Story of ‘bloodthirsty unicorns’ brings debut author record publishing deal

Annabel Steadman’s fantasy series Skandar and the Unicorn Thief has won a seven-figure book contract, with film rights also sold to Sony PicturesA 28-year-old first-time author from Canterbury has landed what is believed to be the world’s largest ever book advance for a debut children’s writer, with a fantasy series about “bloodthirsty unicorns”.Annabel Steadman, writing as AF Steadman, was paid a “major” seven-figure sum by Simon & Schuster this week, following a hotly contested multi-publisher auction for three books in her fantasy adventure series for children, Skandar and the Unicorn Thief. Set in a world where unicorns are deadly, and can only be tamed by the rider who hatches them, the series follows Skandar Smith, who is preparing to become a unicorn rider. When the most powerful unicorn in the world is stolen by a mysterious figure, becoming a rider becomes a lot more complicated than Skandar ancitipated. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2020-09-16 13:34:54 UTC ]
News tagged with: #debut children #fantasy series #bloodthirsty unicorns #annabel steadman #unicorn thief #film rights #first-time author #simon schuster #debut author

Other Publishing stories related to: 'Story of ‘bloodthirsty unicorns’ brings debut author record publishing deal'


UK Authors United speak out

European and US governments should act to protect “the literary marketplace from domination... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-09-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


More Publishers Join Comixology’s DRM-Free Program

Digital comics marketplace Comixology, which launched a DRM-free program in July, announced that a second wave of 14 publishers will now allow their customers to download and store DRM-free copies of comics they have purchased. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-09-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Wearables Present a Huge Challenge to News Publishers, and That’s a Good Thing

In the early 90s people balked at the idea of reading the news on a computer, yet if you looked at online services of the day (Compuserve and AOL), user demand would say otherwise. News was consistently among the top activity. Eventually that same demand drove Web 1.0 and by the time Web 2.0... Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2014-09-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #news publishers #good thing #online services


Smith, Shriver, Tremain up for BBC short story award

Writers Zadie Smith, Lionel Shriver and Rose Tremain join Tessa Hadley and Francesca Rhydderch on... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-09-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #lionel shriver


Authors on the Air September 17, 2014: Ali Larter

Ali Larter, author of 'Kitchen Revelry' (St. Martin’s Press, 9781250036353) will appear on 'The Chew' on Wednesday, September 17. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-09-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


An Author’s Best Friends: Booksellers and Librarians

Booksellers and librarians are among your best resources as an author. They are at the front-line of presenting your book to the public. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-09-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Amazon Gives KU Authors $2.7M Bonus

Kindle Direct Publishing "All-Stars," which includes the top 100 authors and top 100 books, will split a multi-million dollar incentive. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-09-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Publishers plead with twitchy social visitors to stay

As publishers continue to see more and more of their traffic coming from social referrers like Facebook and Twitter, they are increasingly forced to get creative about getting those readers to stick around on their sites -- to say nothing of coming back again. The post Publishers plead with... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2014-09-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #publishers continue #coming back


College Newspaper Drops Print, First to Operate Primarily on Publishing Platform Medium

Medium now has Substance. The popular publishing platform recently started hosting Substance, a new student publication at Mt. San Antonio College that doubles as a totally reinvented version of The Mountaineer campus newspaper. It is the first ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2014-09-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Authors on the Air September 16, 2014: Dawn Wells

Dawn Wells, author of 'What Would Mary Ann Do?: A Guide to Life' (Taylor Trade Publishing, 9781630760281), will appear on NBC's 'Today' on Wednesday, September 17. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-09-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Amarillo Globe-News Publisher Puts TV, Radio in Crosshairs

Local TV and radio broadcasters in Amarillo, Texas, consider yourselves on notice: the Amarillo Globe-News smells blood in the water and is coming after your business. That’s because Les Simpson, publisher of the Morris Communications-own ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2014-09-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Bestselling authors write to Amazon's board over 'ugly' Hachette sales dispute

Group representing Donna Tartt, Stephen King and others says Amazon tactics have driven sales down by at least 50%Some of the worlds most famous authors escalated their heated dispute with Amazon on Monday, publishing a letter to retailers board warning of the ugly history of blocking book... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-09-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #stephen king #hachette authors #publishers sales


Johnson Steps Down as Red Wheel/Weiser Publisher

Jan Johnson, who has led the group since November 2000, will become publisher emerita. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-09-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #johnson steps


You’re using analytics wrong: five mistakes publishers make with their data

What do most people think of when they think of analytics? Metrics and measurement, mostly. Limiting analytics to just metrics and measurement limits what you can do. How does a publisher make the leap from metrics to action? Sponsor content by Parse.ly. The post You’re using analytics wrong:... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2014-09-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #data appeared #sponsor content


France Festival Highlight Québécois, Indian Authors

For lovers of literature, Paris is the place to be for the next two weeks, as Festival America and Festival des Ecrivains du Monde highlight Francophone writers from Quebec and Indian authors. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-09-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Book Deals: Week of September 15, 2014

Winters goes ‘Underground’ at Mulholland and more in this week's notable book deals. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-09-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book deals


Brick Lane focus for publishers

Brick Lane continues to be a home of creativity, with the launch of independent publisher Brick... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-09-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Central American Publishers, Writers to Appear at Frankfurt Book Fair

Publishers from Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica will attend the Frankfurt Book Fair's International Rights Directors Meeting for the first time to showcase regional talent. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-09-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #costa rica


Short Takes: Religion Publishing News Briefs, Sept. 10, 2014

American Academy of Religion recognizes excellence in scholarship; another big hit for Lysa TerKeurst. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-09-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #short takes #american academy #big hit #lysa terkeurst


Kim Kelleher Named Publisher of Conde Nast's Wired

Kim Kelleher, the former president of digital publisher Say Media, was named VP-publisher of Wired magazine, parent company Conde Nast said Tuesday.The appointment marks a return to magazines for Ms. Kelleher, who was VP-publisher of Conde Nast's Self for six years before heading to Time Inc. in... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2014-09-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #conde nast #digital publisher #sports illustrated #global publisher #print sales #marketing staff #digital counterpart