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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Centenary recording of Ulysses to be read by Eddie Izzard, Margaret Atwood and others

More than 100 writers, artists, comedians and musicians will voice James Joyce’s seminal novel in celebration of its publication a century agoOne hundred years ago, in February 1922, Sylvia Beach, owner of the Paris bookshop Shakespeare and Company, published James Joyce’s Ulysses, in full, for... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2022-01-20 09:30:55 UTC ]
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Indie bookshop numbers rise for fifth consecutive year, BA figures show

The number of independent bookshops in the UK and Ireland has grown for the fifth consecutive year despite challenges brought by the pandemic, the Booksellers Association says. Continue reading at The Bookseller

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Seymour joins Johnson & Alcock from Andrew Nurnberg Associates

Charlotte Seymour has left Andrew Nurnberg Associates to join Johnson & Alcock as a literary agent, as part of a strategic expansion of the agency. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2022-01-05 09:36:50 UTC ]
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As a black literary agent, I despair at UK publishing's lack of diversity | Natalie Jerome

For decades, I sat in meetings with all-white teams. The industry needs an independent body to advise on equalityI’m a literary agent and at the height of last year’s Black Lives Matter protests I was sent a list, with accompanying photographs, of the top editors working across the major... Continue reading at The Guardian

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UK's first Black specialist bookshop New Beacon to close

The UK's first Black specialist bookshop is to shut its doors and move entirely online, as financial constraints jeopardise its future.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

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Margate Bookshop raises £3k in books for schools drive

The Margate Bookshop has collected almost £3,000 to buy books for local schoolchildren with plans to run the fundraiser as an ongoing scheme alongside other independent bookstores, potentially as part of a charity.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

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The bookshop making a difference this Christmas

Newham Bookshop is giving over a thousand books to children and communities in need this Christmas. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2021-12-21 06:12:46 UTC ]
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Somerset indie Snug Bookshop forced to close after roof damage

An independent Somerset bookshop is being forced to close for good after Storm Arwen damaged the roof. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-12-20 01:26:46 UTC ]
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PW Notable: Tanya McKinnon

Over the course of her more than 20 years as a literary agent, Tanya McKinnon, founder of McKinnon Literary, has fought the good fight for the books and words of a long list of talented Black authors. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-12-17 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Strange and Janson-Smith join Gleam Futures

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[ The Bookseller | 2021-12-15 14:45:09 UTC ]
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Croatian Publisher Fraktura and Its Bookshop: ‘To Present Quality Books’

Now in its second year, the publisher-owned Fraktura Bookshop serves as a hub of literary events and trusted recommendations in Zagreb. The post Croatian Publisher Fraktura and Its Bookshop: ‘To Present Quality Books’ appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-12-13 07:33:12 UTC ]
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The Top 10 Library Stories of 2021

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Library audio and ebook loans in 2021 reveal unexpected stars

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Forever and another day

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Black bookshop owners urge others to embrace the opportunity for change

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Bookshop Heroes class of 2021 revealed

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Will Smith celebrates memoir with Sevenoaks Bookshop art installation

Will Smith has partnered with Black-owned bookshops and artists of colour across the UK and America to celebrate his upcoming memoir Will (Century), with Sevenoaks Bookshop featuring an artist’s display.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

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“People Wanted Stories About How Hard It Was to Be a Woman.” Marlowe Granados on Resisting Market Trends

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Sally Rooney novels pulled from Israeli bookstores after translation boycott

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Osei promoted to junior agent at The Good Literary Agency

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[ The Bookseller | 2021-11-02 05:38:45 UTC ]
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