From tales of alienation to comforting novels set in bookshops, Japanese authors have written nearly half of this year’s bestselling translated novels in the UK. What’s their secret?• Read an an exclusive Q&A with Haruki MurakamiAnyone who has been in a bookshop in the last few years will have noticed that Japanese fiction is experiencing an extraordinary boom. In 2022, figures from Nielsen BookScan showed that Japanese fiction represented 25% of all translated fiction sales in the UK. The dominance is even more striking this year: figures obtained by the Guardian show that, of the top 40 translated fiction titles for 2024 so far, 43% are Japanese, with Asako Yuzuki’s satirical, socially conscious crime novel Butter topping the list. Butter also won the breakthrough author award at this year’s Books Are My Bag readers awards, which are curated by booksellers and voted for by the public.The popularity of modern Japanese fiction is not a new phenomenon in the UK, of course. In the 1990s, two writers broke through and became cult hits in this country. Haruki Murakami, a worldwide literary phenomenon, took off in Britain when Harvill Press published The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle in 1998. Scott Pack, who ran Waterstones’ buying team in the early 2000s, is a big Murakami fan and remembers giving him “lots of attention. Whatever books of his came out, we got massively behind.” This week, Murakami publishes his 15th novel The City and Its Uncertain Walls, about a man who travels... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2024-11-23 09:00:37 UTC ]
The Bookseller is to create a Rising Stars-style listing of individual booksellers to coincide with the Booksellers Association Conference in September 2020. The Bookshop Heroes special, supported by the BA and sponsored by HarperCollins, will be published to coincide with the annual conference. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-12-11 22:52:50 UTC ]
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The Booksellers Association (BA) will launch the Indie Book of the Month scheme, to promote adult and fiction titles across the UK and Ireland next year. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-12-03 19:14:43 UTC ]
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David Walliams’ The Beast of Buckingham Palace (HarperCollins) has racked up record single-week sales for the author, selling 130,073 copies for £886,333 through Nielsen BookScan’s TCM in its first full week on sale. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-12-02 20:19:07 UTC ]
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David Walliams and Tony Ross' The Beast of Buckingham Palace (HarperCollins) has held the Amazon Charts' Most-Sold: Fiction top spot for a second week, over the same week it ascended to the UK Official Top 50 number one through Nielsen BookScan with 100,899 copies sold. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-11-27 01:37:38 UTC ]
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A new bookshop has been opened in Farnham, Surrey, as a “gift” to say thank you to the town. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-11-24 14:46:01 UTC ]
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David Walliams has surpassed the £100m mark through Nielsen BookScan's Total Consumer Market, a week ahead of The Beast of Buckingham Palace (HarperCollins) hitting the charts. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-11-20 22:12:15 UTC ]
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John Lewis' Christmas advert has come under fire as author and former bookseller Jen Campbell highlighted the similarities between the advert and her children’s book Franklin’s Flying Bookshop (Thames & Hudson). Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-11-18 10:24:18 UTC ]
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Contrary to its namesake, Lee Child's Blue Moon appeared twice in the week ending 2nd November; the title topped the Nielsen BookScan charts in hardback format, and the e-book edition stormed to the top of the Weekly E-Book Ranking. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-11-14 14:57:35 UTC ]
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A bookshop that runs independently Meanwhile, Amazon keeps shittin’ on us endlessly Essentially, the rent keeps rising relentlessly Let the tourists come around, go on a spending spree Stop by, exchange ideas, sip some coffee There will be a cultural revolution in this city Enter me, the Drama... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2019-11-12 21:44:15 UTC ]
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Another Story Bookshop is focused on social justice and diversity, continuing the mission its founder established over 30 years ago. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2019-11-09 10:00:11 UTC ]
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Who doesn’t love an independent bookshop? Think of the Shop Around the Corner in You’ve Got Mail! Think of the Travel Book Co. in Notting Hill! Embryo Concepts in Funny Face! Black Books from the British sitcom of the same name! Think of the real brick-and-mortar bookshop in your own community.... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2019-11-08 19:34:19 UTC ]
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Kay Featherstone and Kate Allinson's Pinch of Nom (Bluebird) has sold one million copies to date, with last week's 7,067 copies sold pushing it into seven figures through Nielsen BookScan's TCM. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-11-05 13:55:45 UTC ]
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Valérie Lévy-Soussan, founder of Audiolib, has tracked France’s audiobook market from CDs in the early 2000s to streaming and download formats. The post From Frankfurt’s First Audio Summit: Valérie Lévy-Soussan of France’s Audiolib appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2019-10-31 05:30:42 UTC ]
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Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine EvaristoSince studying Lara as a student, I have been a fan of Bernardine Evaristo’s work, and am delighted to see her win the Booker Prize this year. Girl, Woman, Other follows the lives of twelve black characters with different backgrounds and experiences, most... Continue reading at British Council global
[ British Council global | 2019-10-30 09:49:28 UTC ]
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Independent bookshop Telling Tales has moved aboard a purpose-built canal boat to roam through London's canals and beyond. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-30 00:02:15 UTC ]
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The soon-to-launch platform aims to give booksellers an edge against the e-tail giant. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-10-25 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Almost 6,000 copies of Girl, Woman, Other sold in the week after Evaristo’s win alongside Margaret AtwoodBernadine Evaristo’s Girl, Woman, Other more than doubled its lifetime sales in the week following its Booker prize win, with joint winner The Testaments by Margaret Atwood also flying off... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2019-10-22 16:25:45 UTC ]
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The only store in Hay-on-Wye, Herefordshire, to exclusively sell new books will open on 26th October. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-21 06:24:17 UTC ]
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The head of Otava Publishing, one of Finland’s largest books beasts as well as an owner of its biggest bookshop chain, says the domestic market has been ‘bipolar’—but reckons new formats present a massive opportunity for brave publishers. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-18 03:01:17 UTC ]
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Philip Pullman's The Secret Commonwealth (Penguin/David Fickling) has maintained its number one spot in the Amazon Charts' Most-Sold: Fiction top 20 for a second week, while the current UK Official Top 50 number one through Nielsen BookScan's TCM, Bill Bryson's The Body (Transworld), also held... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-15 17:51:08 UTC ]
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