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 ]
Sidemen: The Book (Coronet), authored by the supergroup of gaming YouTubers, has become the biggest-selling title of Super Thursday 2016, via Nielsen BookScan. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-10-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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At a pivotal time in Wiley’s 209-year history, the boss of the STM giant, Mark Allin, talks to Tom Tivnan about digital growth, open access and dealing with Brexit. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-10-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Booker’s literary director Gaby Wood talks to Tom Tivnan about her first year in the hot seat. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-10-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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WH Smith saw strong sales from its Zoella Book Club launch over summer, but general book sales were down 2% like-for-like for the retailer in the year ending 31st August 2016. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-10-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Frankfurt and the book fair in general may be in transition, says Tom Tivnan, but the core of the industry’s biggest event remains strong. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-10-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bruce Springsteen has thundered into the Official UK Top 50 number one spot with his memoir Born to Run (Simon & Schuster), which sold 37,518 copies for £437,540, according to Nielsen BookScan’s Total Consumer Market. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-10-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Girl on the Train (Black Swan) has run away with both first and second place in the Official UK Top 50, according to Nielsen BookScan’s Total Consumer Market. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-09-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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As "The Great British Bake Off" marks its last series on the BBC, ending an era, The Bookseller's charts and data editor Kiera O'Brien takes a look at how much dough books related to the programme have made via Nielsen BookScan. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-09-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Faber has acquired Conversations with Friends, a "startling" and "intimate" debut novel from Sally Rooney, after a seven-way auction. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-09-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Little, Brown has won an auction for a book about the extremes of human ability by Rowan Hooper, the managing editor of New Scientist magazine. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-09-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Little, Brown) has racked up five weeks as the Official UK Top 50 number one—but the gap is closing. According to Nielsen BookScan’s Total Consumer Market, the playscript sold 36,485 copies for £455,824, just 7,503 units above runner-up The Girl on the Train... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-09-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Little, Brown) has snatched the Official Top 50 number one for a fourth week, according to Nielsen BookScan’s Total Consumer Market. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-09-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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J K Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany’s Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Little, Brown) once again easily triumphed at the top of the charts, shifting 86,525 units last week through Nielsen BookScan’s Total Consumer Market. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-08-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Mass merchandisers accounted for 33% of the first week sales of 'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Parts 1 & 2,' according to Nielsen BookScan. The uptick was a much needed boost for the embattled retail channel. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-08-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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J K Rowling and Jack Thorne’s Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Little, Brown) has become the fourth fastest-selling title of all time, with 847,886 copies worth £8.76m shifted through Nielsen BookScan's Total Consumer Market last week, making it 2016's biggest selling title of the year in just... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-08-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Jojo Moyes has toppled clean eating behemoth Joe Wicks, as After You (Penguin), the sequel to bestseller Me Before You (Michael Joseph), sold 53,867 copies for £214,008 to hit the Official UK Top 50 number one spot, according to Nielsen BookScan’s TCM. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-07-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Joe “The Body Coach” Wicks’ second title Lean in 15: The Shape Plan (Bluebird) has scored a second consecutive week in the Official UK Top 50 number one spot, according to Nielsen BookScan’s Total Consumer Market. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-06-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Zoella has officially launched her book club with WH Smith, revealing eight titles from Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell to All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-06-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Marie Curie and WH Smith have partnered to launch their second Big Readcycle to help support people living with a terminal illness. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-06-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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David Walliams has claimed his 14th Official UK Top 50 number one, as The World’s Worst Children (HarperCollins) shunted Paula Hawkins’ The Girl on the Train (Black Swan) off the top spot, selling 64,137 copies for £441,875 through Nielsen BookScan's Total Consumer Market. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-06-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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