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 ]
Apparently, this week is the Super Bowl for the book world (or at least the book world media). Which means you need to do two things to prepare: assemble your snacks (check) and place your bets. Six novels are up for the Booker Prize, the biggest literary prize in the UK, which comes complete... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-11-18 14:30:15 UTC ]
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Bestselling self-published author Nicola May has signed with Hodder & Stoughton to publish a new character-driven series, based around a fictitious street market in Cornwall. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-12 13:40:29 UTC ]
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Puffin has announced the final book in Jacqueline Wilson’s and Nick Sharratt’s 30-year-partnership, The Runaway Girls. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-10-29 00:56:46 UTC ]
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Are you happy in your current book world job? Do you arise each morning with a sense of purpose? Does social isolation, political turmoil, and inclement fall weather agree with you? Can you turn up to work barefoot and go snorkeling on your lunch break? If you answered “no” to any of the above... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-09-24 16:47:43 UTC ]
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When a group of thieves stole $3.2 million worth of rare books from a London warehouse in 2017, including seminal scientific texts by Isaac Newton and Galileo, they shocked the antiquarian book world and inspired a number of theories about what had happened. Who would target such rare... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-09-18 17:44:04 UTC ]
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The writer was drowned at the age of 44, but he left three novels which have come to represent the decline of the British Empire. Continue reading at The Conversation
[ The Conversation | 2020-09-03 13:13:15 UTC ]
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Last week was a relatively quiet one in the book world, with unit sales of print books falling 0.9% from the week ended August 15 at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-08-27 04:00:00 UTC ]
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In the mid-Noughties the Decibel Writer of the Year prize for authors of “Asian, African and Caribbean background” was launched to focus attention on a neglected section of the writing community. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-03 00:25:08 UTC ]
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Check out these bookish tools that you can incorporate into your life to keep up to date on the book world and stay focused on your reading. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-06-01 10:34:41 UTC ]
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It kept happening. On Twitter, on Facebook, in your WhatsApp chats. The bookish people you know, the introverts, declaring that lockdown would give them more time to read. Or the people who know you, and know that you might be bookish, declaring that you’d got a head start on them in terms of... Continue reading at British Council global
[ British Council global | 2020-05-29 15:15:00 UTC ]
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We talked with five middle grade editors about upcoming titles they are looking forward to introducing to the children’s book world. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-05-28 04:00:00 UTC ]
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L J Ross' The Shrine, the self-published author's latest DCI Ryan title, has divined straight into the Bookstat e-book number one. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-18 22:56:13 UTC ]
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The S&S CEO left behind a prospering publishing company and earned the respect and affection of the book world. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-05-15 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Book groups are a massive force in the book world - but also a mystery. We don’t even know how many exist. Reading Groups for Everyone (which is part of The Reading Agency) has collated a list of 10,000 online and offline book groups in the UK. But academic surveys suggest that the real figure... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-28 06:17:00 UTC ]
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The fourth annual On Air Fest, held earlier this month in Brooklyn, prominently featured a number of figures and institutions from the book world, reflecting a growing publishing and literary presence in the podcast sector. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-03-24 04:00:00 UTC ]
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An author examines how tours canceled due to Covid-19 impact all parts of the book world. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-03-20 04:00:00 UTC ]
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We spoke to the director of a new documentary on the world of antiquarian bookselling about how the movie came about, what the future of the rare book world looks like to him, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-03-12 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Hilary Mantel’s conclusion to her Thomas Cromwell trilogy sold more than 95,000 copies in three daysHilary Mantel’s much-anticipated The Mirror and the Light has been selling a copy every 2.7 seconds since its release last Thursday, with the final book in the two-time Booker winner’s trilogy... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-03-10 18:55:55 UTC ]
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Wolf Hall author Dame Hilary Mantel discussed the final book in her trilogy with the BBC's Rebecca Jones. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2020-03-02 17:51:43 UTC ]
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From international book fairs to book manufacturing, the virus is causing lots of disruptions in the book world. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-02-28 05:00:00 UTC ]
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