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 ]
Booksellers hail strong sales for Donald Trump exposé, but Tom Kerridge’s diet book sets the most British tills ringingAlmost 60,000 print copies of Michael Wolff’s Donald Trump exposé Fire and Fury were sold in the UK last week, but the British public’s New Year’s resolutions meant the... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2018-01-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Harry Potter publisher Bloomsbury warns UK’s exclusive English rights across EU will end, with firms fighting US companies in an open marketThe next generation of British authors could struggle to land a book deal after Brexit, according to the publisher who launched Harry Potter writer JK... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2017-12-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ali Smith’s seasonal novel Winter (Hamish Hamilton), Sally Rooney’s "perfectly observed" début Conversations with Friends (Faber) and the eagerly anticipated first instalment of Philip Pullman’s Book of Dust trilogy, La Belle Sauvage (Penguin/David Fickling Books), were among the critics’... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-12-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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PW takes a look back at some of the library stories that captivated the publishing world in 2017, and what they portend for 2018 Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-12-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sally Rooney has become the first Irish winner of the Sunday Times/Peters Fraser + Dunlop Young Writer of the Year Award for her "fearless, sensual" debut novel Conversations with Friends (Faber). Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-12-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Few contemporary writers have portrayed black Southern life with as much wit and heart-pounding drama as Attica Locke, whose latest book is the mystery “Bluebird, Bluebird.” Formerly a writer and producer on the television show “Empire,” Locke took the publishing world by storm with her debut... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2017-12-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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E L James’ Darker (Arrow) has shackled the UK Official Top 50 number one spot, selling 85,532 copies for £346,838, according to Nielsen BookScan’s Total Consumer Market. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-12-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bonnier Publishing imprint Studio Press has acquired three illustrated children’s fiction titles from TV presenter and Paralympian, Ade Adepitan. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-11-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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At the 68th National Book Awards, held at Cipriani New York in Lower Manhattan on Wednesday night, politics were again front and center in the publishing world. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-11-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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David Walliams’ Bad Dad (HarperCollins) has accelerated by 21% in volume week-on-week for its second week in the Official UK Top 50 number one spot, selling 112,672 copies through Nielsen BookScan’s Total Consumer Market. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-11-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The pivot to video came upon the publishing world with a force still being grappled with, even as the video environment continues to evolve. During a panel discussion on the subject during Adweek's first Elevate summit today, Vox general manager Andrew Golis described the experience as "moving... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2017-11-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Philip Pullman’s La Belle Sauvage (Penguin and David Fickling), the first title in his His Dark Materials “equel” The Book of Dust, has crashed into the UK Official Top 50 number one spot, according to Nielsen BookScan’s Total Consumer Market. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-10-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Although not quite the sensation of previous Robert Langdon thrillers, The Da Vinci Code author’s latest mystery sold 100,000 copies in its first week Dan Brown’s mastery of something like a code for bestsellers has returned to cheer UK booksellers, with more than 100,000 copies of his latest... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2017-10-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Dan Brown’s Origin (Bantam) has cracked the code to the UK Official Top 50 number one spot, selling 100,095 copies for £1m according to Nielsen BookScan’s Total Consumer Market. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-10-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Jamie Oliver’s 5 Ingredients (Michael Joseph) has once again claimed the UK Official Top 50 number one spot, selling 54,605 copies for £648,673, according to Nielsen BookScan’s Total Consumer Market. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-09-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Jamie Oliver’s 5 Ingredients: Quick & Easy Food (Michael Joseph) has rustled up another week in the UK Official Top 50 number one spot, selling 56,966 copies for £675,321 according to Nielsen BookScan’s Total Consumer Market. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-09-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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McFly band member turned children's author Tom Fletcher has launched a children's book club exclusively with WH Smith. The book club titles will get promotion in-store, online and on Fletcher's YouTube channel, which has over 625,000 subscribers. The new club follows that WH Smith already runs... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-09-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Jamie Oliver has continued his blistering return to form, shifting 52,211 copies of 5 Ingredients: Quick and Easy Food (Michael Joseph) last week through Nielsen BookScan's Total Consumer Market to take the Official UK number one by almost 40,000 units. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-09-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The starting pistol for the race to Christmas number one has sounded and Jamie Oliver is out of the blocks early, with his 5 Ingredients: Quick and Easy Food (Michael Joseph) shifting just under 37,000 units through Nielsen BookScan's Total Consumer Market in its first two days on sale. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-08-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Sphere) has bewitched the UK Official Top 50 for a second week, holding the number one spot with 23,711 copies sold, according to Nielsen BookScan’s Total Consumer Market. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-08-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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