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 ]
An adaptation of Holly Jackson’s bestselling YA novel 'A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder' made its U.S. debut on Netflix on August 1. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-08-06 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The cultural commentator, speaker, literary agent, and author's first children's book 'My Guncle and Me' (Running Press) is a gentle, authentic story of Henry Higgleston, a young boy bullied and teased at school for being different until his “guncle” comes for a visit and shows young Henry that... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-05-15 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Reid's blogs, 'Query Shark' and 'Miss Snark,' were widely read destinations for frank commentary on the publishing industry and the querying process. After a more than 20-year career as an agent, she died after a brief illness on April 14. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-05-02 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Chris Silbermann, whose clients include Dr. Seuss Enterprises, has been named one of nine managing directors at Creative Artists Agency, while motion picture literary department co-head Ida and literary agent Sloan Harris have joined the CAA board. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-04-11 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Every author wants to write a book like David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas. Two decades after it first hit the shelves, the author of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow celebrates its daring, dazzling appealPity the writer who believes they have written the next Cloud Atlas! A literary agent once... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2024-04-06 10:00:31 UTC ]
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Read an excerpt of Hope Ablaze by Sarah Mughal Rana, a YA novel about a Muslim girl who writes a protest poem that goes viral, changing her whole life. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-02-21 12:30:00 UTC ]
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When I was ghostwriting full-time, I produced twenty books in fourteen years. Thanks to a suggestion from my literary agent, I realized a ghostwriter might make a great heroine—they’re under tremendous pressure, often while adjacent to the fame machine—so Mari Hawthorn, the ghostwriter at the... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2024-02-15 12:05:00 UTC ]
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William Gladstone, the literary agent, publisher, author, and founder of Waterside Productions, died on December 27. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-01-12 05:00:00 UTC ]
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A decade after its initial release by Sourcebooks Fire, 'My Life with the Walter Boys,' a YA novel written by Ali Novak, has been adapted for the screen by Netflix and is an unexpected hit. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-01-09 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Tiffany D. Jackson's newest book is YA novel about the Marvel superhero Storm, titled Storm: Dawn of a Goddess. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-10-17 15:40:54 UTC ]
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Patience, Perspective, and the Power of Story: An Interview with Toni Ann Johnson, by Scott LaMascus Interviews [email protected] Mon, 10/16/2023 - 13:46 Storyteller Toni Ann Johnson uses her skills as an actor, playwright, and fiction writer to... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2023-10-16 18:46:19 UTC ]
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Istanbul's accomplished literary agent Nermin Mollaoğlu is opening a new press in London with Tasja Dorkofikis and Geraldine D'Amico. The post Frankfurt-Bound Nermin Mollaoğlu Opens a Press in the UK appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2023-10-12 20:29:08 UTC ]
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The Booker winning author talks about how his most recent work was inspired by Hilary Mantel, and the way the books world has changed since his debut was published more than 40 years agoToo many people have been dying lately,” Julian Barnes reflects over the phone from his home in north London.... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-09-16 08:00:25 UTC ]
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American screenwriter and producer behind the creation of the hugely successful soaps Dallas and Knots LandingDavid Jacobs, who has died aged 84, was an aspiring novelist when he created the show Dallas, a worldwide phenomenon and US television’s first peak-time soap success since Peyton Place.... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-08-23 13:56:48 UTC ]
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My cousin Carol Smith, who has died aged 84, was a literary agent and author best known for her thrillers Kensington Court (1996) and Unfinished Business (2000).Born in London to Winifred (nee Mapleston), a teacher, and David Smith, a businessman, Carol attended the North London Collegiate,... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-07-25 15:31:17 UTC ]
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Letting a Wild Ride Be a Wild Ride: A Conversation with Amy Spangler, by Ipek Sahinler & Iclal Vanwesenbeeck Interviews [email protected] Wed, 07/05/2023 - 14:43 Amy Spangler is the co-translator (with Nermin Menemencioğlu) of Leylâ Erbil’s A... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2023-07-05 19:43:55 UTC ]
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Sound too good to be true? Well I have news for you, dear aspiring writer, you can get yourself a phone call or a manuscript critique from a fancy literary agent by bidding at this year’s Literary Agents of Change Auction. The LAOC is an organization that believes that advancing the publishing... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-06-15 17:12:39 UTC ]
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Caroline Raphael, who has died of Parkinson’s disease aged 85, was for 20 years editor-in-chief of The Good Hotel Guide. She had worked on every edition from the first, in 1978, until her retirement in 2021, when the 2022 edition had gone to press.The Guide was launched by the literary agent... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-05-28 16:03:11 UTC ]
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After New Leaf "amicably" parting ways with literary agent Jordan Hamessley on May 12, authors affected by the agent's departure took to Twitter to express concern over how the transition was handled as the agency defends their actions. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-05-15 04:00:00 UTC ]
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