Hello everyone! Marina here with another Literary Round Up! I have some exciting and fun tidbits to share with you about everything that’s been happening in the literary world this past week.
The biggest news of the week for the Kobo family: The new Forma eReader! This is our most comfortable eReader yet with waterproof reliability, the choice of landscape or portrait mode, new page-turn buttons, and the expanded access of book borrowing from your library via Overdrive. You can pre-order starting on October 15th; click here for all the details. Christmas shopping, anyone?
Touching back on some awards, this week the Giller Prize announced its shortlist for the 25th year of the prize, which awards the winner with C$100K. Not bad at all if you ask me! I don’t mean to brag at all, but I guessed 4 out of the 5 titles after the longlist was announced in September.
Edugyan, deWitt Grace Giller Prize Shortlist
The Scotiabank Giller Prize, which awards C$100,000 prize for the best Canadian novel or short story published in English, has announced its shortlist.
The most prestigious non-fiction award in the UK, the Baillie Gifford Prize, has announced its 2018 shortlist. Winner of the £30,000 prize to be announced on November 14th. Check out the list below!
https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-45718140
It looks like Barnes and Noble is hanging up “for sale” signs! With the potential exit of B&N, who will take its spot in the US market? “In announcing that it’s weighing a possible sale, the company noted that an unknown investor has been rapidly acquiring its stock.”
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/barnes-noble-hangs-up-for-sale-sign/
For a bit of fun for the travellers, here’s an article on Crime Reads about how reading fiction can be a much better way to prep for a trip, instead of the good ol’ travel guides. I remember doing this before I visited Prague a few years back and I have to say, I totally agree! It doesn’t completely replace the prep research but it sure enhances the experience. Let us know if you’ve done this before in the comments!
https://crimereads.com/crime-novels-are-better-than-travel-guides/
If you’re trying to get in the spooky mood this month, LitHub has also shared a list of 23 great women horror writers to freak you out. Do you have any recommendations missing from the list? One of our coworkers, Dave Cross, mentioned Geek Love by Katherine Dunn as another great suggestion.
https://lithub.com/23-great-women-horror-writers-to-freak-you-out-this-october/
And finally, Bookbub has shared some insights on just how much people really do judge books by their covers. They give us some amazing side-by-side comparisons of covers in their original design and the new and improved ones. Super interesting read!
https://insights.bookbub.com/ways-book-cover-hurt-sales-fix/
Events happening around the world:
Toronto (CA): Oct 11th, 2018: Kobo Writing Life’s Indie Author Library Event (click here for tickets and more info)
New York (USA): Oct 9th, 2018: Selected Shorts: The Best American Short Stories with Roxanne Gay (click here for more info). Oct 10th, 2018: Markus Zuzak – Bridge of Clay Reading and Talk (click here for more info).
Cleveland (USA): Oct 13th, 2018: Indie Author Conference and Showcase (click here for more info).
London (UK): Oct 18th-28th, 2018: London Literature Festival (click here for more info). Oct 4th-14th, 2018: Wimbledon BookFest (click here for more info)
Frankfurt (DE): Oct 10th-14th: Frankfurt Book Fair (click here for more info).
NB. We are not affiliated with any of the above mentioned events other than KWL’s Indie Author Library Event.
KWL Blog Post Highlight:
I loved this guest post by KWL author Grace Burrowes, where she talks about how libraries can be a great market to focus on as a self-published author. This is great for KWL authors, since you can distribute your titles with us to Overdrive directly from your author dashboard! What’s not to love? Check out Grace’s insights and experience with this tool and how it has significantly boosted her sales:
Kobo Writing Life Bestsellers
Congratulations to our KWL authors for hitting the USA TODAY Bestsellers List this week!!! We are so proud of all the amazing talent in the KWL family.
#53 – Once Upon a Sure Thing by Lauren Blakely
#56 – Hour of Darkness by Lara Adrian
#90 – A Truly Perfect Gentleman by Grace Burrowess
#96 – The Wife Before Me by Laura Elliot
#100 – The Christmas Wishing Tree by Emily March
#110 – Hunting Danger by Katie Reus
#127 – Fractured Honor by Kaylea Cross
#148 – Memories of Home by Melissa Storm, Kay P. Dawson
We would also like to congratulate:
Meghan March, who has been recently added to the RWA Honor Roll! This is no easy feat! Congrats, Meghan! rwa.org/honor_roll
Joanna Penn for winning the “Publishing Commentator of the Year” Award at Digital Book World 2018 #DBW18! So much wisdom! Congrats, Joanna!
Staff Pick of the Week:
Deandra Lalonde, Merchandiser AU/NZ
Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty
“As a Liane fan, it’s hard not to like anything she does, but this book is a much different pace and vibe than her last few titles have been. We’ve moved away from suburbia and a mommy mystery, and I loved it. Still hard to put down, you still want to know where things are going—and things get a little weird but in such a fun way. Recommended for a fun weekend read.”
