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 ]
Booming appetites for crime, sci-fi and romance drive fiction sales 20% higher than in 2019, with Richard Osman the year’s bestselling authorBook sales continued to climb last year despite lockdowns, with more than 212m print books sold in 2021 – the highest figure of the last decade.Driven by... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-01-11 17:21:11 UTC ]
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The number of independent bookshops in the UK and Ireland has grown for the fifth consecutive year despite challenges brought by the pandemic, the Booksellers Association says. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2022-01-07 22:34:12 UTC ]
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The UK's first Black specialist bookshop is to shut its doors and move entirely online, as financial constraints jeopardise its future. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-12-28 16:05:54 UTC ]
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The Margate Bookshop has collected almost £3,000 to buy books for local schoolchildren with plans to run the fundraiser as an ongoing scheme alongside other independent bookstores, potentially as part of a charity. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-12-23 07:48:13 UTC ]
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Newham Bookshop is giving over a thousand books to children and communities in need this Christmas. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2021-12-21 06:12:46 UTC ]
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An independent Somerset bookshop is being forced to close for good after Storm Arwen damaged the roof. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-12-20 01:26:46 UTC ]
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I’ve been writing this column for seven years, now, and it never gets old for me. Getting to sift through each previous month’s fiction titles is the best kind of treasure hunt, always rewarding and sometimes astonishing. For the second year in a row I’m gathering up my favorites from the... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-12-14 09:51:28 UTC ]
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Now in its second year, the publisher-owned Fraktura Bookshop serves as a hub of literary events and trusted recommendations in Zagreb. The post Croatian Publisher Fraktura and Its Bookshop: ‘To Present Quality Books’ appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-12-13 07:33:12 UTC ]
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Alongside Richard Osman and JK Rowling, figures show huge successes for relative unknowns Ellery Adams and Brenda ChapmanThe UK’s library users are widely seen as a traditional bunch when it comes to choosing their next read, but while Richard Osman might have topped the list of the year’s... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2021-12-08 16:34:37 UTC ]
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It might seem odd for a magazine called The Bookseller to have a dedicated issue for “booksellers”, but this week’s issue is a dedicated one for, well, booksellers, including our now-annual listing of the Bookshop Heroes, those purveyors of the written word who, when push came to shove in 2021,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-12-03 15:21:51 UTC ]
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Black bookshop owners are finding that their efforts are paying off by sharing stories and bringing communities closer together through their local store. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-12-03 08:27:39 UTC ]
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Twenty-three people have been included in The Bookseller's Bookshop Heroes class of 2021, a list of some of the best individual booksellers in the UK and Ireland. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-12-03 04:23:58 UTC ]
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Will Smith has partnered with Black-owned bookshops and artists of colour across the UK and America to celebrate his upcoming memoir Will (Century), with Sevenoaks Bookshop featuring an artist’s display. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-11-11 02:48:04 UTC ]
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Following the acclaimed author’s decision not to have Beautiful World, Where Are You translated by an Israeli publisher, two major retailers have removed her work from their shelvesBooks by Sally Rooney will no longer be sold in two Israeli bookshop chains, after the acclaimed writer’s decision... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2021-11-05 16:14:29 UTC ]
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J K Rowling's The Christmas Pig (Little, Brown) has notched up a second week in the UK Official Top 50 number one spot, with 31,565 copies sold through Nielsen BookScan's Total Consumer Market. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-10-26 07:52:25 UTC ]
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The Tudor Dynasty lives on in these outstanding historical fiction novels, including The King’s Witch. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2021-10-22 10:33:00 UTC ]
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Kate Mosse is launching a YouTube channel, including a book club featuring two non-fiction titles and a pair of fiction titles each month. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-10-20 03:44:21 UTC ]
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Dave Grohl's The Storyteller (Simon & Schuster) has rocked straight into the UK Official Top 50 number one spot in its first week on sale, selling 50,367 copies through Nielsen BookScan's Total Consumer Market. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-10-12 01:06:45 UTC ]
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A new children’s bookshop in Hitchin is specialising in inclusive titles, including books that celebrate neurodiversity. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-10-11 14:30:39 UTC ]
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We interviewed booksellers about their experience of the pandemic and their customers. Continue reading at The Conversation
[ The Conversation | 2021-10-07 05:14:45 UTC ]
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