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 ]
From Kazuo Ishiguro to Zadie Smith, Granta’s list has been spotlighting future stars since 1983. Four decades on, what does its evolution says about our literary landscape?Last month, a reformed Glaswegian gang member, a former personal trainer and a Booker prize winner all glammed up for a... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-04-15 08:00:36 UTC ]
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This week, TIME magazine published its list of the 100 Most Influential People of 2023. And . . . it’s surprisingly literary! I mean, it’s not that literary, but considering that the TIME editors typically limit themselves to a single novelist among the 100, books seem to be coming up in the... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-04-14 15:34:40 UTC ]
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A new drop of choice up-and-coming novelists has arrived on the morning tide. Granta magazine has announced its 2023 Best of British Novelists list, geared to future stars, including picks from Sigrid Rausing, Rachel Cusk, Helen Oyeyemi, Tash Aw, and Brian Dillon. The team picked a host of... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-04-13 13:57:54 UTC ]
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The journal’s once-in-a-decade selection of the best fiction writers under 40 has broadened its selection of 20 to include authors who ‘regard the UK as their home’Granta magazine’s Best of British Novelists list, which hails the literary stars of the future, has this year expanded to include... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-04-13 07:00:37 UTC ]
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‘When I was put on Granta’s first Best of Young British Novelists list in 1983, no novel of mine had been published.’ The post On Writing ‘Blind Bitter Happiness’ appeared first on Granta. Continue reading at Granta
[ Granta | 2023-04-12 15:52:21 UTC ]
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Hay Festival is the world’s leading festival of ideas across literature, bringing readers and some of the brightest thinkers of our time together to inspire, examine and entertain. This international celebration of literature, music, and the arts is set to take place in the stunning Welsh... Continue reading at British Council global
[ British Council global | 2023-04-11 14:44:07 UTC ]
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Caryl Phillips on being chosen as a Best of Young British Novelists in 1993 and the nascent culture of literary celebrity. The post On Literary Celebrity appeared first on Granta. Continue reading at Granta
[ Granta | 2023-04-06 11:41:47 UTC ]
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A.L. Kennedy on being chosen for, and judging Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists. The post On Judging <em>Granta</em>’s Best of Young British Novelists appeared first on Granta. Continue reading at Granta
[ Granta | 2023-04-06 11:32:41 UTC ]
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Ned Beauman on his translation into Assamese, and where being named one of Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists took him. The post On the Anxieties of Translation appeared first on Granta. Continue reading at Granta
[ Granta | 2023-04-06 11:24:19 UTC ]
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The American novelist, whose latest work is a fake biography of an avant-garde artist, on growing up in Mississippi and why her fiction has ‘never actively involved cellphones or the internet’Catherine Lacey, 37, is the author of three previous novels, including The Answers, currently being... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-04-01 17:00:01 UTC ]
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A big rise in sales of adult fiction and smaller gains in the young adult category resulted in a 1.6% increase in unit sales of print books last week, making it the third consecutive week print sales increased over 2022. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-03-31 04:00:00 UTC ]
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‘The issue was the first of its kind. Trust me, it said. I know what I am talking about. These young writers are the future of literature. Watch. History will prove me right.’ A history of the list, with reflections from Bill Buford and other editors. The post <em>Granta</em>’s... Continue reading at Granta
[ Granta | 2023-03-21 19:02:26 UTC ]
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Despite no new blockbuster title, unit sales of print books rose 4.2% last week, led by a 9.8% increase in sales of adult fiction. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-03-16 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Check out these new March children's book releases, including books by Indigenous creators Joy Harjo, Michaela Goede, and Carole Lindstrom. Start off with Link + Hud: Heroes by a Hair by Jarrett Pumphrey & Jerome Pumphrey. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-03-08 11:31:00 UTC ]
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Though the adult fiction segment was the only category to post a sales increase over 2022 last week, its 12% gain was enough to increase total sales of print books by 0.6%. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-03-02 05:00:00 UTC ]
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With declines in all categories but adult fiction, unit sales of print books were down 8.8% in the week ended Feb. 11, 2023, from the comparable week in 2022, at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-02-17 05:00:00 UTC ]
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What is it about campus novels that makes us love them so? The campus has inspired many novelists over the years: Michael Chabon, Kazuo Ishiguro, Curtis Sittenfeld, Elif Batuman, Nabokov, to name just a few. Readers love these stories, too; “the campus novel” has become its own literary... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-02-14 09:53:34 UTC ]
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Unit sales of print books fell 2.1% in the week ended February 4, compared to the similar week last year, as Colleen Hoover–driven gains in adult fiction were offset by declines elsewhere. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-02-10 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Unit sales of print books fell 2.1% last week from the comparable week in 2022. Declines in the juvenile categories and a dip in sales in adult nonfiction offset a 3.5% increase in adult fiction. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-02-09 05:00:00 UTC ]
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I kind of love acknowledgement pages. When I was trying to find an agent for my first novel, I would go to the local Borders (it was a lifetime ago) open to them often to discover which agents and editors novelists worked with, which MFA programs they’d attended, who their early readers were. My... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-01-18 09:56:43 UTC ]
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