David Walliams, Jeff Kinney and Egmont’s Minecraft stable, the UK children’s market hit an all-time high in revenue and market share in 2014, and exceeded sales of Adult Fiction for the first time since accurate records began. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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July's upcoming book has received many positive reviews, with critics calling it 'compelling' and 'visionary,' though some felt that parts of the story were contrived and that some sections tried too hard to shock the reader. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-01-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Third party sellers accounted for more than 40% of all items sold on Amazon in 2014, the online retailer has revealed. There are currently more than two million vendors on the online retail site, who sold more than two billion items worldwide last year, including books, clothing and other... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Children's books dominated the top of the US book charts in 2014, Nielsen BookScan's full-year statistics have revealed. Seven children's titles hit the number one spot last year and claimed pole position for 39 of the 52 weeks ending 28th December. This included an unbroken run of 15 weeks... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Martha Ashby has been promoted to editor of commercial women's fiction at HarperCollins. Ashby started at the publisher in 2012 as assistant editor, after five years at Orion, including three in non-fiction. She has worked with authors including Cecelia Ahern and Beatriz Williams, and in 2013... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In the three-week shopping season that began Thanksgiving week, Jeff Kinney's newest installment in the Wimpy Kid series has sold more than 535,000 print copies at outlets that report to Nielsen BookScan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-12-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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As the Christmas rush got underway, the US book market surged again last week with print volumes increasing by 26% week on week. Overall, just over 20m book sales registered through Nielsen BookScan in the seven days ending 7th December. Jeff Kinney's The Long Haul (Amulet), enjoys another... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book sales in the US jumped 23% week on week in the seven days ending 30th November as 15.8 million print books registered through Nielsen BookScan. It follows two consecutive weeks of volume growth above 5%. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Print unit sales rose 5% in the week ended November 30, 2014 compared to Thanksgiving week in 2013 at outlets that report to Nielsen BookScan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-12-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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YouTube sensation Zoe Sugg has eclipsed superstars such J K Rowling, Dan Brown and E L James to record the biggest first week sale for a début since records began. Sugg, known as Zoella on her fashion and beauty vlog, which has over five million subscribers, shifted 78,109 copies of her Young... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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With unit sales of print books up about 2% in the first 47 weeks of 2014, year over year, at outlets that report to Nielsen BookScan, the industry is poised to post its first increase in print sales since 2008. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-11-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Booksellers are predicting that a Picador novel by a little-known Japanese writer will prove a left-field Christmas bestseller. The Guest Cat by Takashi Hiraide, translated by Eric Selland, sold over 16,200 in paperback in its first six and a half weeks since publication at the end of September... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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YouTuber Alfie Deyes is to write two more books for Blink Publishing, including a sequel to his bestselling debut The Pointless Book. The sequel to The Pointless Book, which has sold more than 100,000 copies through Nielsen BookScan, will be published in April 2015. This will be followed by a... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Julia Donaldson has bested fellow bestsellers J K Rowling, Jamie Oliver and Dan Brown to become the only author to record annual sales of over £10m in five consecutive years. The Gruffalo creator sold almost £239,000 last week through Nielsen BookScan's Total Consumer Market, to bring her tally... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Self-publishing has made it clear that “readers want very different things to what publishers in London and Manhattan think readers want”, Orna Ross of the Alliance of Independent Authors has said. Speaking at an event debating the best route to publishing for authors, Ross said... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Newly formed production company Monumental Pictures has acquired the film rights to Caitlin Moran’s novel How to Build a Girl (Ebury Press). Moran and John Niven will adapt the book for the big screen, with Film 4 backing the project. Moran’s debut novel follows teenager Johanna Morrigan, who... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Jeff Kinney's newest Wimpy Kid title has débuted at number one, knocking David Walliams' Awful Auntie from the top of the UK Official Top 50 after a run of six consecutive weeks. The Long Haul (Puffin), the ninth of Kinney's books featuring hapless middle schooler Greg Heffley, sold 59,315... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Man Booker Prize winner The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Samuel Johnson Prize winner H is for Hawk are amongst the titles competing to win the Waterstones Book of the Year 2014. There are eight titles this year on the shortlist, voted for by Waterstones’ booksellers– three adult fiction,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Halpern's upcoming book on rogue debt collecting is earning praise for bringing 'unexpected literary heft' to the topic and writing a 'colorful and chilling' story. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-10-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Lena Dunham's much-talked about essay collection, 'Not That Kind of Girl,' sold about 38,000 print copies in its first week on sale, according to Nielsen BookScan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-10-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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