My weeks of reading hornily: steamy book sales have doubled – and I soon found out why

From fairy porn to romantasy via the Omegaverse, publishing is sexier than ever. The reason? A big shift in gen Z and millennial attitudes to respectability and shame ...I spent a fortnight reading nothing but smut and I don’t need to give you a reason. But since there is one, here it is: business is booming in the publishing world of love and sex. Aficionados draw fine distinctions – between romance and erotica; “steamy” and “smutty”; fantasy and saga fiction – and endlessly subdivide the genres, but the takeaway is that the stigma around what used to be called “books that women like” has gone. And, as the UK literary agent Alice Lutyens puts it: “The steamier the sex, the better the book does.”I started two books simultaneously, which just happened to span the gamut, from the almost completely chaste The Stars Too Fondly, by Emily Hamilton, to the most pornographic thing I’ve ever read (and I’ve read De Sade): Heat Clinic, by Alexis B Osborne. So, I could give you a take on the difference between romance and erotica, but I would rather throw it to an expert. Leah Koch started the independent romantic bookshop Ripped Bodice in Los Angeles with her sister, Bea, in 2016 (they recently opened a second shop in New York). She says readers tend to assume erotica is sexier. “The technical definition is that, in erotica, character development happens from sexual situations. We stock both.” Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2024-08-06 04:00:33 UTC ]

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Ruth Jones to embark on UK book tour this May with Fane

Ruth Jones will be embarking on a UK tour to celebrate the publication of her new novel Us Three in a collaboration between Fane and Transworld. The tour, combining a Fane-produced theatre tour with bookshop events organised by Transworld, will comprise seven dates across the UK. It begins at... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-02-28 11:07:04 UTC ]
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Flooding forces Shrewsbury children’s bookshop to close

Button & Bear children’s bookshop in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, has been forced to close today (Wednesday 25th February) owing to rising floodwaters. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-02-25 14:31:43 UTC ]
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When Your Agent Isn’t a Good Fit

Two authors share the literary agent advice they discovered when they figured out their agents weren't their perfect match and how to break peacefully. The post When Your Agent Isn’t a Good Fit by Jera Brown appeared first on Writer's Digest. Continue reading at Writer's Digest

[ Writer's Digest | 2020-02-14 11:45:09 UTC ]
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Bookstores Team Up to Turn Arizona Blue

Bookshop Santa Cruz in California and Changing Hands Bookstore in Arizona, have partnered in a drive to register Arizona voters and persuade them to vote Democrat in this year's presidential election. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-02-14 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Meet the booksellers who are fighting back against the algorithm

Could a bespoke book subscription service break you out of your reading rut or encourage you to explore new genres?Heywood Hill bookshop has stood on the same spot since 1936. It inhabits a Georgian townhouse at 10 Curzon Street in Mayfair, London, a blue plaque outside commemorating its most... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-02-13 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Prosecco-swilling Gay's the Word bookshop burglars caught red-handed by police

A pair of Prosecco-drinking burglars have been sentenced after police caught the two men knocking back alcohol during a break-in at Gay's the Word bookshop.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-02-13 04:34:38 UTC ]
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On My Dark Vanessa and the Way Stories of Trauma Get Told

Just a month into 2020 and my wishlist is already straining under the weight of all the new titles I’m looking forward to being published. Maybe it’s working in a bookshop or the concentrated effort I’ve been making to retreat into a fantasy-bubble when I’m at home, but I’ve found myself excited... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-02-03 09:50:09 UTC ]
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The publishing industry is probably even less diverse than you thought.

Children’s book publisher Lee & Low Books, a minority-owned company that focuses on multicultural literature, recently released the results of a survey geared towards finding out one thing: What do the numbers say about the widely perceived lack of diversity in the publishing world? The... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-01-29 21:40:46 UTC ]
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Patrick Modiano on the Bookshop Owner Who Escaped the Nazis

The copy of Françoise Frenkel’s No Place to Lay One’s Head that was recently found, I’m told, in Nice, in an Emmaus Companions charity jumble sale, had a curious effect on me. Perhaps because it had been printed in Switzerland in September 1945 for Geneva-based publishers Jeheber. That... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-01-27 09:49:55 UTC ]
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A round of ap-paws for this bookstore, where you can also adopt a cat!

Sometimes you just have to read between the lines—the felines, that is! There’s something about books and cats that just go together. You’ve probably met your fair share of bookshop cats, but have you ever stumbled into a store looking for A Tale of Two Cities and left with two kitties? Otis and... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-01-16 18:38:25 UTC ]
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Row as Barnes Children's Literature Festival chooses Waterstones as official bookseller

An indie bookshop which was the official bookseller of the Barnes Children’s Literature Festival has been replaced by organisers in favour of Waterstones. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-01-14 03:02:58 UTC ]
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WI15: Bookshop Hopes to Change Bookish E-commerce

The new online bookstore intended to benefit indies is nearly ready to go, and will launch January 28. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-01-10 05:00:00 UTC ]
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English language bookshop Coven reaches crowdfunder goal

Coven, an English language bookshop and café in Paris, has fulfilled its crowdfunding goal of around £21,000 to open a store dedicated to "intersectional feminism, engaged literature and ethical hospitality". Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-01-08 16:28:22 UTC ]
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Wakefield indie to shut bricks and mortar bookshop and move focus online

Wakefield indie Rickaro Books will close its bricks and mortar bookshop in March and move its focus to its website selling rare and antique books.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-01-07 01:28:46 UTC ]
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Savvides leaves PFD to join 42

Literary agent Marilia Savvides has left PFD to join management and production firm 42. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-01-06 18:38:34 UTC ]
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Galley Talk: 'The Roxy Letters'

Mary Webber O'Malley of Anderson's Bookshop in Naperville, Ill., recommends 'The Roxy Letters' by Mary Pauline Lowry. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-01-06 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Galway's Kennys Bookshop marks 80 years of trade

The independent family-run Kennys Bookshop & Art Gallery in Galway, Ireland, is celebrating 80 years in business this year after attributing its success to "innovation and experience". Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-01-06 04:40:44 UTC ]
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English language bookshop crowdfunder has week to raise £7,000

A crowdfunding campaign to create a “feminist safe haven” bookshop in Paris has only a week left to raise the remaining £7,000 needed to secure premises, after securing two-thirds of its financial target. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-01-02 16:26:28 UTC ]
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New Agent Alert: Megan Manzano of D4EO Literary

Literary agent alerts (this one is with Megan Manzano of D4EO Literary) are golden opportunities for new writers because each one is a literary agent who is likely building his or her client list. The post New Agent Alert: Megan Manzano of D4EO Literary by Robert Lee Brewer appeared first on... Continue reading at Writer's Digest

[ Writer's Digest | 2020-01-01 10:00:05 UTC ]
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'Feminist safe haven' English language bookshop to launch in Paris

A Kickstarter is under way to create a 'feminist safe haven' bookshop in Paris called COVEN to offer English language books, a café and range of events. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-12-20 11:14:17 UTC ]
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