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 ]
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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L.A.'s authors, from 19th century novelists to Wanda Coleman to Steph Cha, have always pushed genre boundaries and dissected California myths. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-04-14 13:00:55 UTC ]
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The theatre is a perennially popular setting for novelists and no wonder. The tawdry glamour and sense of spectacle make it a rich gift for any author, but it’s what happens behind the scenes that I find the most interesting. This is particularly true for those novels set on the 19th-century... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2022-04-14 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Guardian photographer who captured most of the main events and notable people from the early 1960s to the late 90sThe photographer Frank Martin, who has died aged 89, was on the staff of the Guardian from 1964 to 1997, creating an extensive body of work that covered news, arts, fashion, politics... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-04-13 16:01:26 UTC ]
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Dolly Parton and James Patterson have the #1 book in the country with 'Run, Rose, Run." Plus 'The Wok' by J. Kenji López-Alt is #3 in the country, and another cookbook, 'Jane Austen's Table' by Robert Tuesley Anderson, serves up shortbreads and sensibility. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-03-18 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Three authors joined author/moderator Emma Straub in a thought-provoking keynote panel, “Storytelling in the Cultural Moment,” to begin the third day of ABA's Snow Days online conference. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-03-11 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Dolly Parton has written her first novel with the help of best-selling author James Patterson. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2022-03-10 00:01:14 UTC ]
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Book Reviews Statue of renowned Kurdish historian, author, and poet Mastoureh Ardalan (1805–1848) in Erbil / Photo by Levi Meir Clancy / Unsplash Even though they appear to have a lot to say about the historical, political, cultural, and literary... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2022-02-23 21:05:41 UTC ]
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Literary novelists are struggling with whether, and how, to incorporate Covid into their fiction. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-02-20 22:17:31 UTC ]
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“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” –Arthur Ashe * Years ago, when I was still a budding fiction writer, I published an essay about how hard skateboarding is to write about. I focused on a few novelists who had skater characters in their books but who clearly didn’t skate […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-02-09 09:55:45 UTC ]
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