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 ]
Held in person for the first time since 2019, the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) 2022 conference brought over 300 authors, agents, publishers, and aspiring novelists together in St. Louis, Mo. from September 8-11. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-09-14 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Increases in adult fiction and young adult were not enough to offset declines in the adult nonfiction and juvenile categories, resulting in a 2.4% decline in unit sales of print books for the week ended Sept. 3, 2022. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-09-09 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Increases in adult fiction and young adult were not enough to offset declines in the adult nonfiction and juvenile categories, resulting in a 2.4% decline in unit sales of print books last week compared to 2021. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-09-08 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Hosted by Andrew Keen, Keen On features conversations with some of the world’s leading thinkers and writers about the economic, political, and technological issues being discussed in the news, right now. In this episode, Andrew is joined by A.M. Homes, author of The Unfolding. Find more Keen On... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-09-06 08:56:16 UTC ]
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While other future novelists were discussing iambic pentameter and leitmotifs, Gina Chen immersed herself in computer science. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-08-25 09:00:11 UTC ]
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A 17% increase in sales of adult fiction was not enough to prevent print book sales from declining 3.7% last week compared to the week ended August 21, 2021. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-08-25 04:00:00 UTC ]
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A Black Muslim leader is bringing his life story and work to Broadleaf; novelists Tosca Lee and Marcus Brotherton are joining forces on a WWII story coming from Revell, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-08-24 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Last week’s sales pattern looked a lot like the previous week: a modest sales decline compared to a year ago, with higher sales of adult fiction and young adult titles offset by lower adult nonfiction and juvenile sales. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-08-18 04:00:00 UTC ]
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After a rare week in which sales rose over 2021, unit sales of print books fell 5.9% last week compared to the week ended July 31, 2021. Every segment but adult fiction had a decline. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-08-04 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Double-digit gains in the adult fiction and young adult categories led to a 4.4% increase in unit sales of print books in the week ended July 23, 2022, over the comparable week in 2021, at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-07-29 04:00:00 UTC ]
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One person joked that he was pretty sure the Missouri Senator's book would "fall well short of expectations." Continue reading at HuffPost
[ HuffPost | 2022-07-28 23:29:02 UTC ]
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Six of the 13 writers in contention for the prestigious British literary award are from the United States, with novelists from Britain, Ireland and Zimbabwe also on the list. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-07-26 14:51:57 UTC ]
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Despite a huge gain in adult fiction, print unit sales fell 2.5% in the week ended July 16, 2022, from the comparable week in 2021, at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-07-22 04:00:00 UTC ]
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A 23% increase in unit sales of adult fiction was offset by a big decline in adult nonfiction sales, resulting in a 2.5% drop in total sales last week compared to 2021. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-07-21 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Sales of print books began the second half of 2022 on a down note, with units falling 8.8% last week compared to the week ended July 10, 2021. The sales pattern was a familiar one, with gains in adult fiction not enough to offset deep declines in adult nonfiction and the juvenile segments. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-07-14 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Singer’s global initiative to offer a book each month to 200 refugee children in London until they turn fiveRefugee children in London will be given a book each month until they turn five, thanks to a new project from Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.The global organisation is partnering with... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-05-09 15:54:47 UTC ]
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Author Christopher M. Cevasco says there's a surprising lack of crossover between the two. Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2022-04-29 16:00:00 UTC ]
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The MSNBC counter-terrorism expert and former US navy servicemember discusses his decision to take up arms in UkraineMalcolm Nance, MSNBC’S former military and counter-terrorism expert, is always fighting someone.As a personal and professional acquaintance of Nance, I wasn’t the least bit... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-04-29 10:00:38 UTC ]
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Filmmakers, novelists and photographers, among others, also shape our collective memory, Richard Cohen writes. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2022-04-22 12:00:50 UTC ]
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Interviews Eloghosa Osunde and Okwiri Oduor. Photo of Oduor by Chelsea Bieker. It’s hard to argue with Booker Prize–winning author Damon Galgut’s assertion that 2021 was “a great year for African writing.” And as WLT’s “New African Voices” issue... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2022-04-21 13:41:40 UTC ]
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