Spellbound: why ‘witch lit’ is the hottest new genre on our bookshelves

Vampires and ghosts have long haunted popular fiction, but now a string of new releases is focusing on marginalised women with hidden powersSomeone, or something, shadowy has put a strong spell on popular literature aimed at women, once cheekily labelled “chick lit”. This perky genre, packaged in bright covers, jauntily titled and so long a mainstay of the publishing industry, has been slowly transforming into something darker and rich with sorcery, with 2023 set to be a new high point in a growing “witch lit” trend.“Witches are definitely a big thing, which is exciting and fun,” said Phoebe Morgan, a publisher at Hodder Fiction, “but it also has something to do with a sense that women’s rights are in danger of being stripped away again, with things like the overturning of Roe v Wade in America. These books are often concerned with pregnancy, abortion and abuse, as well as magic.” Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2023-01-08 12:00:47 UTC ]

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What we've learnt about lockdown reading

The past few months have restricted physical access to bookshops, interrupted supply chains and created a raft of logistical complexities for the publishing industry. Even with restrictions easing, traditional consumer marketing and PR are trickier to execute safely. However, our data at The... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-07 15:24:03 UTC ]
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Under Newly Elected Chairman, Ebony Board Ousts CEO

The board of directors at Ebony has removed CEO Willard Jackson, the magazine said Sunday, citing an ongoing independent investigation into "a number of transactions that Jackson led." A co-founder and vice chairman of Clear View Group (CVG), the private equity firm that acquired Ebony from... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2020-07-06 17:59:58 UTC ]
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Coronavirus Impact: Spain’s Publishers Open a Two-Front Strategy

The Spanish publishing industry has gained new clarity on where it stands with the government and is ratcheting up its demands for pendemic assistance. The post Coronavirus Impact: Spain’s Publishers Open a Two-Front Strategy appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-07-06 13:44:10 UTC ]
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Hodder embarks on a Scottish road trip with 'Outlander' stars

Hodder & Stoughton will publish Clanlands: Whisky, Warfare, and a Scottish Adventure Like No Other, by Sam Heughan and Graham McTavish, stars of the historical drama series "Outlander". Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-05 23:10:32 UTC ]
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Publishers cut ties with David Starkey after 'abhorrent' comments

HarperCollins says it will no longer publish books by historian David Starkey and is reviewing his backlist, describing his recent comments on slavery as “abhorrent”. Vintage and Hodder & Stoughton have also said they will not publish further books from him. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-03 13:56:37 UTC ]
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Hodder Studio imprint launches with Moore as publisher

Hodder & Stoughton is launching Hodder Studio, a new imprint aiming to “reimagine storytelling” which already has a list of more than 25 titles. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-01 23:58:41 UTC ]
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The Most Anticipated Debuts of the Second Half of 2020

There’s no doubt COVID-19 has forever changed the world as we know it. A small slice of life that had to shift trajectory is the publishing industry. Debut authors are especially struggling as the books they have worked on for countless years are released into a world without in-person book... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2020-06-30 11:00:00 UTC ]
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B2B Publishers Call to End Data Misuse in Online Ad Auctions

A group of B2B publishers and ad tech firms are banding together to curtail the harvesting of publisher-specific data from online ad auctions by third-parties, a practice they argue is an unauthorized breach which places their relationships with their audiences at risk. Referred to as data... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2020-06-17 21:29:40 UTC ]
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Can #BlackoutBestsellerList be the reckoning the publishing industry needs?

The social media campaign could force publishers to focus on black writers by encouraging readers to buy their booksCould the New York Times’ Best Seller book list ever be filled entirely by black authors?As industries undergo reckonings around race, in the wake of international demonstrations... Continue reading at The Guardian

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Bookshops need to be representative too

I want to acknowledge that my experience as a South Asian is not the same as those of Black people in this country. Although it’s important to note that we may have some shared experiences, the current BLM protests are about Black Lives, and it’s crucial to know the difference.  However, the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-15 19:31:29 UTC ]
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Hodder & Stoughton acquires two new thrillers from Will Dean

Hodder & Stoughton will publish two new standalone thrillers from Will Dean.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-11 21:42:12 UTC ]
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Publishers want more black authors. Why have they silenced us for so long? | Candice Carty-Williams

As Black Lives Matter protests take place across the world, the publishing world is rushing to support those ‘ignored by the mainstream’. Who is the mainstream, then?The publishing industry is stilted and archaic. I worked in it for seven years, and left due to reasons I can’t legally talk... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-06-11 09:44:22 UTC ]
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Hodder to publish new Rosamunde Pilcher story collection

Hodder & Stoughton is releasing a new collection of stories from Rosamunde Pilcher, to be published two years after the author died in early 2019. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-11 02:01:56 UTC ]
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Changing the story with Hashtag BLAK and The Diverse Book Awards

I am a Black author and publisher in an industry that is dominated by white people. Black Lives Matter is not a hashtag. It is a movement that will carry on until we have seen real change. It is being said time and time again but there is still not enough representation in the publishing... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-11 01:22:51 UTC ]
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Dorothy Koomson: 'publishing is a hostile environment for Black authors'

Author Dorothy Koomson has written an open letter to the publishing industry, in which she describes it as a “hostile environment for Black authors”.   Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-10 06:37:48 UTC ]
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What It's Like to Be a Frontline Bookseller During a Pandemic

Frontline booksellers are the first people customers see when they set foot in bookstores across America, and are among the most vulnerable workers in the publishing industry. This is what their world looks like now. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-06-05 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Parakeet Brings out the Delightfully Weird, Unexpectedly Wise Side of Marie-Helene Bertino, by Taylor Hickney

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[ World Literature Today | 2020-06-04 19:40:55 UTC ]
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Coronavirus Response: Spain’s Publishing Industry Mobilizes Bookstore Support

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[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-06-04 13:07:04 UTC ]
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In Mexico, One Bookstore per 120,000 Inhabitants, by Elena Poniatowska

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[ World Literature Today | 2020-06-03 21:05:48 UTC ]
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