Big deals signed for study of a 19th-century family of killers, Hell’s Half-Acre, and Murder Isn’t Easy, a mortician’s take on Agatha Christie’s forensics The spectre of true crime was stalking the aisles at this year’s London book fair, with publishers snapping up investigations into past evils in the wake of successes in podcasting and television such as Dirty John, Serial and The Teacher’s Pet.Offers were flying in for former Waterstones bookseller Susan Jonusas’s first book Hell’s Half-Acre, a study of the the Bender family of serial killers in Kansas in 1873. Jonusas, 24, left Waterstones in December to write full-time. “Buried on a homestead seven miles south of the town were 11 bodies in varying states of decay. Further investigation revealed a well containing remains of even more victims. The number of people murdered was estimated at 20,” said Jonusas’s literary agency. “The idea that a family of seemingly respectable homesteaders were capable of operating ‘a human slaughter pen’ appalled and fascinated the nation. But who the Benders really were, why they committed such a vicious killing spree and what became of them when they fled from the law is a mystery that has remained unsolved to this day.” UK rights are still being finalised, with Viking snapping it up for a six-figure deal in the US. Agent Georgina Capel, who was fielding offers for the book, said: “I suspect the true-crime podcast thing is driving the current interest.” Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2019-03-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with:
#literary agency
#uk rights
#six-figure deal
Oneworld has postponed the publication of Junot Diaz's upcoming picture book, Islandborn, originally scheduled for this month. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-06-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#junot diaz
#originally scheduled
I was astonished to find that I have read 46 of David Hill's books (plus 14 short stories and four poems); I have even heard his words read at a funeral. Yet none of these brought me more pleasure than his latest novel. Continue reading at Stuff
[ Stuff | 2018-06-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#book review
Amor Towles, Geraldine McCaughrean, Nicola Davies and Emily Sutton have been named the winners of the Independent Bookshop Week Book Awards. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-06-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#amor towles
#geraldine mccaughrean
This week: a novel set in a scary AI-overrun 2083, plus a history professor in her 60s goes to art school. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-06-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#history professor
#art school
Amazon has come under fire for removing reviews from its online book listings, with some customers having had all their reviews removed or being blocked from posting further reviews. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-06-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#book reviews
HarperCollins Children’s Books has revealed the cover of Judith Kerr’s new picture book to celebrate the author’s 95th birthday. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-06-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#harpercollins children
#picture book
#95th birthday
Delacorte invests in a Hamilton-esque YA novel, TJ Klune re-ups at Tor Teen for six figures, an award-winning Aussie novelist lands at Pegasus, and more in this week's notable book deals. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-06-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#book deals
#delacorte invests
#tor teen
Nick White, author of 'Sweet and Low,' picks books by Kiese Laymon, Jill McCorkle, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-06-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#picks books
#kiese laymon
#jill mccorkle
Award-winning author Holly Bourne wants to "blow the lid off" the truth about abusive relationships. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2018-06-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Bloomsbury Business has signed a new book about Sky and Rupert Murdoch's empire in a "major" acquisition. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-06-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#rupert murdoch
#bloomsbury business
William Collins will publish the debut from the former New York Times chief book critic Michiko Kakutani, billed as "a clarion call for verity". Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-06-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#william collins
George Gene Gustines, an editor in graphics and video at The New York Times, has been writing about comics for nearly two decades. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2018-06-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#comic books
The president’s son wants to make literature great again. But considering his legal troubles, I would not be surprised to find that his tome throws his dad under the busDonald Trump Jr, the one who looks like a semi-sentient sneer, wants to make literature great again. The president’s eldest... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2018-06-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#newt gingrich
Penguin Random House UK has confirmed it is embarking on a "Stranger Things" book programme with Netflix and will release two titles in autumn 2018. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-06-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#stranger things
Zondervan signs a new deal with Rebekah Lyons, Sounds True lands a double, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-06-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#zondervan signs
Blink Publishing's non-fiction imprint 535 has acquired an exploration of what happens to our bodies when we drink too much by Canadian journalist Shaughnessy Bishop-Stall. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-06-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#blink publishing
With the forthcoming release of its new operating system for phones and tablets, iOS 12, Apple is signaling a new emphasis on digital book and audiobook sales. The new operating system, set to hit in the fall, will replace Apple's long-serving iBooks app with a new Apple Books app. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-06-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#apple unveils
#book app
#forthcoming release
#operating system
#digital book
#audiobook sales
This week's hot books include a biography of Rembrandt, and an Australian YA novel that is collecting several international sales. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-06-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#international sales
The husband-wife team of Aleida and Jan Assmann, both authors and researchers, are known for their work in "cultural memory" and its contrast in many instances to individual experience and recollection in society. The post Aleida and Jan Assmann To Receive the 2018 Peace Prize of the German Book... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2018-06-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#post aleida
#jan assmann
With many hoping that BookExpo and its rights center–the New York Rights Fair–can get together under one roof, attendees are being surveyed, organizers say, to assess feedback and plan for the future. The post BookExpo and New York Rights Fair Extend Their Partnership, Polling Attendees appeared... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2018-06-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#post bookexpo
#rights center