Our annual pick of the most exciting debut fiction has previously tipped Sally Rooney and Louise Kennedy, Tom Crewe and Douglas Stuart. Here the class of 2024 tell us their storiesEach year since 2014, the Observer New Review’s writers and editors have read scores of forthcoming debut novels from authors based in the UK and Ireland in order to spotlight the best; here’s our pick of 2024. As ever, our only guide was the quality of the books in front of us. This year’s list includes industry-tipped titles snapped up by big-spending publishers, but also a canny acquisition from a small independent press. There’s a third book from someone already widely celebrated as a writer of short stories, and even a debut from an actual Observer journalist. These are simply the books we rated most – and we think you’ll love them too.In previous years, we led you to Douglas Stuart’s Booker-winning Shuggie Bain, Gail Honeyman’s global bestseller Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine and Sheena Patel’s cult indie hit I’m a Fan. Last year’s picks continue to hoover up honours. Tom Crewe’s The New Life won the Orwell prize for fiction, while Michael Magee (Close to Home) won the Rooney prize, awarded to an outstanding Irish writer under 40. Both writers are on the shortlist for this month’s Nero debut fiction prize, along with Stephen Buoro, another of our 2023 picks.I’d take the washing up shifts no one else wanted so I could be at the back, jotting things downThere’s violence, but it’s about... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2024-01-14 07:00:20 UTC ]
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The bestselling Apple Books in fiction and literature, mysteries and thrillers, health, mind & body, and more for the week ended March 10, 2019. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-03-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Elif Shafak has revealed her selection of ten of the most exciting women writers working in the UK. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-03-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Downing Street has welcomed 30 schoolchildren to share a story to celebrate today’s (7th March) World Book Day, whilst astronaut Tim Peake is marking the day with a video encouraging children to read. The children visiting 10 Down Street spent the morning reading and drawing along with authors... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-03-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A Los Angeles judge has ordered a graphic novelist from a wealthy Canadian family to pay $41.6 million to the family of his slain fiancee, whom he brutally tortured and killed in 2016 just weeks after their daughter was born. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Bobbi Tillmon delivered the... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-03-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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With Fever Pitch, About a Boy, and High Fidelity, Nick Hornby created a niche penning romantic comedies from the male perspective and launching the crush-worthy careers of Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, and John Cusack on both sides of the pond. Then he went on to prove that he can deftly embody a... Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2019-02-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Prema Raj, a rights assistant at A M Heath, has won this year’s £10,000 Deborah Rogers Foundation David Miller Bursary. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-02-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Brazilian author blames ghostwriter after fellow novelists, including bestseller Courtney Milan, flag passages they claim were lifted from their work verbatimBestselling Brazilian romance novelist Cristiane Serruya has pulled one of her novels from sale after she was accused of plagiarising some... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2019-02-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The bestselling Apple Books in fiction and literature, mysteries and thrillers, health, mind & body, and more for the week ended February 10, 2019. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-02-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bestselling novelist Rosamunde Pilcher, most famous for her hit book The Shell Seekers, has died at the age of 94. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-02-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Vice Media is laying off 10 percent of its staff, marking the latest example of digital publishing's struggle to compete with Facebook and Google for advertisers' money.On Friday, Vice confirmed that it would cut around 250 of its 2,500-person work force, a move that was first reported by The... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2019-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A former English teacher has won a £10,000 publishing contract with Trapeze as first prize in the ‘Write your own Love Story’ competition the publisher ran with dating website eharmony to celebrate the latter’s 10th anniversary. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This month features tales of two revolutions: a debut novel about an Iranian family in the 1970s and a nonfiction narrative about China in the 1940s, when millions left Shanghai. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2019-01-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A new novel by 'The Thirteenth Tale' author Diane Setterfield and a nonfiction title about the mass exodus of one-quarter of Shanghai’s population in the 1940s are two of the titles that Monitor reviewers liked best this month. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2019-01-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Lionel Shriver's controversial opinion piece on diversity, a publishing start-up offering aspiring writers a £24k salary and Waterstones' shock acquisition of Foyles all feature in the Top 10 most-read stories on The Bookseller website in 2018. But what's at number one? Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-12-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In Seattle, librarians will kick-start what figures to be a busy year with a slate of inspiring authors and speakers; a strong, future-oriented professional program; a host of awards and receptions; and a full slate of author signings and product demos in the exhibit hall. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-12-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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PW takes a look back at some of the library stories that captivated the publishing world in 2018, and what they portend for 2019. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-12-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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TV coverage of literary fiction has dwindled, but Trevor Noah and Seth Meyers are exceptions. “Who would have guessed that a 700-page novel would be on national TV?” one publishing executive said. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2018-12-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Questions over the changing religious beliefs of millennials, a defamation suit filed by the subject of 2010’s bestseller ‘The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven,’ and reports of sexual misconduct at Christian writing conferences make up some of PW’s top religion and spirituality stories of 2018. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-12-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This week: the winner of the 2018 Man Booker Prize, plus Yan Lianke's satiric, chilling take on China’s policy of forced cremation. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-12-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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NBA finalist Téa Obreht sells a novel to Random House, Beach Lane buys an Amy Cherrix picture book for six figures, Avery picks up a title on gut health for a rumored high-six-figure sum, and more in this week's notable book deals. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-12-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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