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 ]
It's hard enough getting John Dunmore to stop and sit down; getting him to talk about himself is almost impossible. Continue reading at Stuff
[ Stuff | 2018-06-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The final book from Henning Mankell is among the titles to be shortlisted for the 2018 Petrona Award for the Best Scandinavian Crime Novel of the Year. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-05-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
His Dark Materials author condemns way book industry ‘allows corporate profits to be so high at a time when author earnings are markedly falling’Philip Pullman has called on publishers to stop damaging “the ecology of the book world” and start giving authors a fairer share of the money their... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2018-03-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Richard Johnson, Bonnier Publishing's group chief executive, has slammed the industry's "obsession with targets and quotas" when it comes to addressing lack of diversity in the book world as "nonsense". Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-12-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Michael Bond’s final book about the accident-prone bear will be published next year on the anniversary of the author’s deathA final adventure for Paddington Bear, in which the marmalade-loving magnet for trouble visits St Paul’s Cathedral, will be published in June 2018, a year after the death... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2017-11-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Book World Inc, announced on Tuesday that it is closing all 45 of its bookstores due to a drop in sales due to the consumer shift away from shopping malls, where many Book World stores are located. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-10-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Roald Dahl's last children's book finally gets the Sir Quentin Blake treatment after 26 years. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2017-09-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
An influx of talent from outside the book world is entering the trade at its highest levels, as it seeks to compete with rival entertainment media and exploit digital opportunities. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-08-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
A 68-year-old man who was rejected by the prestigious Iowa Writers' Workshop has filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education, claiming he was discriminated against because of his age. Dan Thomson, a former lawyer and self-published author, was among the 97% of applicants to the... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2017-07-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
At today’s Children’s Book & Author Breakfast, two bookstores—the Bookworm of Edwards in Edwards, Colo., and Children’s Book World in Los Angeles—will receive the 2017 WNBA Pannell Award. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-06-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The city of New York and themes of loneliness and disconnection are prevalent among the titles championed in the new W H Smith Fresh Talent promotion, which includes one self-published author. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-03-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Book Aid International has teamed up with 20 stars of the children’s book world to celebrate the 20th anniversary of World Book Day (WBD). Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-02-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
A pair of Wellington women with a combined 25 years experience in the children's book world are getting ready to share their passion with a wider audience. Continue reading at Stuff
[ Stuff | 2017-02-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
After news broke that 'Breitbart Tech' editor and "alt-right" pundit Milo Yiannopoulos received a $250,000 advance from S&S in a deal for his book 'Dangerous,' the book world has taken its grievances to Twitter. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-12-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The online reading and writing community is launching Wattpad Futures, a program that will run paid advertising in a selection of the stories posted on its website. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-08-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Until last week, Louise Linton was a little-known Scottish actress living in California, whose most prominent roles were guest spots in the television shows "CSI: NY" and "Cold Case" and the movies "Intruder" and "Cabin Fever." Now, thanks to a self-published memoir she wrote about her... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2016-07-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Self-published author Adam Croft has been snapped up for a publishing deal by Amazon imprint Thomas & Mercer after releasing what he says is the biggest-selling book by a self-published author in 2016. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-06-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Genre fiction, non-fiction and books which "are causing a stir, a story in the book world" will all be candidates for the new "Meet the Author" interview series, now conducted by veteran broadcaster James Naughtie who has replaced Nick Higham. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-03-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Pape Satàn Aleppe: Chronicles of a Liquid Society is a collection of essays that was originally set to be published in May 2016The release date of the final book by the Italian novelist Umberto Eco, who died on 19 February, has been pushed forward from May 2016 to come out this weekend in... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2016-02-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
After a successful 25-year run and selling more than three million copies, the final book in the Griffin and Sabine series will hit stores this spring. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-02-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this