The rise of sexy books

Erika Leonard laughs a lot, a deep wheezy chortle. And why wouldn't she? Leonard, a 49-year-old overnight publishing sensation, is laughing all the way to the bank. In the past few months the former TV executive has had her first novel, Fifty Shades of Grey, dominate the New York Times bestseller list, watched it be fought over by the big six publishing houses, and sold the film rights for a cool US$5 million (NZ$6.2m). Continue reading at 'Stuff'

[ Stuff | 2012-05-14 00:00:00 UTC ]

Other news stories related to: "The rise of sexy books"


Barnes and Noble posts $119 million loss in Q4 2013, will partner with third party on future Nook tablets

Barnes and Noble has not had an easy go of it. The brick-and-mortar stalwart has seen its revenues and profits steeply decline as we've entered the age of the ebook. In fact, profits haven't just shrunk; they've disappeared. During the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2013, the company suffered a... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2013-06-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Philip Pullman argues that authors are being shortchanged on ebook loans

Few people understand the magic of libraries better than Philip Pullman, author of His Dark Materials, but all is not well when it comes to digital lending. As the soon-to-be president of the Society of Authors, Pullman is leading the charge against publishing houses that may be shortchanging... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2013-06-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Censorship Be Damned: Fifty Shades of Grey Makes Its Way Into China

Despite the lack of a publisher and censorship issues, pirated copies of "Fifty Shades of Grey" are proving popular at Chinese online bookstores. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-05-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Fifty Shades of Grey' comes to China via pirated copies

'Fifty Shades of Grey,' having conquered the British and American book markets, has now arrived in China. But readers are discovering the book through pirated copies. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-05-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Film rights sold for Bologna hit

The film rights to YA debut novel Half Bad by Sally Green have been snapped up by Fox 2000, hard... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-04-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Book Is Dead, Long Live the Book

Publishing houses are Germany's intellectual backbone. For many years, they created a culture of literary abundance and generated healthy profits. But in the age of Amazon, ebooks and self-publishing, they could be facing demise. Continue reading at ABC News

[ ABC News | 2013-03-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Finding Different Ways to Prosper

Higher ebook sales, expansion into new markets, and leveraging the wild popularity of Fifty Shades of Grey were some of the ways the publishers that made this year’s list of PW’s fast-growing independent publishers prospered in 2012. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-03-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Google backs French digital publishing innovation initiative with €60 million incentive

Google's long had a contentious relationship with France. But it seems the Mountain View-based company has come up with a way to squash that problem: by throwing money at it. Taking to the company's official blog today, Chairman Eric Schmidt announced the creation of a €60 million Digital... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2013-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Selling Abroad: Fifty Shades Dominates, Again

J.K. Rowling’s The Casual Vacancy debuted at #3 on the fiction chart in Spain in December, good enough to place it right behind Fifty Shades of Grey, which held steady at #2. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-01-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Fifty Shades of Grey' will be released in hardcover editions

The 'Fifty Shades of Grey' trilogy has bucked the usual publishing trend by being released in paperback first and is only now being converted into a hardcover format. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-01-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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‘The Hobbit’ on Top; ‘Fifty Shades’ Is Back

J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit continues as the #1 book on social media, according to CoverCake, a company that uses analytical tools to track what’s trending on social media, its popularity obviously being driven by the movie. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-01-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sales of printed books slump in 2012

The printed book market fell by almost £74m in 2012, down 4.6% year on year, but the rate of decline was slowed by Fifty Shades Of Grey. Continue reading at BBC World

[ BBC World | 2013-01-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The bestselling ebook of 2012: 'Fifty Shades of Grey'

If you bought a copy of "Fifty Shades of Grey" for your e-reader, you are not alone -- not by a long shot. If you bought a copy of "Fifty Shades of Grey" for your e-reader, you are not alone -- not by a long shot. E.L. James' sexy novel about innocent college student Anastasia Steele and her... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-01-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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USA’s Top-Selling Print Books of 2012 from Nielsen

It comes as no surprise that Nielsen BookScan's top-selling print book lists for 2012 are dominated by Fifty Shades and the Hunger Games. See what else is on the lists. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2012-12-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bonus for Fifty Shades US publisher

Random House publishers are to reward employees with a $5,000 (£3,103) bonus partly owing to the success of EL James's erotic trilogy, Fifty Shades of Grey. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2012-12-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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E L James as 'Publishing Person of the Year' draws outcry from literary world

Publishers Weekly faces controversy after naming 'Fifty Shades of Grey' author E L James 'Publishing Person of the Year' for 2012. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-12-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Fifty Shades Keeps Momentum

To see the international success of E.L. James’s Fifty Shades trilogy, just take a look at Italy, where the entire trilogy figures among the top six bestselling October titles. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-11-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Fifty Shades up for book award

Erotic tale earns nomination for the National Book Award, while another surprisingly sexy tale is also making waves in Britain. Continue reading at The Sydney Morning Herald

[ The Sydney Morning Herald | 2012-11-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Erotica sales surge, but markets continue to fall

Fifty Shades of Grey has sold more than 28 million physical copies around the world, though... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-10-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Quercus hit by Fifty Shades success

The decline in sales of Stieg Larsson and the success of Fifty Shades of Grey has impacted on the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-09-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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