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 ]
David Walliams' The World's Worst Teachers (HarperCollins) has reigned atop the UK Official Top 50 for a sixth consecutive week, selling 20,553 copies for £154,839 through Nielsen BookScan's TCM. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-06 08:23:41 UTC ]
More news stories like this
SCIENCE FICTION HAS BEEN mapping the topography of a yawning postcapitalism since the cyberpunk movement of the 1980s, a laborious undertaking still ongoing in the 21st century. Before cyberpunk, Deleuze and Guattari pointed the way in their books on capitalism and schizophrenia; after... Continue reading at Los Angeles Review of Books
[ Los Angeles Review of Books | 2019-08-03 12:30:19 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Hachette has announced seven people are leaving its HR department to be replaced by new appointments, mainly from outside the publishing world, in a major shake-up. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-01 14:50:21 UTC ]
More news stories like this
During one of my first open mics in New York City, the comic running the mic tapped me on the elbow after my set and said, “Hey, you’re funny!” She sounded surprised. I was, too. Being funny wasn’t my main goal. I was there to spy on comics, trying to experience the highs and lows […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2019-07-31 08:49:06 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The numbers for Norah O’Donnell’s historic first week as the anchor of “CBS Evening News” are in, and despite leaving no stone unturned on the promotional front, the new-look newscast didn’t make any progress on the ratings front. According to Nielsen live-plus-same-day data, the first five... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2019-07-24 19:58:59 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The Spanish philosopher and poet George Santayana once said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” As a genre, historical fiction allows us to shuttle back in time to stand in the shoes, clogs, chopines, and go-go boots of people—real and imagined—to consider the... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2019-07-15 11:00:13 UTC ]
More news stories like this
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... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2019-07-14 07:00:23 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Businesses and public policy makers are tapping novelists to imagine the path forward. But how much stock should we put in the predictions of storytellers? Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2019-07-12 13:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Cultural Cross Sections Margaret Randall Children’s choir at the 2014 La Matanza Book Fair / Photo by Mauro Rico / Ministerio de Cultura de la Nación / Flickr When good engineers or scientists emigrate, they are able to continue their work. Novelists... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2019-07-10 21:07:28 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The New York Times invited Asian-American authors to choose photos from our archives and write short young-adult fiction inspired by them. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2019-06-28 17:18:37 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Apple warns of fire safety risks in some 15-inch MacBooks sold from September 2015 to February 2017. If you bought a 15-inch MacBook Pro a few years ago, it could be a fire hazard. Apple has issued a recall for “a limited number” of laptops sold between September 2015 and February 2017 due to... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2019-06-21 13:00:57 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Claire Adam has won the £10,000 Desmond Elliott Prize for first-time novelists with her "electrifying" debut Golden Child (Faber). Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-06-18 18:50:22 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Guardian research shows that the top 100 illustrated children’s books last year showed growing marginalisation of female and minority ethnic charactersThe most popular picture books published in 2018 collectively present a white and male-dominated world to children, feature very few BAME (black,... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2019-06-13 05:00:18 UTC ]
More news stories like this
TaleFlick, a company that fosters relationships between Hollywood and the publishing world, has just launched “The Marketplace,” an online platform where producers, publishers, agents, and writers can connect. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-06-12 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
News and Events WLT Norman, Okla. (June 11, 2019) – Robert Con Davis-Undiano, Neustadt Professor and executive director of the World Literature Today organization at the University of Oklahoma, this week announced the names of nine writers to be the jury... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2019-06-10 16:04:37 UTC ]
More news stories like this
[caption id="attachment_159797" align="alignright" width="300"] AARP's Myrna Blyth accepting the Lifetime Empowerment and Achievement Award.[/caption] NEW YORK – 200 of the brightest leaders, creatives and business professionals in the magazine media industry gathered at the Grand Hyatt... Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2019-06-07 19:10:56 UTC ]
More news stories like this
After several years of conservative views toward licensing in the publishing world, the pendulum seems to be swinging back toward a more expansive outlook. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-06-07 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Comedian Pete Holmes brings his serious/funny funny/serious take to the publishing world with 'Comedy Sex God' (Harper Wave, May), a book that is part autobiography, part philosophical inquiry, and part spiritual quest. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-05-30 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Chris Roush Talking Biz News Founder Ready to Pass the Torch Talking Biz News founder Chris Roush announced on Wednesday that he's ready to move on from the site, which tracks job changes and other day-to-day news in the field of business journalism. "After 14 years of running Talking Biz... Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2019-05-16 16:55:48 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Andrew Holgate reflects on Sally Rooney's meteoric—and well deserved—rise to the top, after second novel Normal People scooped the Book of the Year prize at the British Book Awards. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-05-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this