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 ]
Jodi Picoult's latest book explores a mother-daughter relationship and was inspired by the author's youngest daughter leaving home Continue reading at BBC World
[ BBC World | 2014-11-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Leaving Time,' the latest from Jodi Picoult, came in at #2 on Apple’s iBooks bestseller list for the week ended October 20. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-10-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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WH Smith has reported a 9% rise in pre-tax profits for the year but said books sales continue to be “challenging”. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-10-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Lena Dunham's much-talked about essay collection, 'Not That Kind of Girl,' sold about 38,000 print copies in its first week on sale, according to Nielsen BookScan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-10-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Jodi Picoult has inked a deal with Delacorte Press to co-write another YA novel with her daughter, Samantha van Leer. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-10-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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NewBay Media has named John Laposky editor-in-chief of TWICE. Laposky had served as the magazine's managing editor since 1995. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2014-09-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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By Robert M. Sacks There is an odd form of delusion in the publishing world, characterized by a resistance to reason in the face of actual facts. This inability to recognize modern business trends is easy for most... Continue reading at Publishing Executive
[ Publishing Executive | 2014-08-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Last week saw £23.4m of book sales registered through Nielsen BookScan; its highest value... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-07-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sales of both hardcovers and trade paperbacks, the industry’s two largest print categories, were up 2% in the first six months of this year, compared to the first half of 2013, leading to an overall 1% gain in print unit sales at outlets that report to Nielsen BookScan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The second installment of J.K. Rowling's Cormoran Strike series (written under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith) sold roughly 21,000 copies in its first partial week on sale, according to Nielsen BookScan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-06-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Six publishers have volunteered for a night in the cells, fundraising for campaign against limits on prisoners' entitlement to booksThere's more than one sort of porridge, as any lag would tell you. Profile Books publisher Andrew Franklin opted for the lumpier kind when he volunteered to spend... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-06-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hillary Clinton’s "Hard Choices" sold 85,721 copies in its first week on sale at outlets that report to Nielsen BookScan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-06-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Just under 3m book sales registered through Nielsen BookScan for the week ending the 31st of May... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-06-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The wildly popular and bestselling author Jodi Picoult has written more than 20 novels including The Storyteller, Nineteen Minutes, and My Sister’s Keeper. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bloomsbury Children’s is to publish a YA novel by Jeff Giles, former managing editor of... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-05-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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At Chronicle Books, Sarah Golski has been promoted to managing editor of the lifestyle group. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-04-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Our annual collection of sales numbers for books sold in the last calendar year provides a granular portrait of the book business. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-03-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Unit sales of print books sold through Nielsen BookScan’s mass merchandisers/other channel fell 9% in the first 10 weeks of 2014, compared to the same period in 2013. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-03-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Of all the ways to enjoy a book, minds wander most when we're listening to someone else read it.With so much focus in the publishing world on ebooks, you might have missed the recent explosion in the popularity of audio books. They've become a billion-dollar industry with huge annual sales... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2014-02-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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