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 ]
Last week, six new adult fiction titles were among NPD BookScan's top 50 print bestsellers. Three weeks ago, 15 new releases made the top 50 list. The situation was similar for new adult nonfiction titles. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-04-03 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Cultural Cross Sections Baret Magarian Photos by Pierpaolo Florio A novelist living in quarantine in Florence looks back at Italy’s cultural history and then forward, considering whether something positive might rise from the ruins that the virus will... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2020-03-23 21:14:07 UTC ]
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Hilary Mantel's The Mirror and the Light (Fourth Estate) has held the UK Official Top 50 number one spot for a third week running, selling 30,280 copies through Nielsen BookScan's TCM. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-23 20:03:58 UTC ]
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Two novelists have partnered to build A Mighty Blaze, a initiative to promote other authors and their new books on social media. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-03-23 04:00:00 UTC ]
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First-time novelists with books out or coming soon talk about their changes of plans and how they’re spending these unusual days. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2020-03-18 20:00:14 UTC ]
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For centuries, novelists and fiction writers have imagined what plagues and virus outbreaks could look like, and many readers are seeking these books out amid concerns about the coronavirus. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2020-03-12 09:00:29 UTC ]
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Hilary Mantel's The Mirror and the Light (Fourth Estate) has held the Amazon Charts' Most-Sold: Fiction top spot for a second week, the same week the eagerly awaited title sold 95,141 copies across all print editions through Nielsen BookScan's TCM. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-10 16:43:19 UTC ]
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From Gutenberg’s printing press to Google’s AMP format, the publishing world has gone from zero to one million miles per hour, with revolutionary changes to the way we produce, distribute, and consume content. Here is a breakdown of some of the key changes in digital publishing, plus tips for... Continue reading at Publishing Executive
[ Publishing Executive | 2020-03-05 15:43:14 UTC ]
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HarperCollins Children’s Books has landed two young fiction titles from Philippa Gregory, build on the fairytale world of The Princess Rules. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-03 09:19:23 UTC ]
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We can’t stop telling stories about pandemics, even as we wait for one to hit us. As coronavirus spreads across the world, so have headlines about the ways that storytellers, from those in Babylonia to contemporary novelists and Hollywood, have used infectious disease for narrative effect. The... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-03-02 16:51:35 UTC ]
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My Dark Vanessa author Kate Elizabeth Russell was driven to reveal details of her past when accused of inauthenticity – but should we be seeking the truth elsewhere?Our world, more than at any time in history, is all about stories. Snapchat feeds capture your entire day, Instagram users... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-03-02 06:00:36 UTC ]
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Prolific author of fast-paced thrillers, including Raise the Titanic!, featuring the adventure hero Dirk PittThe prolific and popular novelist Clive Cussler, who has died aged 88, combined adventure and technology into fast-paced thrillers. Ubiquitous and easily recognisable on airport... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-02-27 16:45:35 UTC ]
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Sally Rooney’s takeover of the world continues apace today with the announcement that the Irish literary phenom’s debut novel Conversations With Friends will be adapted into a twelve-part series for the BBC. Like the upcoming BBC/Hulu adaptation of Rooney’s 2019 juggernaut Normal People, which... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-02-25 18:39:10 UTC ]
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Conversations with Friends will follow Rooney’s Normal People that will air in April The BBC has commissioned a 12-part series based on Sally Rooney’s hit debut novel Conversations with Friends in the hope that fans of the young Irish author will bring in younger audiences.The BBC is to show its... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-02-25 10:19:05 UTC ]
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Novelists rub shoulders with presidents, chefs, comedians and thriller megastars on longlist to define the title with the biggest impact on the book worldIt could be almost the setup for a joke, but a former president, a Booker winner and an erotic fiction superstar have walked on to the British... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-02-14 06:01:23 UTC ]
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Children’s book publisher Lee & Low Books, a minority-owned company that focuses on multicultural literature, recently released the results of a survey geared towards finding out one thing: What do the numbers say about the widely perceived lack of diversity in the publishing world? The... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-01-29 21:40:46 UTC ]
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According to The Guardian, Lee Child, whose popular Jack Reacher books (and by popular, I mean over 100 million books sold in 49 languages across 101 territories) are soon to become an Amazon series, is quitting his most famous character. “I love my readers and know they want many, many more... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-01-21 15:51:39 UTC ]
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Kay Featherstone and Kate Allinson’s Pinch of Nom: Everyday Light (Bluebird) reigned over the UK Official Top 50 for a fourth week in total, with 51,842 copies sold through Nielsen BookScan’s TCM. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-01-14 01:31:35 UTC ]
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Kay Featherstone and Kate Allinson’s Pinch of Nom: Everyday Light (Bluebird) has maintained its UK Official Top 50 number one spot for a second week running and a third week in total, selling 58,614 copies through Nielsen BookScan’s Total Consumer Market. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-01-07 12:47:17 UTC ]
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With print books selling 191.6 million units for £1.66bn, 2019 became the print market’s fifth consecutive year of growth and its best since 2010 in value terms, according to Nielsen BookScan’s Total Consumer Market. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-01-02 20:35:48 UTC ]
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