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 2019 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature's 15-title longlist includes seven debut novelists and was chosed from 90 submissions this year. The post DSC Prize for South Asian Literature Releases Its Longlist appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2019-09-27 11:30:31 UTC ]
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Joanne Harris has spoken out against an “absurd” focus on debuts in the publishing world. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-09-23 16:30:46 UTC ]
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As a lowly editorial assistant, Aidy Bryant is hustling to break into the publishing world on the Hulu series Shrill. So it's fitting that the streaming service is making journalism more accessible for everyone. For today only, Hulu is offering everyone free access to all of Adweek's content.... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2019-09-23 04:01:50 UTC ]
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IF YOU ASK a group of crime novelists to list the most exciting stylists working today, Jamie Mason’s name is bound to come up. In many thrillers, the language is workmanlike — plain, even. The suspense is the point; the sentences are the delivery system. In Jamie’s books, however, the words... Continue reading at Los Angeles Review of Books
[ Los Angeles Review of Books | 2019-09-22 19:00:08 UTC ]
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10 novelists make the National Book Awards fiction longlist: Laila Lalami, Colson Whitehead, Ocean Vuong, Julia Phillips and more. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-09-20 18:20:50 UTC ]
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Earlier this week, Active Interest Media, publisher of Better Nutrition, Yoga Journal and a slew of recently acquired former F+W titles, among many others, announced the launch of NatuRx, a new print and digital media brand with a self-described mission of "educating health-conscious consumers... Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2019-09-19 18:48:19 UTC ]
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First, can we all agree that it should be “lit-fluencer”? Moving on: 1. “Gertrude Stein had time to read books. But do moms?” 2. “Owens’s dinner will be in a decidedly lower key: a gingham tablecloth, uniformed servers passing out pigs in blankets, Zibby’s kids popping in occasionally to whisper... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2019-09-17 19:31:52 UTC ]
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Interviews Renee H. Shea Monique Truong / Photo © Haruka Sakaguchi Monique Truong, who came to the United States in 1975 as a refugee from Vietnam, began exploring untold and ignored histories in her first novel, The Book of Salt (2003), told through... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2019-09-17 13:54:26 UTC ]
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Prep this year's fall TBR with these excellent speculative fiction books about terrorism, future worlds, time travel and more. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2019-09-17 10:40:28 UTC ]
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Jamie Oliver’s Veg (Michael Joseph) has continued to prove fruitful in its third week in the UK Official Top 50 number one spot, with its volume through Nielsen BookScan’s TCM rising 22.5% week on week to 37,951 copies sold. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-09-10 10:23:31 UTC ]
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Literary agents are the gate keepers of the publishing world, but not all agents represent all genres of writing. This post shares how to find a literary agent appropriate for your writing project, including links to agents representing various genres. The post How to Find a Literary Agent:... Continue reading at Writer's Digest
[ Writer's Digest | 2019-09-04 18:25:07 UTC ]
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Ross Montgomery is joining the Walker Books list after the publisher landed two new fiction titles and a pair of picture books. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-09-03 21:47:06 UTC ]
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Jamie Oliver’s Veg (Michael Joseph) has blossomed in its second week in the UK Official Top 50 number one spot, improving 28% in volume week on week to 30,974 copies sold through Nielsen BookScan’s TCM. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-09-03 00:11:58 UTC ]
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Lowborn by Kerry HudsonKerry Hudson is best known for her award-winning fiction. Her first book, Tony Hogan Bought Me An Ice-cream Float Before He Stole My Ma, won the Scottish First Book Award and earned her a place on the Granta Best of Young British Novelists list. Her latest book, Lowborn,... Continue reading at British Council global
[ British Council global | 2019-08-30 08:51:45 UTC ]
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How The Handmaid’s Tale keeps going, with Margaret Atwood, Ann Dowd, and novelists Louise Erdrich and Megan Hunter. Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2019-08-29 21:00:04 UTC ]
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Jamie Oliver’s Veg (Michael Joseph) has leapt straight into the UK Official Top 50 number one spot, selling 24,261 copies through Nielsen BookScan’s Total Consumer Market. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-28 05:37:15 UTC ]
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Welcome back to the 90s. (And, I guess, the early 2000s.) As Variety reports, there is officially a fourth Matrix film in the works, with Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss back in the saddle as Neo and Trinity. Lana Wachowski will direct; she also wrote the script with novelists Aleksandar Hemon... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2019-08-20 20:44:00 UTC ]
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The internet search histories of novelists can be quite disturbing. Writer Kathleen Valenti shares the methodology behind web searches for her newest medical mystery. The post The Writer’s Alibi: My Terrible, Dreadful, Hope-the-FBI-Doesn’t-Look-at-This Search History by Kathleen Valenti appeared... Continue reading at Writer's Digest
[ Writer's Digest | 2019-08-20 14:00:45 UTC ]
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The fake author who fooled the publishing world is brought back to life in a diverting tale that treads familiar ground“Sometimes, a lie’s more truth than the truth,” drawls author JT Leroy, speaking down a crackling telephone line. This straightforward dramatisation of Savannah Knoop’s 2008... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2019-08-18 07:00:10 UTC ]
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David Walliams’ The World’s Worst Teachers (HarperCollins) has once again claimed the UK Official Top 50 number one spot, selling 16,713 copies through Nielsen BookScan’s TCM. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-13 17:45:11 UTC ]
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