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 ]
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There are almost as many ebook surveys as there are digital conferences. Two new surveys released last week provided more information, one on the impact digital readers have had on consumers' reading and book-buying habits, while a second examined the impact of digital publishing on the industry. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-09-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Wed, 21/09/2011 - 09:05 The number of Americans using an ebook reader has almost doubled during the last 12 months, according to a new survery. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Benedicte Page and Philip Jones Publication Date: Tue, 20/09/2011 - 10:14 The Travel Bookshop premises in Notting Hill will reopen as a bookshop this week after The Book Warehouse acquired the lease to one-half of the building from the Travel Bookshop's founder Sarah Anderson. read... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Swiftly and at little cost, newspapers, magazines and sites like The Huffington Post are publishing their own version of ebooks. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2011-09-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Mon, 19/09/2011 - 09:32 Bertrams has made three management team appointments, with Nick Harknett joining as group commercial director as parent company Smiths News Group completes its purchase of the Dawson Group. Smiths News now owns the Dawson... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Mon, 19/09/2011 - 09:39 A primary schools project that has helped thousands of struggling young pupils to read is being axed by the government, according to the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT). The Reading Recovery Project involves... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Fri, 16/09/2011 - 16:21 Publishers are predicting a busy Frankfurt, reporting full meeting schedules. However, given the tough economic climate, there was a prevailing mood of caution. Hachette UK rights director Jason Bartholomew said: Every year... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Google and representatives for authors and publishers told a U.S. District Court judge Thursday that they would like to continue discussions on a revised... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2011-09-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publication Date: Thu, 15/09/2011 - 08:45 Titles exploring the rise and fall of the American dollar, the boom in cities and the economics of poverty have been shortlisted for the Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Caroline Horn Publication Date: Wed, 14/09/2011 - 09:28 Waterstones has extended its childrens book prize to include teen fiction and picture books, in addition to books for five to 12 year olds. Waterstones spokesman Jon Howells said: The childrens award had done very well... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Caroline Horn Publication Date: Wed, 14/09/2011 - 09:28 Waterstones has extended its childrens book prize to include teen fiction and picture books, in addition to books for five to 12 year olds. Waterstones spokesman Jon Howells said: The childrens award had done very well... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Disney execs are furious that the world exclusive on the embargoed Jackie Kennedy book and audiotapes was broken by NBC, and not ABC, according to the New York Posts Keith Kelly. Both ABC and the books publisher, Hyperion, are owned by Disney. The book, Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2011-09-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Tue, 13/09/2011 - 09:05 Hodder & Stoughton will publish the first official book by Lady Gaga this November after signing a deal for a book of photographs by fashion photographer Terry Richardson. Editorial director Fenella Bates bought British and... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Authors Guild has sued five universities and a library partnership organization alleging copyright infringement over their use of certain digitized copies of... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2011-09-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Tom Tivnan Publication Date: Tue, 13/09/2011 - 16:30 A D Miller and Carol Birch's novels are the big winners of the Man Booker Prize shortlist so far, with sales across the six books surging 290% by volume on last week. The six books on the list shifted 18,496 copies for the week... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon's rumoured streaming-book service would be great for businesses, students, and educators. Here's why. Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2011-09-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon's "Netflix for E-Books" lending program is still a rumor, and not popular with book publishers, but here are some ways it could work. Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2011-09-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon.com Inc. is talking with book publishers about launching a Netflix Inc.-like service for digital books, in which customers would pay an annual fee to access a library of content, according to people familiar with the matter. Continue reading at AllThingsD
[ AllThingsD | 2011-09-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Even as readers grow more comfortable with digital books, some continue to question why so many of the most popular new ebooks are priced so high. Continue reading at AllThingsD
[ AllThingsD | 2011-09-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Three French publishers have dropped lawsuits against Google alleging that the company infringed their copyright. Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2011-09-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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