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 ]
To further capitalise on the popularity of BookTok the social media giant will let users purchase titles through partnerships with publishers and retailersTikTok has proved to be a hugely successful way to promote books in recent years, with publishers attributing the popularity of books such as... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-11-17 16:49:24 UTC ]
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The publisher and writer – who has died aged 84 – was a pioneering champion of female writers. Virago’s chair Lennie Goodings remembers her long-time colleague and friendMore than 40 years ago when Carmen and I were working late in the first Virago office on Wardour Street I asked her why she... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-10-18 15:06:43 UTC ]
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Author of the Inspector Alan Banks series and welcome presence at crime fiction festivals around the worldPeter Robinson was the creator of the immensely popular Inspector Alan Banks crime series, set in Yorkshire – the books sold almost 9m copies in 19 languages and spawned a successful... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-10-14 16:44:04 UTC ]
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‘She saw and felt things us ordinary mortals missed,’ her agent says of Booker prize-winning author who died on Thursday• Hilary Mantel remembered: ‘She was the queen of literature’• ‘The pen is in our hands. A happy ending is ours to write’: Hilary Mantel in her own wordsThe Booker... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-09-23 11:29:23 UTC ]
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Held in person for the first time since 2019, the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) 2022 conference brought over 300 authors, agents, publishers, and aspiring novelists together in St. Louis, Mo. from September 8-11. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-09-14 04:00:00 UTC ]
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His books sold nearly 9 million copies around the world with intricate and multilayered plots of crime, espionage and moral quandaries. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2022-09-13 23:18:42 UTC ]
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With its stellar track record of retail success—including more than 50 New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestsellers—Greenleaf has been a proven innovator within the hybrid publishing world for 25 years and counting. (Sponsored) Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-09-11 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Hosted by Andrew Keen, Keen On features conversations with some of the world’s leading thinkers and writers about the economic, political, and technological issues being discussed in the news, right now. In this episode, Andrew is joined by A.M. Homes, author of The Unfolding. Find more Keen On... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-09-06 08:56:16 UTC ]
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While other future novelists were discussing iambic pentameter and leitmotifs, Gina Chen immersed herself in computer science. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-08-25 09:00:11 UTC ]
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A Black Muslim leader is bringing his life story and work to Broadleaf; novelists Tosca Lee and Marcus Brotherton are joining forces on a WWII story coming from Revell, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-08-24 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Hollywood can’t resist a literary adaptation. Frontlist, backlist—it’s all fodder for screenplays. The publishing world itself also feeds the insatiable page-to-screen pipeline: from 1930s and ’40s screwball satires about newspaper reporters (His Girl Friday, Meet John Doe, Mr. Deeds Goes to... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-08-18 08:53:31 UTC ]
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Six of the 13 writers in contention for the prestigious British literary award are from the United States, with novelists from Britain, Ireland and Zimbabwe also on the list. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-07-26 14:51:57 UTC ]
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Colin Barrett's second collection, 'Homesickness,' expands the reach of this mordantly funny Irishman beyond the small-town millennials of his debut. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-05-03 13:00:20 UTC ]
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May is Mental Health Awareness Day. Recognize it by picking up some of these nonfiction and fiction titles about living with mental illness, including Heart Berries by Terese Marie Mailhot. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2022-05-03 10:36:00 UTC ]
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Author Christopher M. Cevasco says there's a surprising lack of crossover between the two. Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2022-04-29 16:00:00 UTC ]
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Books about books have always been super popular, but there are a lot of romance novels set in the publishing world in 2022. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2022-04-29 10:34:00 UTC ]
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Holiday print sales in children's books helped the US market gain 3 percent in the week ending April 16. The post An Easter Surprise in the States: 30 Million More Books Sold Than in 2019 appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-04-25 18:01:38 UTC ]
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Filmmakers, novelists and photographers, among others, also shape our collective memory, Richard Cohen writes. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2022-04-22 12:00:50 UTC ]
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Interviews Eloghosa Osunde and Okwiri Oduor. Photo of Oduor by Chelsea Bieker. It’s hard to argue with Booker Prize–winning author Damon Galgut’s assertion that 2021 was “a great year for African writing.” And as WLT’s “New African Voices” issue... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2022-04-21 13:41:40 UTC ]
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L.A.'s authors, from 19th century novelists to Wanda Coleman to Steph Cha, have always pushed genre boundaries and dissected California myths. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-04-14 13:00:55 UTC ]
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