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 ]
HarperCollins has reopened its graduate programme for 2015, with applicants now asked to make an application online with a home-made video interview. During the video, applicants will have to describe the best designed product they can think of, and explain how they would persuade a... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-04-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Wildlife expert and TV presenter Chris Packham is bringing his love of animals to the children’s book world with Amazing Animal Journeys, which will published by Egmont. The non-fiction picture book is illustrated by Jason Cockroft and is about the way different animals, from blue whales and... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-04-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Forward-looking children’s book editorMarni Hodgkin, who has died aged 97, was an outstanding editor of children’s books in an era before it was obvious that they would become one of the most important areas of the publishing business. She was one of a great group of female editors, including... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-03-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Wattpad, the online reading and writing community, has released After Dark, an app that offers its users a curated selection of romance and erotica. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-02-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In popular genres such as sci-fi and fantasy, fan fiction based on the Wattpad model could easily disrupt the publishing industryFor a few years in the mid 2000s, I was the young librarian who got sent to schools to convince kids they really did want to read books. The truth of my experience was... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-02-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Chicken House and Altitude, a film production company, are teaming up to develop book and film projects simultaneously. “Instead of waiting for a final book to take into movie production, we will find scripts or treatments together and develop them at the same time,” said Barry Cunningham, m.d.... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-02-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Mockingjay' is an adaptation of part of the final book in Suzanne Collins's trilogy. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-11-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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PW talked with the author of 'The Magician's Land,' the final book in his Magicians trilogy. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-08-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The book world is mourning Matt Richell, killed yesterday in a freak surfing accident in Sydney. Continue reading at The Sydney Morning Herald
[ The Sydney Morning Herald | 2014-07-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The book world is mourning Matt Richell, killed yesterday in a freak surfing accident in Sydney. Continue reading at The Sydney Morning Herald
[ The Sydney Morning Herald | 2014-07-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book World, a regional chain of 48 bookstores located in small towns and cities in five Midwestern states, is closing two Wisconsin outlets this summer. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-06-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The book world has been stunned by the sudden death of Deborah Rogers, co-founder of Roger, Coleridge & White, and a woman who was midwife to some of contemporary fiction’s most significant authors. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Part of the region’s success in the book world is due to deeply committed men and women from all parts of the industry. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-04-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Nick Ruffilo transitioned from technologist to a self-published author, and shares tips and lessons learned from experiments with various platforms. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-01-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Pan Macmillan has acquired five self-published and two unpublished novels by bestselling ebook... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-11-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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An Appreciation: Michael Connelly, bestselling author of the Harry Bosch books, on being under the influence of the late Elmore Leonard.I never wanted to be Raymond Chandler. I wanted to be Philip Marlowe. I never wanted to be Ross Macdonald. I wanted to be Lew Archer. Elmore Leonard was the... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-08-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A self-published author has featured among the regional winners of the Commonwealth Book Prize.... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-05-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The BBC's business editor Robert Peston describes how transcribing his late wife's final book helped him cope with grief following her death from lung cancer. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2013-04-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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It goes without saying that many book trailers and promotions are creative, but none have become truly viral. Where is the book world's viral video hit? Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-03-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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