Thursday 25 September 2008

BOOK NEWS AND MUTTERINGS

High Street giant, ARGOS have started stocking books for the first time. This is a trail and so far only includes children's titles. The autumn and winter catalogue contains 16 titles.

Borders UK is to close three more of its airport stores when their leases on the building run out. Borders now have four airport branches but overall the company are saying they are strong and healthy.

Random House have won its biggest TV tie-in licence with the licence for TV's Merlin which starts its r un on UK screens next week. The terms of the licence includes fiction, non fiction, annuals and audio adventures.

Orion Publishers have snapped up the rights to the next two Elmore Leonard novels.

TOP 5 UK BOOKS
1 This year it will be different by Maeve Binchy
2 Things I want my daughter to...by Elizabeth Nobel
3 Nation by Terry Pratchett
4 The Bone Garden by Tess Gerritsen
5 No time for goodbye by Linwood Barclay

data for week ending 13 sept 08

total UK market for the week was worth £31.3 million
This is up one per-cent on the same week last year

(DATA AND FIGURES FROM THE BOOKSELLER)

Harlequin/Mills and Boons new crime imprint Black Star Crime has been a huge successes with many stockists ordering a second batch of the books. This bodes well for the crime/thriller genre with it booming at the moment.

Recently UK TV channel ITV3 have launched its crime season which culminates with a glitzy awards ceremony that will be televised and should become an annual event.

QUOTE -

From The Bookseller, in addition to the ITV3 Writer’s Award for Classic TV Drama (shortlist of P.D.James, Ruth Rendell, Colin Dexter, Lynda La Plante, Ian Rankin, Val McDermid), the following awards and their shortlists are now announced:

Breakthrough Author Award
Chelsea Cain Heartsick (Pan)
Stuart MacBride Broken Skin (Harper)
Michael Robotham Shatter (Sphere)
Anne Zouroudi The Messenger of Athens (Bloomsbury)

International Author of the Year
Jeffery Deaver The Sleeping Doll (Hodder & Stoughton)
Stieg Larsson The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (Quercus)
Karin Slaughter Skin Privilege (Arrow)
PJ Tracy Snow Blind (Penguin)

Author of the Year
Lee Child Bad Luck and Trouble (Bantam)
Robert Harris The Ghost (Hutchinson)
Peter James Not Dead Enough (Pan)
Ian Rankin Exit Music (Orion)

Press pack information here.


UNQUOTE

I am currently working on a post that looks at the state of the crime/thriller genre and am also raving about author Ken Bruen who is my new favourite crime writer. His PI Jack Taylor is the most unrelenting sleuth since Mike Hammer and the mean streets of modern day Ireland are so well realised you can smell the Guinness.


I'll probably post my review of the first Jack Taylor, The Guards alongside the crime genre post.

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