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 ]
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Sebastian Barry, who has won the Costa Book of the Year for a second time, tells the BBC that he dedicated the prize to his son, but reveals his children don't read his books. Continue reading at BBC World
[ BBC World | 2017-02-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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New York City has announced its One Book, One New York program, which will encourage residents of each of the five boroughs to read the same book once the title is announced in March. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-02-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Talented young writers have organized themselves into collectives,' says the novelist-publisher Shandana Minhas in talking about her new press. The post Pakistan’s Shandana Minhas on her English-Language Mongrel Books appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2017-02-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sales of print books fell 3.6% last year compared to 2015, dropping to $753.4 million, according to figures released this week by BookNet Canada. Print units were off 6.4% as Canadians continued to do more of their book buying online. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-02-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Books and bookstores will be more important than ever in the current climate, US feminist writer Roxane Gay told the American Booksellers Association's 12th Winter Institute in Minneapolis. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-01-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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HarperCollins Children’s Books has acquired a four-book fiction series about pirates by Amy Sparkes and Ben Cort. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-01-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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We chart the business of making books from manuscript to bookshop shelf and beyondThis week the books podcast takes a physical turn, shifting away from the intangible business of writing to consider the hunks of wood we haul around for our reading pleasure. With sales of printed books on the... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2017-01-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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MCD/FSG nabs a debut thriller by a Yaddo fellow, Emily Bestler takes the second novel by Amy Poeppel, Reston brings a Vietnam War Memorial history to Arcade, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-01-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Feminist author Roxane Gay has pulled the publication of her forthcoming book with Simon & Schuster, How to Be Heard, in response to the US publisher's reported $250,000 book deal with far-right commentator Milo Yiannopoulos. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-01-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A book deal for the memoirs of former US president Barack Obama is expected to set a record, with a price tag as high as US$20 million (NZ$27.6 million). Continue reading at Stuff
[ Stuff | 2017-01-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Connect Books achieved a strong Christmas trading period, with like-for-like sales up 15.1% across its wholesale business and online platform Wordery. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-01-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This week: the oddly musical mysteries in the motion of the planets, plus love and art in 1950s Manhattan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-01-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Coronet has acquired a book by Dave Grohl's mum, From Cradle to Stage, in which Virginia Hanlon Grohl speaks to the mothers of other "era-defining" musicians such as Amy Winehouse, Dr Dre and Adam Levine. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-01-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ursula Mackenzie, former c.e.o of Little, Brown, has joined Profile Books’ board of directors as a non-executive director. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-01-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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On Wednesday, Gay became the latest author to protest Threshold Editions's controversial book deal with Milo Yiannopoulos, by pulling her own book, 'How to Be Heard,' from the publisher's TED Books imprint. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-01-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Lorena Jones Books will focus on cooking and lifestyle titles and is named for and will be overseen by Lorena Jones, Ten Speed v-p and publisher of her imprint. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-01-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sales of spoof humour books helped W H Smith to achieve a “strong” performance over its Christmas trading period, with the company’s chief executive Stephen Clarke saying that group profit growth for the year is now “slightly ahead of plan”. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-01-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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John Maynard Keynes’ The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money (Palgrave Macmillan), a book about economic policy, is the academic book that has most influenced modern Britain, according to a public vote. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-01-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The book trade has generally welcomed Amazon’s new ebook offer, but questioned the five year cap for the new deal and raised concerns over whether it will hold in the UK in a post-Brexit world. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-01-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Allowing drinks among the bookshelves, Japanese book retail chain Tsutaya's concept is meant to extend the amount of time visitors spend at the store. The post Japanese Bookseller Tsutaya Opens Its First Book Cafe in Taiwan appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2017-01-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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