‘Let the fun begin!’ Why did romance writer Susan Meachen fake her own death? | Arwa Mahdawi

Two years after her apparent suicide, the novelist has announced she is still very much alive. Is this what it takes to sell books nowadays?‘All publicity is good publicity,” Susan Meachen thought to herself as she prepared to stage her suicide. In September 2020, Meachen, the self-published author of what she described as “perfectly flawed” romance novels, logged on to Facebook, pretended to be her daughter and wrote a post declaring herself dead. Meachen’s “daughter” continued to post numerous times after that. She suggested that Meachen was “bullied in the book world to the point of suicide” and encouraged people to buy Meachen’s “final” book. Then, plot twist: last week, Meachen posted on Facebook again to declare that she wasn’t actually dead. Surprise! “Let the fun begin,” she added.My very first sentence, by the way, was – like Meachen’s death – part fiction. I have no idea what the romance writer was thinking when she offed herself online. Nobody does. But people have a lot of questions. Meachen has alluded to mental health problems, which should obviously be taken seriously – but that still wouldn’t excuse using your fake death to try to hawk books, as has been suggested in the days since she announced her resurrection. People in Meachen’s writing community are furious. “I think she believed that if she died, her books would get attention,” an author in Meachen’s writing circle told the BBC. “Now, this is a new gamble: ‘Hey, if I come back, that will get... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2023-01-11 07:00:12 UTC ]

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Bologna 2025: Expanding the Book Fair Tent

The Bologna Children’s Book Fair, scheduled from March 31 to April 3, will once again bring the book world to Italy as it continues to grow beyond its traditional remit focused on children’s books. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2025-03-14 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Lean In, said Sheryl Sandberg – but after this week, can we ever see her or Facebook in the same light again? | Emma Brockes

The new memoir about Sandberg and Mark Zuckerberg is billed as an exposé – but it feels like a morality tale for our timesMany years ago, when Facebook was an entity most people had warm – or at least neutral – feelings towards, I visited the company’s HQ in Menlo Park, California. I admired the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2025-03-12 17:57:42 UTC ]
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ABA Goes into Damage Control Mode After Contentious WI2025 Community Forum

The American Booksellers Association used a dedicated issue of its weekly Bookselling This Week newsletter to address a host of issues raised during a contentious community forum during Winter Institute last week. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2025-03-07 05:00:00 UTC ]
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ChatGPT, can you write my new novel for me? Och aye, ye preenin’ Sassenach | Gareth Rubin

Let’s see if AI can take the faff – the actual writing bit – out of penning a Shakespearean thriller with a Scottish villainThe monsters of artificial intelligence are coming for you. They will cast you out on the street like a Dickensian mill owner and laugh as they do it – at least they will... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2025-02-08 17:55:27 UTC ]
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What Publishing Can Do About Trump: Preserve the Independence of Our Bookstores and Libraries

Too many people in the book world have been acting as though nothing has changed since the election. They are launching a conservative imprint (as if we don’t already have enough of them) headed by someone from the Heritage Foundation with connections to Project 2025, a platform of policies so... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2025-02-04 09:58:03 UTC ]
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Trump 2.0: What the Book World Should Do Now

How publishing should respond to Trump 2.0, on the joy and pain of tracking reading, and ONYX STORM is out: all in today's book news. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2025-01-21 17:23:15 UTC ]
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Trump 2.0: What the Book World Should Do Now

Well, here we are. Here is our world. Here is our next few years. Book people may not have as much economic or political power as other people in other industries, but we have some power. And if we don’t use the power we have, no matter how limited it may feel, how can we […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2025-01-21 14:44:52 UTC ]
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The Guardian view on rewriting classics: what the Dickens? | Editorial

Retellings of novels like Huckleberry Finn and David Copperfield help to keep the canon aliveIt might have lost out at the Booker, but James, a reworking of Huckleberry Finn by Percival Everett, was the unofficial book of 2024, topping best-of-the-year lists and winning the prestigious US Book... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2024-12-30 18:25:43 UTC ]
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The Biggest Book World News of the Week

The best gift books of 2024, the New York Times's 100 notable books of the year, Costco updates its in-store book plans, and more. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2024-12-01 16:00:00 UTC ]
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The Biggest Book World News of the Week

Cormac McCarthy's secret relationship with an underage girl, the winners of the 2024 National Book Awards, and more. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2024-11-24 16:00:00 UTC ]
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I’ll defend Allison Pearson’s right to be obnoxious – as she should defend mine | Kenan Malik

Police investigation into writer’s alleged tweet has sparked a debate over free speech, albeit a somewhat selective one There are few columnists with whom I disagree more than I do with the Daily Telegraph’s Allison Pearson. Yet, I welcome the decision by the police to drop their investigation... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2024-11-24 08:30:06 UTC ]
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Anatomy of a non-scandal: the defence of Allison Pearson reveals how ‘free speech’ has been weaponised | Jane Martinson

The Telegraph journalist sent a deeply offensive and inaccurate tweet. Yet she has won the support of a swath of newspapers, an ex-PM – and Elon MuskThe Allison Pearson saga is nothing if not a morality tale about the modern media. Among its many learnings are that calling a group of people of... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2024-11-20 08:50:32 UTC ]
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Hannah Schwartz, Longtime Children's Bookseller, Dies

Schwartz, a former high school English teacher who founded Children's Book World in Haverford, Pa., in 1989, died on November 8. The store, celebrating its 35th anniversary this year, is one of the country's oldest children's bookstores. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-11-13 05:00:00 UTC ]
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The Book News is Generally… Good?

There is so much to complain about in the book world at the current moment, from Amazon’s stranglehold on book retail to the increasing usage of generative AI to replace writers and artists of all kinds. But you’re reading this column on Thursday; I turned it in on Tuesday, Election Day. I have... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2024-11-07 12:52:28 UTC ]
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Milwaukee Welcomes Heartland Booksellers

Heartland Fall Forum, the joint fall trade show of the Midwest Independent Booksellers and the Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Associations, is taking place in Milwaukee this week—and it's been a celebration of everything that makes the Midwest book world unique. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-10-08 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The Black List Upended the Film Industry. The Book World Is Next

“I was loath to jump into it,” Black List founder Franklin Leonard says of expanding into publishing. “It’s not a great look to be like, ‘I'm from Hollywood and I'm here to save you.’” Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2024-10-04 15:00:00 UTC ]
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A Look at Crime and Mystery in the Philippines’ Book Market

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[ Publishing Perspectives | 2024-10-04 12:00:59 UTC ]
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Are novelists who worry about the rise of AI really ‘classist and ableist’? | Arwa Mahdawi

An international writing organisation appeared to greenlight the use of AI, prompting anger, the resignation of four board members and an entire creative community to ask: ‘What?!’Please spare a thought for artificial intelligence (AI). It may not have feelings yet but, if it did, it would feel... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2024-09-11 10:00:07 UTC ]
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The Book World Takes on the 2024 Democratic National Convention

Chicago booksellers and other literary-minded organizations are responding to the crowds in town for the Democratic National Convention by selling books, promoting causes, and, in the case of one publication, reporting on the proceedings from a literary perspective. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-08-22 04:00:00 UTC ]
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