After she was dropped by her agent, Alex Aster turned to a books-obsessed corner of TikTok to gauge interest in her YA novel … and now Lightlark is one of the most eagerly anticipated releases of the yearHaving finally published her first novel, Alex Aster was feeling disheartened. The book had tanked during the pandemic and she had been dropped by her literary agent. Then, on 13 March 2021, she decided to take to TikTok, asking her followers if they would: “read a book about a cursed island that only appears once every 100 years to host a game that gives the six rulers of the realm a chance to break their curses.” One of the rulers must die, the short video revealed, “even as love complicates everything” for the heroine, Isla Crown.Aster didn’t expect much, especially when she checked in a few hours later to see that her post had only clocked up about 1,000 views. Maybe the books world was right, she thought. Maybe there wasn’t a market for Lightlark, a young adult story she had been writing and rewriting for years, to no interest from publishers. The next day, however, she woke up to see her video had been viewed more than a million times. A week later, Lightlark had gone to auction and she had a six-figure deal with Amulet Books. Last month, Universal preemptively bought the film rights for, in her words, “more zeros than I’ve seen in my life”. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2022-08-16 13:32:30 UTC ]
Orion has pre-empted an "uplit" debut from Headline non-fiction editor Richard Roper in a "major" six-figure deal within 48 hours of submission. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-06-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Johanna Castillo is returning to her roots, leaving her editorial job for a post as a literary agent. The v-p and executive editor of Atria will return to the deal-maker's life on June 6, joining Writers House as a senior literary agent. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-05-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Simon & Schuster UK has signed a six-figure deal for two new novels from Catherine Isaac, with the first novel, A Blanket of Stars, scheduled for first publication in summer 2019. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-05-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Giles Milburn tells us all about his role as managing director and literary agent at Madeleine Milburn Literary, TV and Film Agency. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-04-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Thomas Taylor, illustrator of the original Harry Potter editions, has signed a six-figure deal with Walker for a new trilogy. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-03-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Delacorte Press has pre-empted a débutant’s YA fantasy trilogy, inspired by the author’s experience growing up in Sierra Leone during the civil war, for a “significant six-figure” sum. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-03-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Scottish author Claire McFall’s Ferryman trilogy has sold in 14 territories since the film rights were bought by Legendary Entertainment in January, says Ben Illis, founder of the Ben Illis Agency. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-03-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Oneworld's literary crime imprint Point Blank has acquired three more titles in Will Dean's Tuva Moodyson series for six-figures in a "substantial" deal. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-03-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Pushkin Children’s Books has sold the North American rights to The Beast Player series by Japanese author Nahoko Uehashi, translated by Cathy Hirano, in a six-figure deal. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-03-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The late physicist’s editor, Peter Guzzardi, recalls his first meetings with Hawking and how his book became a bestsellerStephen Hawking dies aged 76I first encountered Stephen Hawking on the cover of the New York Times magazine. Inside, its pages told a story we all know today, but at the time... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2018-03-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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For International Women’s Day, Waterstones has given over its website front page to female authors. This is welcome, but it’s far from enoughWomen are used to living off scraps that fall from the table. Whether we’re being patronised by politicians touting for our votes, or being told by... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2018-03-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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When it was still a manuscript, The Woman in the Window inspired a publishers' bidding frenzy, reportedly earning its author Daniel Mallory a seven-figure advance. Film rights were optioned and it has now topped The New York Times bestseller list. Daniel Mallory (aka AJ Finn) talks to Stephen... Continue reading at Stuff
[ Stuff | 2018-03-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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4th Estate has won a five-way auction for a memoir by drag troupe leader ‘Glamrou’, exploring their journey from "god-fearing Muslim boy to an influential drag queen", in a six-figure deal. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-03-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Author of the popular young adult series has issued an apology for being ‘part of the problem’ in the wake of anonymous claims posted onlineJames Dashner, author of the bestselling young adult Maze Runner books, has issued an apology in which he says that he “will seek counselling and guidance”... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2018-02-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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HQ has bought a "powerful feminist dystopia" by linguistics academic Christina Dalcher, billed as "The Handmaid’s Tale meets The Power", in a six-figure deal. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-02-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In the wake of online accusations, The Maze Runner author James Dashner has lost representation, as has Thirteen Reasons Why author Jay AsherThe Maze Runner author James Dashner has been dropped by his literary agent after a series of anonymous accusations of sexual harassment were made against... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2018-02-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The £580,000 Arts Council England funding will support new initiative to find and develop black and minority ethnic, disabled and LGBTQ writersA new literary agency, which aims to discover “the next generation of diverse writers” and “blow open the pipeline” for them, is being launched by the... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2017-12-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Lucy Foley has signed a "strong six-figure deal" for her first crime novel and one other book with HarperCollins. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-12-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Tina Turner has signed a six-figure deal with Century to publish her autobiography. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-12-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Gill Books has struck a six-figure two-book deal with journalists Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen to continue their series about stereotypical Irish girl Aisling, hailed as Ireland's answer to Bridget Jones. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-12-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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