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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TED, known for exclusive events and online videos of speeches by celebrities like Al Gore, Bono and Malcolm Gladwell, plans to publish its own short ebooks, beginning with three that went on sale Wednesday. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2011-01-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Costa Book of the Year prize-winner, Jo Shapcott, explains her delight that poetry has been recognised by Costa two years running. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2011-01-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Penguin has been appointed the exclusive publisher for Sainsbury's Book Club, providing all titles in the promotion between July 2011 and July 2012. Authors set to feature in the club include Marian Keyes, Clive Cussler, Jeff Kinney and Rick Riordan, with exact... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-01-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Anna Boiardi's family founded Chef Boyardee more than 70 years ago, spelling their name phonetically to help Americans pronounce it. Now, Boiardi teaches cooking classes and has written Delicious Memories, which Stewart, Tabori & Chang will publish in May. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-01-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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While all the big box stores carry books and all offer discounted bestsellers, Target competes most directly for those consumers who might otherwise make their purchases at bookstores. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-01-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A year-old social networking and digital distribution platform that aims to bring writers and agents together has created a contest to find "the next big crime fiction blockbuster." Circalit, launched in February 2010 as a place for screenwriters to showcase their work to studios, began inviting... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-01-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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