One of the enduring mysteries of popular culture is why certain mediocre works become wildly successful, even inescapable. In addition to the occasional masterpiece, book publishing produces hundreds of thousands of middling titles every year, and every so often one of them catches on, becoming the blockbuster that funds all the rest. But why that particular book? Take Paula Hawkins’ The Girl on the Train, a psychological thriller of very modest accomplishment that has sold upward of 11 million copies, putting Hawkins on Forbes’ list of the highest-paid authors in the world, one slot above Game of Thrones’ George R.R. Martin. Most best-sellers aren’t any better than the drably written and predictably twist-ridden The Girl on the Train, of course, and some are much worse. But the typical successful commercial novelist—from James Patterson to Mary Higgins Clark—succeeds not by coming out of nowhere with a remarkable book but because she has hammered out a formula more or less her own, promising her readers a reassuringly familiar experience. Can Hawkins? Her new novel, Into the Water, will tell. Continue reading at 'Slate'
[ Slate | 2017-04-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
James Patterson and Bill Clinton kept their #1 slot in Apple's iBooks Store last week with 'The President Is Missing.' Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-06-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bill Clinton and James Patterson have the #1 book in the country with 'The President Is Missing' and more in our analysis of this week's bestseller lists. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-06-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The new novel by President Bill Clinton and James Patterson has sold 260,000 total copies after its first week on sale. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-06-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Gilly Macmillan has moved from Piatkus to Century and Arrow with a new "brilliantly chilling" psychological thriller, The Nanny. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-06-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The former president and the world's most prolific thriller writer conjure a suspenseful—but, they say, entirely possible—scenario in the White House. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-06-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This week: the thriller from Bill Clinton and James Patterson, plus new books from Lauren Groff, Rachel Cusk, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-06-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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David Baldacci's latest Amos Decker novel, 'The Fallen,' remained at the top of Apple's iBooks store last week, with James Patterson and Maxine Paetro's 'The 17th Suspect' following at #2. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-05-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Penguin Random House has bought a new children’s series, about a girl genius called Max Einstein, by James Patterson. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-04-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Among the books generating buzz at this week's London Book Fair are a nonfiction title about the modern-day investigation into who betrayed Anne Frank and her family and a psychological thriller out of Sweden. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-04-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Avon Books has bought a psychological thriller, described as mixture of S. J. Watson's Before I Go to Sleep and cult film "Single White Female", by debut Australian author Ingrid Alexandra. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-04-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sphere has signed Jessica Vallance's first adult fiction novel ahead of London Book Fair, an "addictive" psychological thriller. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-04-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Young Arrow has acquired a new children’s book, Dog Diaries, a spin-off from James Patterson’s bestselling middle grade Middle School series. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-01-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A buzzed-about psychological thriller and sophomore novel by Annie Ward called 'Beautiful Bad' has been acquired in a six-figure deal by Park Row Books, after a seven-bidder auction. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-10-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The forthcoming novel by James Patterson and Bill Clinton, as well as Karen McManus' YA bestseller 'One of Us Is Lying,' are among the books that have been optioned this week. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-09-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ruth Ware’s third psychological thriller, 'The Lying Game,' debuts at #3 in Hardcover Fiction. Plus Joan Hess completes the final novel in Elizabeth Peters’s long-running Amelia Peabody series, and the first trailer for the big-screen adaptation of ‘Ready Player One’ boosts the book to the #9... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-08-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Atlantic imprint Corvus has signed a "completely compulsive" psychological thriller by Jennifer Hillier in a "hotly contested and fiercely fought auction". Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-08-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Transworld is publishing psychological thriller The House Swap, and another as-yet-untitled novel, by Rebecca Fleet. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-07-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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W H Smith is selling seven exclusive short stories from writers including Jeffrey Archer, James Patterson and Jodi Picoult to celebrate its 225th anniversary. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-07-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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At the author advocacy organization's 25th gala, trade publishing stars and a self-publishing engine are acclaimed for distinguished service to writers. The post The Authors Guild Honors Toni Morrison, James Patterson, and…IngramSpark appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2017-05-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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All Big Five publishers have made significant contributions to the Book Industry Charitable Foundation this year, prompted by authors Ann Patchett and James Patterson. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-05-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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