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 ]
'Private Paris' by James Patterson and Mark Sullivan debuted at #2 on the iBooks bestsellers chart for the week ended March 20. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-03-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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James Patterson is to target new avenues for selling books with a series of shorter, cheaper novels he is calling BookShots, the New York Times has reported. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-03-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The fourth book in James Patterson's NYPD Red series, co-written with Marshall Karp, debuted in second place on the iBooks bestsellers list for the week ended January 31. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-02-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Carly Simon’s memoir—which among other disclosures finally confirms one of the men who’s “so vain”—debuts on our hardcover fiction list. Plus Black Friday boosts numbers for several top-selling titles, James Patterson’s Alex Cross scores a bestseller hat trick, and much more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-12-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Picador has acquired "powerful" psychological thriller The Wonder by bestselling author of Room, Emma Donoghue. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-10-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Myriad has signed Never Alone, a "gripping new psychological thriller" from Elizabeth Haynes. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-10-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The World Book Day Award 2016 (WoBoD), funded by James Patterson, is offering school libraries the chance to win up to £10,000 of new books. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-10-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A trio of cookbooks from brand-name authors make their list debuts. Plus a new Tumblr-to-book invites readers to ogle forest abodes, James Patterson is #1—again, and much more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-10-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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After offering $1 million in grants to indies last year, the bestselling author is continuing to show his support for bookseller "heroes" through holiday bonuses to those working on the frontline, ranging from $1,000 to $5,000. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-10-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon publishing imprint Thomas & Mercer has acquired three more novels by Mark Edwards. Emilie Marneur, editorial director of Amazon, signed world rights to the three books with agent Sam Copeland of Rogers, Coleridge and White. The first book, The Devil’s Work, is a psychological... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-09-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Black & White Publishing has signed a psychological thriller, Abigale Hall, by the winner of Faber and Faber Creative Writing MA Prize, Lauren A. Forry. Managing director of Black & White Publishing, Campbell Brown, acquired World English rights for the publication from Sandra Sawicka... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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HarperCollins is to launch an interactive outdoor campaign at Westfield White City shopping centre in west London for the paperback release of psychological thriller The Ice Twins by S K Tremayne. From 31st August to 14th September customers will be able to download a free sample of the book... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Swedish literary agency Salomonsson has signed Carl-Johan Forssén Ehrlin, the author of the chart-topping self-published picture book The Rabbit Who Wants to Fall Asleep. The book, which Ehrlin created to help parents lull their children to sleep, is currently the second biggest-selling title... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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James Patterson has jumped to the top of the UK Top 50 chart this week with 14th Deadly Sin (Arrow)—his 21st individual title to reach the summit since Nielsen BookScan’s records began. However, Swedish author Carl-Johan Forssen Ehrlin has scored a surprise hit with his picture book The Rabbit... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Avon Books will publish a debut psychological thriller about a woman whose baby is taken. Senior commissioning editor Helen Huthwaite acquired UK and Commonwealth rights to Little Girl Gone by Alexandra Burt from Laura Longrigg at MBA Literary Agents in a one-book deal, with an option of a... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-06-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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While all of the four speakers at Friday's Children's Book and Author Breakfast emphasized the importance of storytelling to their lives, James Patterson went even further, insisting that books save lives. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Guests at this morning’s annual Children’s Book and Author Breakfast will be entertained by a quartet of children’s book creators. The lineup is impressive: Nathan Lane, Oliver Jeffers, Rainbow Rowell, and James Patterson. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In another effort to encourage children to read, James Patterson has formed the jimmy patterson imprint at Little, Brown. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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James Patterson and Maxine Paetro’s '14th Deadly Sin,' released May 4, made its first appearance on Apple’s iBooks bestseller list at #2. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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James Patterson has extended his support of indies to Australia and New Zealand, offering bookshops $5,000 each from a pool of $100,000 to spend on initiatives to get children reading. The best-selling American author has already given indies in the US and the UK grants and he has also donated... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-05-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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