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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Back in 1984, I wrote a book that sold to a lot of libraries. It stayed on the shelves for over a decade. If it had been an ebook published today by HarperCollins, there's a good chance it would have been off those shelves within a year. Or sooner. Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2011-03-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Fri, 04/03/2011 - 09:12 National Reading Group Day is among the new features designed to boost the importance of indie retailers during this years Independent Booksellers Week. The Booksellers Association has just announced that the annual IBW will... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Thu, 03/03/2011 - 05:36 The administrators of British Bookshops and Stationers will begin an online auction of non-book stock, including forklift trucks and office equipment, on Tuesday (8th March). Interested parties will be invited to view the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Thu, 03/03/2011 - 07:34 Almost half of teenagers have read a book on a computer, according to a new survey to mark World Book Day. As hundreds of events get under way across the country today, 40.8% of teenagers said they had read a book on a... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Wed, 02/03/2011 - 18:05 Random House US is introducing 17,000 books to the iBookstore, several days after it announced it had moved to agency pricing. At this afternoon's Apple iPad event in San Francisco, Apple c.e.o. Steve Jobs said users have... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Philip Jones Publication Date: Thu, 03/03/2011 - 08:45 Half of all book buyers expect to pay less for ebooks, according to new research by Mintel, but those book readers who already own ebook devices have marginally more realistic expectations over price, suggesting that the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The European Unions competition regulators carried out unannounced inspections into various eBook companies on Tuesday. Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2011-03-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In an unexpected about-face, publisher Random House announced on Monday that it would adopt the agency model for ebook sales in the U.S., beginning March 1... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2011-03-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Philip Stone Publication Date: Tue, 01/03/2011 - 16:09 Kate Atkinson has knocked Jamie Oliver off the top of the charts, thanks largely to a spot in W H Smith's "£2.99 if you buy the Times" link-save promotion, with Started Early, Took My Dog (Black Swan) the new Official UK Top 50... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Tue, 01/03/2011 - 15:06 Dulwich Books has invested nearly £10,000 on a revamp to increase book space and create a new area for events. The owner Sheila OReilly said the redesign made her books more accessible for customers to buy and browse and she... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Beginning Tuesday, Random House will join other major book publishers in selling its ebooks using the so-called agency model, setting its own prices for ebooks while the retailer takes a commission. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2011-03-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Beginning in March, ebooks from HarperCollins may be lent by public libraries only 26 times before the license expires. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2011-02-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Laura Richards Publication Date: Fri, 25/02/2011 - 11:39 A sketch from "Harry Hill's TV Burp" is to be the subject of a knitting book acquired by Anova. Katie Cowan, publisher for Anova's Collins & Brown imprint, bought world English-language rights for The K Factor from Avalon... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Thu, 24/02/2011 - 09:42 Final preparations are underway for a medley of events planned to celebrate World Book Night, with independent and national retailers planning to host author readings, quizzes and book swaps. On 5th March, 20,000 participants... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Caroline Horn Publication Date: Tue, 22/02/2011 - 15:42 read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Mon, 21/02/2011 - 08:47 Michael O'Mara has acquired an anthology about the writers of "Hancock's Half Hour" and "Steptoe and Son", dubbed "the fathers of the British sitcom". Commissioning editor Kate Moore bought world rights with Elly James of... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Fri, 18/02/2011 - 16:30 Book wholesaler Gardners has begun consulting with independent booksellers over the direction of its consumer website, with one option revealing that booksellers could earn as much as 30% when books are sold at their full RRP.... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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OverDrive Media Console--the iPhone app that lets users check out and read ebooks from their local libraries--has been upgraded to a universal app optimized for... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2011-02-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Tue, 15/02/2011 - 08:49 The Book Hive in Norwich has been voted the best bookshop in Britain, according to a Daily Telegraph survey. More than 18,000 people voted across 10 categories in a bid to find the best small shops in Britain. The awards,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Mon, 14/02/2011 - 17:21 HarperCollins Childrens Books publishing director Helen Mackenzie Smith has bought her first books since joining the publisher from Random House earlier this year. She bought four books by picture author and illustrator Rachel... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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