As publishers vie to persuade us to pack their titles for the holidays, we chart the evolution of the ’beach read’Summer reads, beach reads, holiday reads … at this time of year, the publishing world works itself into a sweat trying to force its novels into our carry-on luggage, or over the ether on to our Kindles. There are more books sold in the summer than during any other season: the well-established publishing calendar tends to see hardbacks released in the autumn to be given as gifts at Christmas, then repackaged as paperbacks in late spring. As Donna Harrington-Lueker sets out in her history of the beach read, Books for Idle Hours, the summer publishing rush is at least a century old, and has typically aimed “airy and froth-like” books on “young ladies” (the quote is from an 1888 work on summer books by Arlo Bates). The summer fiction market is changing, though, with more and more “serious”, “literary” novels showing up where once there were only thrillers and crime novels, bonkbusters and romances. So it is that Normal People by Sally Rooney is currently piled high on the tables of WH Smith’s Travel alongside Lee Child, Jodi Picoult and Bernard Cornwell.I’m aware of how contentious and porous discussions of genre can be. Generic labels, though, are the terms that booksellers and publishers think in and for literary novels, the chances of summer success are still relatively slim. Tom Tivnan, managing editor of the Bookseller, points to Nielsen BookScan data that... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2019-07-14 07:00:23 UTC ]
Novelists and short-story writers have created some classic narratives about man’s best friend, the dog. But what are the very best stories and novels about dogs? Where should we begin in assessing the classic, canonical literature that features dogs? From Homer’s Odyssey onwards – where the... Continue reading at Interesting Literature
[ Interesting Literature | 2021-12-03 15:00:29 UTC ]
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The following first appeared in Lit Hub’s Craft of Writing newsletter—sign up here. * While writing my first novel, I was hungry for advice, like many young writers, and soaked up tenets like write every day or wake up before work to go to your desk or hit 1000 words every session. But these... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-11-12 09:55:05 UTC ]
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Marlowe Granados is the guest. Her debut novel, Happy Hour, is out now from Verso Books. Subscribe and download the episode, wherever you get your podcasts! From the episode: Marlowe Granados: I think that you have to wait a little bit for the correct timing. That was my main gripe with the... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-11-09 09:50:34 UTC ]
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Following the acclaimed author’s decision not to have Beautiful World, Where Are You translated by an Israeli publisher, two major retailers have removed her work from their shelvesBooks by Sally Rooney will no longer be sold in two Israeli bookshop chains, after the acclaimed writer’s decision... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2021-11-05 16:14:29 UTC ]
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News and Events (c) Rama, Cc-by-sa-2.0-fr NORMAN, OKLA. – World Literature Today, the University of Oklahoma’s award-winning magazine of international literature and culture, announced late Tuesday evening that Boubacar Boris Diop is the 27th... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2021-10-26 21:56:54 UTC ]
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J K Rowling's The Christmas Pig (Little, Brown) has notched up a second week in the UK Official Top 50 number one spot, with 31,565 copies sold through Nielsen BookScan's Total Consumer Market. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-10-26 07:52:25 UTC ]
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The Tudor Dynasty lives on in these outstanding historical fiction novels, including The King’s Witch. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2021-10-22 10:33:00 UTC ]
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Kate Mosse is launching a YouTube channel, including a book club featuring two non-fiction titles and a pair of fiction titles each month. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-10-20 03:44:21 UTC ]
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Fiction that lazily predicts a dystopian, ecologically decimated world is doomed to fail; instead novelists must engage on a new level with the climate crisis Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-10-18 12:54:39 UTC ]
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Granta Magazine has opened submissions for the fifth edition of its Best of Young British Novelists list, to be released in spring 2023. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-10-13 08:19:00 UTC ]
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Sally Rooney has turned down a bid from an Israeli publisher to translate her most recent novel, Beautiful World, Where Are You, into Hebrew, due to her stance on the conflict in Palestine. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-10-12 12:12:35 UTC ]
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Dave Grohl's The Storyteller (Simon & Schuster) has rocked straight into the UK Official Top 50 number one spot in its first week on sale, selling 50,367 copies through Nielsen BookScan's Total Consumer Market. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-10-12 01:06:45 UTC ]
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Richard Osman's The Man Who Died Twice (Viking) has notched up a third week running in the UK Official Top 50 number one spot, selling 38,439 copies through Nielsen BookScan's TCM. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-10-05 18:06:50 UTC ]
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I used the term ‘sensitivity readers’ for the first time the other day, and I immediately felt angry at myself. It’s a concept (or service) that I’ve been involved in for a few years now, and yet only recently have I learned of the now well-established title of the ‘sensitivity reader’ in the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-10-01 05:57:17 UTC ]
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Sally Rooney has kept the top spot on Bookshop.org's Indie Champions chart for a second month, with Beautiful World, Where Are You (Faber). Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-10-01 03:17:27 UTC ]
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Novelists Paula Hawkins, Graham Norton and Alex Wheatle are among the authors writing short, accessible titles for the Quick Reads literacy programme for 2022. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-26 23:05:50 UTC ]
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Novelists Nadia Hashimi and Helen Benedict join hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss the mistakes American writers and culture made in depicting the United States’ wars Iraq and Afghanistan. In the wake of the 20th anniversary of 9/11 and President Biden’s decision to pull US... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-09-23 08:49:21 UTC ]
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The Pointless presenter’s second crime novel, The Man Who Died Twice, has sold 114,202 copies in its first week on saleRichard Osman’s follow-up to The Thursday Murder Club, The Man Who Died Twice, has become one of the fastest-selling novels since records began.Published on 16 September, The... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2021-09-21 14:37:39 UTC ]
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Sally Rooney has done the double as Beautiful World, Where Are You (Faber) searched out the Bookstat e-book number one spot, the same week it debuted atop the Nielsen BookScan print chart. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-15 10:34:29 UTC ]
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The author of The Fortune Men will now compete with five other novelists from South Africa, Sri Lanka and the US for the 2021 awardAlex Clark explores how the Booker shortlist tunes in to the worries of our ageJust one British author has made the shortlist for this year’s Booker prize: Nadifa... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2021-09-14 15:25:06 UTC ]
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