Categorising fiction may help to sell books, but it says little about how writers write or readers readIn her Reith lecture of 2017, recently published for the first time in a posthumous collection of nonfiction, A Memoir of My Former Self, Hilary Mantel recalled the beginnings of her career as a novelist. It was the 1970s. “In those days historical fiction wasn’t respectable or respected,” she recalled. “It meant historical romance. If you read a brilliant novel like I, Claudius, you didn’t taint it with the genre label, you just thought of it as literature. So, I was shy about naming what I was doing. All the same, I began. I wanted to find a novel I liked, about the French Revolution. I couldn’t, so I started making one.”She made A Place of Greater Safety, an exceptional ensemble portrayal of the revolutionaries Danton, Robespierre and Desmoulins, but although the novel was completed in 1979, it wasn’t published until 1992 – widely rejected, as she later explained, because although she thought the French Revolution was the most interesting thing in the world, the reading public didn’t agree, or publishers had concluded they didn’t. She decided to write a contemporary novel – Every Day Is Mother’s Day – purely to get published; A Place of Greater Safety emerged only when she contributed to a Guardian piece about writers’ unpublished first novels. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2023-11-27 12:30:00 UTC ]
The organisers of the Walter Scott Prize for historical fiction has launched an academy to help find future winners. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-12-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A Washington, D.C. store preps for a holiday expansion; a Texas bookstore owner makes a comeback; Canadian stores get the okay to sell books and booze; and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-11-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Love to read historical fiction? Take our quiz and find out how well you really know the genre. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2016-11-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Despite the fact that he says, 'I don't consider myself a historical novelist at all,' Simon Mawer wins the £30,000 pound Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction. The post With Its ‘Heart in Scotland,’ the Walter Scott Prize Honors Simon Mawer appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-06-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Thomas Mullen has been playing with genres for a long time. He has mixed historical fiction with magical realism, played with the spy novel, and is now mixing a police procedural with a fact-based piece of historical fiction. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Kelly Kerney, who spent a decade writing the historical novel "Hard Red Spring," talks about the impossible task of historical fiction. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-03-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Titles by William Boyd and Patrick Gale have been named on the 2016 Walter Scott Prize shortlist in an “exceptional year” for historical fiction. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-03-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Authors including Kate Atkinson, William Boyd and Robert Harris are battling it out to win the £25,000 Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-03-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Most publishers and authors used their booth presence at the North American International Toy Fair to sell books and sidelines, though a growing number were also on the hunt for new licensing deals. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-02-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Host of the Project says outrage at ‘neo-masculinist’ Daryush Valizadeh should be channelled into something positive, rather than fuelling his public profileWaleed Aly has called for a social media blackout on Daryush Valizadeh, the leader of “neo-masculinist” group Return of the Kings who... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2016-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A Scottish startup using binaural recording, 3D audio software and immersive sound design to redefine the audiobook. A team of seasoned digital entrepreneurs from Cologne on a mission to revolutionise storytelling for mobile. A Manchester-based app employing behavioural science and gaming... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-10-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The book blurb is one of the longest-running conventions in publishing and is largely a favor passed among writers and friends. But do they sell books? The post Don’t Judge a Book By Its Cover, Judge it By Its Blurbs appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-10-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Antonia Hodgson and MJ Carter are among the authors shortlisted for The 2015 Historical Writers’ Association's (HWA) Debut Crown Award for historical fiction. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Johannesburg's Philani Dladli was homeless when he decided to sell books he found and read, offering them on a sliding price scale based on his own review. The post Homeless South African Sells Books and Reviews In Lieu of Begging appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-08-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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London's Pushkin Press has become one of the founding partners of Picturehouse Central cinema and will have a pop-up shop in the theater to sell books. The post Pushkin Press Opens Pop-up Shop in New Cinema appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-06-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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John Spurling has won the £25,000 Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction for his novel set in imperial China, The Ten Thousand Things (Duckworth), a book which is said to have been rejected 44 times by publishers. Spurling beat off competition from Martin Amis, Helen Dunmore, Hermione... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-06-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Cairo's Kotob Khan Bookstore does far more than merely sell books: it serves as a community center, a gathering place — and now it's a publisher as well. The post Cairo’s Kotob Khan Bookstore: A Literary Safe Place appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-06-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A novel set in imperial China wins the £25,000 Water Scott Prize for Historical Fiction at the Borders Book Festival. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2015-06-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishers should help authors to identify their digital skills, but social media is “not the most important thing”, writers and industry insiders have told The Bookseller. Authors should feel comfortable with any digital activity they are asked to undertake, using tweeting, blogging and other... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-05-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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To mark the opening of the 'Insurgent' film, HarperCollins and Twitter are partnering to offer fans of Veronica Roth's Divergent trilogy a discounted hardcover of the 'Insurgent' movie tie-in edition via Twitter links. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-03-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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