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 ]
The BBC boost enjoyed by Sally Rooney’s Normal People helped Faber to post strong sales of both the young author’s titles, while Matt Haig’s books claimed three of the top six chart positions for Canongate. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-02-04 22:44:47 UTC ]
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Bernard Cornwell is bringing back his famous Richard Sharpe character after 15 years' absence, for a new adventure with HarperCollins this autumn. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-02-03 20:30:31 UTC ]
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Nielsen BookScan has estimated the full-year print market for 2020 at 202 million books sold for £1.76bn, a 5.2% rise in volume and a 5.5% increase in value compared to 2019. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-22 10:32:48 UTC ]
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Debut novelists performed solidly last year, despite widespread fears that they would lose out to more established authors due to 2020's pandemic-hit publishing schedules. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-14 13:16:53 UTC ]
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The novel, which follows four young people in Ireland, is part of a two-book deal for the best-selling author of “Normal People” and “Conversations With Friends.” Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-01-12 14:00:10 UTC ]
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Charlie Mackesy's The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse (Ebury) was the bestselling book of 2020 through Nielsen BookScan's UK Total Consumer Market. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-12 01:12:31 UTC ]
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Translating novels, short stories, and poetry into English in a way that remains true to their original form can take years, even decades of dedication. And then there is the job of persuading the Anglophone publishing world to take chances. Translators’ labor is ultimately rewarding for readers... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2020-12-31 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Every Monday through Friday, AudioFile’s editors recommend the best in audiobook listening. We keep our daily episodes short and sweet, with audiobook clips to give you a sample of our featured listens. Actress and comedian Rachel Bloom narrates her own memoir, I Want to Be Where the Normal... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-12-29 09:46:38 UTC ]
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The Thursday Murder Club sees off titles by Barack Obama and David Walliams in chaotic week for Britain’s book tradeRichard Osman’s cosy mystery about a group of elderly sleuths, The Thursday Murder Club, has become the first debut novel ever to become the Christmas No 1, selling a remarkable... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-12-22 15:00:18 UTC ]
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For the first full week following the lifting of lockdown restrictions in early December, the print market sold 9.17 million books for £84.7m through Nielsen BookScan's Total Consumer Market—15% up in volume and 17% in value against the same week in 2019. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-12-20 21:38:05 UTC ]
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PW looks back at the library stories that captivated the publishing world this year—and what they portend for 2021. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-12-11 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Barack Obama's A Promised Land (Penguin) has once again charted top of both the Amazon Most-Sold and Most-Read: Non-Fiction charts, as it claimed a third week as the UK Official Top 50 number one through Nielsen BookScan's TCM. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-12-08 21:17:24 UTC ]
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Courtney Milan explains how a group of romance novelists rallied behind one of their own: Stacey Abrams. Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2020-12-07 19:30:17 UTC ]
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'Not being Arab nor African enough,' translator Sawad Hussain writes, female writers aren't supported by Sudan's 'literary ecosystem.' The post Words Without Borders in December: Female Sudanese Novelists ‘Caught in a Limbo’ appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-12-02 16:34:21 UTC ]
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One of four debut novelists among the six writers shortlisted this year, Stuart wins for 'Shuggie Bain,' also a National Book Award finalist. The post Douglas Stuart Wins the 2020 Booker Prize for ‘Shuggie Bain’ appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-11-19 20:23:21 UTC ]
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Every year, we ask The Center for Fiction First Novel Prize Finalists to reminisce about the first book they fell in love with. This year, we asked Finalists to reflect not just on the first story that stole their heart, but the story that seeded curiosity and empathy for the plight of others... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-11-17 09:48:30 UTC ]
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Macmillan Children’s Books has acquired two illustrated middle-grade fiction titles by debut author Radiya Hafiza. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-12 03:46:46 UTC ]
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David Walliams and Tony Ross' Code Name Bananas (HarperCollins) has bounced up five places to claim the Amazon Charts' Most-Sold: Fiction number one spot, in the same week it sold 89,558 copies through Nielsen BookScan's TCM. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-10 16:20:16 UTC ]
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Following its its success in the US, the ethical platform Bookshop.org has arrived in the UK, marking an exciting new chapter for independent stores onlineIn publishing we often talk about things that we are “excited” and “delighted” about, so much that sometimes I think the words have lost... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-11-05 08:00:40 UTC ]
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Colm Tóibín gives the third installment to the Words Ireland Lecture Series. This modern master discusses the craft of James Joyce—and the idea of craft itself. Is craft a concept more suited to poetry? Could strict ideas around craft actually be a hindrance to novelists and short story writers?... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-11-04 09:48:28 UTC ]
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