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Drawing Modern Readers with Modern Stories
Countering the stereotype of the romance writer as a middle-aged housewife with time on her hands, a formidable cohort of authors are hitting the romance bestseller lists while still in their 20s and 30s. Some of these women are just starting out, but a significant number of them already have quite substantial booklists.
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Romance Authors Go PG With YA
Young adult novels often touch on themes of romance, sex, and gender relations that loom large in the teen psyche. This has made it natural for traditional romance authors to make the jump to YA writing.
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Home Is Where the Hearth Is
Bad housing market or good—according to the Commerce Department, figures for sales of new homes were worse in summer 2010 than they have been in 50 years, though September did bring some improvement—publishers continue to offer books on home improvement and decorating in large numbers.
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Call for Information: Spring 2011 Titles
Print Issue: Jan. 24, 2011
Deadline: Dec. 1
Needed: Information on adult trade titles being published in all formats between February 1, 2011, and July 31, 2011. Publishers are invited to enter their data online at www.publishersweekly.com/spring2011submissions. -
'PW' Enlists Above The Treeline in Data Collection
Above the Treeline, developer of the Web-based catalogue product Edelweiss, and Publishers Weekly will collaborate on the collection of PW's Adult Announcements issues, beginning with the spring 2011 season.
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PW Spring 2011 Announcements
Welcome to the PW Spring 2011 Title/announcement issue page. We are now collecting listings from publishers in a new way, assisted by our partnership with Above the Treeline and their Edelweiss catalogue tool.
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Gift Books—Tradition Meets Invention
They come in a staggering variety of subjects, sizes, shapes, and colors. Today's market for illustrated gift books—aka coffee-table titles—is influenced by pop culture (Lady Gaga, anyone?), current trends (art, architecture, fashion, cooking, etc.), and, perhaps most strongly, the economic downturn.
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Around the Leagues
The fall season in sports books might begin with baseball, but the other major sports get their share, as does the somehow unkillable sport of boxing. Highlights follow of books that fans will want to have.
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The Medium Is the Ball Game
Last week, author Jane Leavy was at the New York Times visiting Richard Sandomir, the newspaper's sports media critic. Sandomir offered to show her the kinescope of the famous 1960 World Series Game 7 between the Yankees and the Pirates, which ended on a home run by Pirates second baseman Bill Mazeroski.
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Seeking and Finding
"While the moniker 'New Age' is becoming a bit passé, it's not becoming old age," says Llewellyn publisher Bill Krause. "We have many new and fresh voices populating our frontlist and complementing the stalwarts of our backlist." The category has broadened along with American consumers' definition of spirituality, and mainstream media gurus like Oprah and Martha Stewart readily espouse the importance of connecting mind, body, and spirit—the four-word label that's become the alternative title for this category.
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Pussies Galore
Judging from publishers' submissions for this article (and those of previous years), cat books are not published in the same numbers as dog books are—despite cats outnumbering dogs as pets—but the right cat memoir can be just as successful as any canine tale.
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Novel Canine--and Kitties
Forge associate editor Kristin Sevick agrees with her colleagues when she says, "Readers are turning to dog books in droves, not just because they love dogs but because of the sense of peace the stories give them."
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Barking Up the Write Tree
A no-brainer: Americans love their pets. Moreover, they put their money where their hearts are.According to a March 2009 article on PetConnection.com, U.S. consumers spent more than $43 billion on food, supplies, medicine, and health care for their pets in 2008, making that business the eighth largest in the country, ahead of the candy and toy industries. Consumers now spend more than $18 billion annually on pet food alone.
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The Sound of Music... in Words
For those of us who write about music, the songs or the singers or the musicians themselves are our inspiration. But as we try to put the sound we hear on the page—to use a different medium in which to communicate our experiences—it is often other writers who help us "transpose" the music to the written word.
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Battle Cry
Whether in real life with the Iraq War hitting the seven-year mark and the Afghanistan War seeing record casualties in June, or in movie theaters—where Restrepo and last year's The Messenger have won raves and The Hurt Locker raked in six Oscars—war and the military are central to American culture.
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2010 Regional Trade Show Roundup
There is a lot going on at this year's regional trade shows—amid the planning and between the lines there is a real sense of relevance, balance, and excitement that has been conspicuously absent from recent gatherings.
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Healing Words
Not so long ago, getting expert health information usually required waiting in line—or at least having an appointment. These days, a click of the remote or pressing the power button on your computer can call up a host of medical professionals willing and ready to dispense advice.
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How to Make It in America
If you want real perspective on America's vibrant cultural milieu, skip the politics section at your local bookstore and head straight to the cookbook aisle. There, in the pages of our cookbooks, one finds the true flavors of America.
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Erotica--Fanning the Flames
While the breakneck pace by which erotica publishers turned out titles as recently as two years ago may have slowed, the category's influence on culture—and on publishing—continues apace. The demand for explicit sexual writing is as strong as ever, and readers want characters with a range of desires and experiences, and stories that push the limits of their fantasies.
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Tightly Knit
The name Alice Starmore may be unfamiliar to many, yet editions of some of her most sought-after, out-of-print books—filled with complex, distinctive knitting patterns accomplished using specific yarns—routinely fetch $200 to $400 online. Her designs inspire awe, and her reputation for strongly enforcing her design copyrights can also inspire outrage. Regardless, she is a legend among knitters.
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