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 ]
News tagged with:
#normal people
#sally rooney
#wh smith
#jodi picoult
#bernard cornwell
#tom tivnan
#managing editor
#novelists
#fiction titles
#nielsen bookscan
#books sold
#publishing world
Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 09/09/2011 - 11:17 Virgin Books has acquired a title about US political firebrand Sarah Palin, written by Joe McGinniss. Publishing director Ed Faulkner bought UK and Commonwealth rights from Crown Publishers in the US to The Rogue, with... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#crown publishers
#personal life
Clearly, 2011 will not be considerered a stellar year for a wide swath of bookselling: Borders is in the midst of closing its remaining stores; Books-A-Million has had two disappointing quarters, and Barnes & Nobles growth is coming primarily from ebooks and the Nook, while print, as... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-09-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#stellar year
#wide swath
#remaining stores
Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Thu, 08/09/2011 - 08:40 Vermilion has acquired a fitness book from the trainer who worked with Natalie Portman to make her body mimic a ballerina's for her Oscar-winning role in "Black Swan". Editor Louise Coe bought UK and Commonwealth rights,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#fitness book
#natalie portman
#black swan
#isabelle bleecker
Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Tue, 06/09/2011 - 09:00 Book sales throughout the UK in August have remained "tough" according to the British Retail Consortium, as it reported general retail sales were down by 0.6% compared to last year on a like-for-like basis. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#6% compared
Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Mon, 05/09/2011 - 08:10 People in Huntingdon and Cambridge buy the most books of any town or city in the UK, according to a list compiled by Amazon from its print and Kindle sales since the start of the year. Towns in Kent, Wiltshire and West Sussex... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#kindle sales
Written By: Philip Stone Publication Date: Mon, 05/09/2011 - 14:05 Spending on printed books slumped 4% in August, with sales plummeting to a seven-year low for the month, according to Nielsen BookScan data. A total of £107.5m spent on physical books at UK booksellers in the four weeks to 27th... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#27th august
#physical books
#uk booksellers
#6m year-on-year
Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Mon, 05/09/2011 - 08:00 The London Evening Standard will launch Calling London, a book about its recent Dispossessed campaign, on 7th September. The book, by chief features writer David Cohen, will tell how a conversation between Cohen and Evening... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#book tells
#evening standard
#7th september
Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Mon, 05/09/2011 - 11:19 Fig Tree publishing director Juliet Annan has bought world rights in a new book by playwright and novelist Nell Leyshon. The deal was done at auction through Anna Webber at United Agents. The Colour of Milk is told in the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#anna webber
#united agents
#high price
#fig tree
Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 02/09/2011 - 07:55 The Galaxy National Book Awards ceremony will not be broadcast in full this year, instead being showcased in a six-part series on More4, with submissions for the awards closing on 16th September. The six-part series,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#six-part series
#16th september
#12th november
Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Thu, 01/09/2011 - 14:45 Hodder Children's Books has bought two teen titles from journalist and presenter Dawn Porter. Publisher Emily Thomas did the deal directly with Porter for a "sizeable" sum. The books are described as "epic stories of an... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#dawn porter
#hodder children
#teen titles
#deal directly
Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Thu, 01/09/2011 - 08:51 Readers will be able to download the ebook of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone for free with the limited edition model of the new Sony Reader. Further details have emerged about the Reader, which is set to go on sale in... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#sony reader
#harry potter
As ebooks become popular, there are increasing opportunities to share and personalize the digital reading experience. That's where the upcoming Readmill iPad app and social network come in. Continue reading at AllThingsD
[ AllThingsD | 2011-09-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Written By: Katie Allen Publication Date: Wed, 31/08/2011 - 14:45 The Edinburgh International Book Festival, Scottish indie Cargo and US publisher McSweeney's are to team up on a four-volume collection of stories from authors including Roddy Doyle and Ali Smith. Fifty authors are to take part... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#ali smith
#alan warner
#jackie kay
#michel faber
Written By: Caroline Horn Publication Date: Wed, 31/08/2011 - 08:05 Penguin is aiming to bring traditional family storytelling into the digital arena with a new picture book reader app, Me Books, which enables parents and carers to personalise stories by selecting parts they want to record... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#ipod touch
At no time in its history has the opportunity and danger been greater for Books-A-Million. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-08-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Fri, 26/08/2011 - 14:34 Jackie Kay has won the £30,000 Scottish Book of the Year award for her autobiography Red Dust Road (Picador). The award, which is run by Creative Scotland, was presented to Kay by Dame Jenni Murray today (26th August) at an... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#creative scotland
Written By: Philip Stone Publication Date: Thu, 25/08/2011 - 07:56 Julian Barnes' The Sense of an Ending (Cape) is comfortably the bestselling longlistee of one of the most popular Man Booker longlists since records began. Barnes' concise novel has sold 9,700 copies at UK booksellers since the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#ending cape
#records began
#uk booksellers
#alan hollinghurst
#child picador
Publication Date: Wed, 24/08/2011 - 08:25 BBC Books is to launch a publishing programme around Bafta-winning TV series "Sherlock", which was inspired by the adventures of Arthur Conan Doyle's Victorian detective Sherlock Holmes. The titles will each feature the show's branding and introductions... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#bbc books
#publishing programme
#mark gatiss
Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Wed, 24/08/2011 - 14:46 Private Eye is marking its 50th anniversary by publishing a book looking back at the history of the satirical institution. Private Eye: The First 50 Years is written by Adam Macqueen, a journalist on the magazine since 1997. It... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#anniversary book
#private eye
#adam macqueen
#20th september
Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Tue, 23/08/2011 - 14:43 Collins has bought a memoir of an Irish traveller bare-knuckle boxing champion. Craig Adams, assistant editor for Collins, bought world rights in all languages to Knuckle by James Quinn McDonagh, in an unagented deal. The book... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#craig adams
#assistant editor
#unagented deal