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 1890s saw pioneering works of science fiction, detective fiction, and Gothic horror all published, by some of the greatest English, Scottish, and Irish writers of the age. In the United States, too, novelists addressed social issues, sometimes in comic ways, while social realism continued to... Continue reading at Interesting Literature
[ Interesting Literature | 2019-12-31 15:00:10 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Kay Featherstone and Kate Allinson’s Pinch of Nom: Everyday Light (Bluebird) has re-claimed the UK Official Top 50 number one spot, with 44,024 copies sold through Nielsen BookScan’s Total Consumer Market, as the print market posts 2.4% growth in value for 2019 and a 0.4% bump in volume year on... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-12-30 18:15:33 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Former US president Barack Obama has revealed Booker Prize-winning Girl, Woman, Other (Hamish Hamilton) and Normal People (Faber) were among his favourite books in 2019. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-12-30 06:49:34 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Sally Rooney and Elizabeth Gilbert may not have new books coming out just yet, but we have some worthy alternatives. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2019-12-23 13:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
“The Selected Letters of Ralph Ellison” capture the fiercely intelligent and irreverent author of “Invisible Man” in conversation with other novelists and critics of his day. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2019-12-19 10:00:10 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Penguin Random House CEO Markus Dohle’s annual letter to company employees emphasized the acquisitions the publisher has made across the publishing world this year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-12-12 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
In the publishing world, it seems like winning the Nobel Prize just isn’t what it used to be. A Deutsche Welle interview with Lucien Leitess, director of the Swiss publishing house Unionsverlag, explored the business of predicting a Nobel laureate’s commercial success. The controversy... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2019-12-11 19:54:24 UTC ]
More news stories like this
A deliciously original study of the cheap editions of Pride and Prejudice and other novels – ignored by literary scholars – casts new light on her readershipJane Austen aficionados think that they know the story of their favourite author’s posthumous dis-appearance and then re-emergence. For... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2019-12-11 07:30:31 UTC ]
More news stories like this
AbeBooks has published a list of the most expensive books they sold this year, with The Complete Works of Abraham Lincoln, which sold for $40,000, at the top. Better luck next year, signed Harry Potter deluxe set ($38,560)! A first edition of The Maltese Falcon and Mark Twain’s complete writings... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2019-12-09 21:14:37 UTC ]
More news stories like this
“My Brilliant Friend” and Elena Ferrante’s other best-selling books are inspiring female novelists and shaking up the country’s male-dominated literary establishment. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2019-12-09 10:00:14 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The Booksellers Association (BA) will launch the Indie Book of the Month scheme, to promote adult and fiction titles across the UK and Ireland next year. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-12-03 19:14:43 UTC ]
More news stories like this
David Walliams’ The Beast of Buckingham Palace (HarperCollins) has racked up record single-week sales for the author, selling 130,073 copies for £886,333 through Nielsen BookScan’s TCM in its first full week on sale. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-12-02 20:19:07 UTC ]
More news stories like this
David Walliams and Tony Ross' The Beast of Buckingham Palace (HarperCollins) has held the Amazon Charts' Most-Sold: Fiction top spot for a second week, over the same week it ascended to the UK Official Top 50 number one through Nielsen BookScan with 100,899 copies sold. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-11-27 01:37:38 UTC ]
More news stories like this
WH Smith’s plans to buy the Marshall Retail Group (MRG) have been approved by the FCA and the transaction now only requires shareholder approval. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-11-25 19:46:04 UTC ]
More news stories like this
David Walliams has surpassed the £100m mark through Nielsen BookScan's Total Consumer Market, a week ahead of The Beast of Buckingham Palace (HarperCollins) hitting the charts. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-11-20 22:12:15 UTC ]
More news stories like this
It’s rare for novelists to make the leap to becoming filmmakers, but Dennis Cooper has not only made the transition, his latest movie Permanent Green Light is one of the year’s best. It reworks his longtime themes of young people, intimacy, and violence to create an affecting story of... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2019-11-18 09:47:50 UTC ]
More news stories like this
It’s a confusing thing, being Irish. We’re European with none of the sophistication, and for a tiny island, we have an impressive lack of consistency. That said, we also have an impressive literary output. Our politics, social movements, and religions have born enough conflict to make a canon... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2019-11-15 12:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Contrary to its namesake, Lee Child's Blue Moon appeared twice in the week ending 2nd November; the title topped the Nielsen BookScan charts in hardback format, and the e-book edition stormed to the top of the Weekly E-Book Ranking. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-11-14 14:57:35 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Kay Featherstone and Kate Allinson's Pinch of Nom (Bluebird) has sold one million copies to date, with last week's 7,067 copies sold pushing it into seven figures through Nielsen BookScan's TCM. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-11-05 13:55:45 UTC ]
More news stories like this