This Week In Books
March 3, 2024 Edition
It was World Book Day this week and it will be the Ides of March next week. Bad omen? Who knows. But the world of books did not disappoint this week (does it ever?). We have new novels from bestselling authors, an Audible deal, a new publishing house, and the best bookish night ever. Let’s get to it:
Author’s Equity: A new publishing house was announced this week which promises a novel approach to the business side of publishing. Author’s Equity will not pay authors an advance but instead will pay a higher percentage of royalties. While this approach won’t work for every author, this new venture does offer a different option to the standard publishing model. And we all need more choices and more flexibility. We will be watching with curiosity to see how this plays out. Particularly since two former CEOs of Penguin Random House are heading the enterprise. It also bodes well that several bestselling authors–like Louise Penny, James Clear, and Timothy Ferriss–are prominent investors. Here at The Book Tide, we are #TeamAuthor, so we are in favor of any initiative that helps authors write more books and gain financial stability.
Book BNB: Airbnb and BookTok star Abby Parker are partnering with St. Paul’s Cathedral in London to host a one night stay in the Hidden Library at St Paul’s Cathedral. The listing goes live on March 12th and costs just $9 per night. Included with the stay is a tour of the library, dinner, breakfast and a visit to the Cathedral the next day. This is in honor of World Book Day and is only available to one visitor and their guest for a night–March 15th. All you have to do is secure the only spot and get yourself to London (on the Ides of March, no less). Good luck, bibliophiles, and may the odds be ever in your favor!
Brandon Brokers A Deal: In 2022 bestselling author Brandon Sanderson created the most lucrative Kickstarter campaign in history to fund publication of four new novels. But Sanderson then refused to let Audible offer the four audiobooks on their service. Stating his concerns about how Audible's pay structure compensated authors–especially self published authors–he took a stand. This week he announced that Audible approached him with a new pay scale for authors and he has accepted their deal and will now offer his books on the platform. And to this we say a wholehearted “Way to go, Brandon!”
A Writerly Union: Bestselling author Laura Dave has a fast track to screen adaptations through her husband–Academy Award winning screenwriter, Josh Singer. The pair collaborated on the 2023 AppleTV adaptation of her novel The Last Thing He Told Me starring Jennifer Garner. Now they will be collaborating again on her next book. It’s titled The Night We Lost Him and will be published on October 1st. While some might call this an unfair advantage, I call it writerly genius. Well played, Laura, well played. I’ve already got the popcorn ready.
101 Voices: Author Annabelle Hirsch’s book A History of Women In 101 Objects was released to coincide with International Women’s Day. Hirsch tells the history of women through household objects, ranging from the ancient to the modern. Some are intriguing such as the first example of a healed femur, others are terrifying objects of torture such as a thumbscrew. The examples range from beautiful antique fashion items, to spicy 16th century glass… um…well lets just use our favorite word, “pizzle”. (And you thought we’d retired the pizzle jokes). Rather than have one woman narrate the entire book, the publisher undertook a mammoth task of recruiting one narrator per object. Yes, 101 narrators including but not limited to Helena Bonham Carter, Maragaret Atwood, Kate Winslet, Daisy Ridley, and Gillian Anderson. Never have a hundred different women agreed on one thing so quickly as this project.
A Love Story For The (Middle) Ages: The bestselling author of One Day, David Nicholls, is releasing his sixth book next month. Telling the story of two lonely people in mid-life who find themselves on a ten day hike in the wilderness, You Are Here promises to be a satisfyingly human love story. His 2007 novel, Starter For Ten, which follows a recent university graduate pursuing his lifelong goal of competing on a TV quiz show, will be brought to the stage in the UK as a musical. Whether he’s telling a love story over twenty years, on a quiz show, or on a ten day walk in the wilderness, Nicholls continues to pull on our heart strings like a true puppetmaster.
A Drag On Book Bans: RuPaul has had a big week with the announcement of his author-owned online bookstore Allstora, his Rainbow Book Bus program, and his new book club–RuPaul’s Book Club. Allstora is committed to paying authors equitably, claiming to pay double what other online retailers do, and to giving voice to LGBTQ+ authors. Fully opposed to book bans of all types, they are already drawing controversy for selling books from notable conservative voices, authors at odds with Allstora’s stated mission. A pop up on their main page that says that “you may find books you disagree with” and a FAQ section that states “censorship of any book, perspective, or story is incompatible with the survival of democracy,” alert customers of their anti-book ban stance. The proceeds from sales of books that conflict with Allstora’s mission will be donated to their Rainbow Book Bus program–a traveling bus providing LGBTQ books to communities facing book bans. And of course the book club is leading with RuPaul’s memoir The House Of Hidden Meanings. You gotta hand it to the old queen to stick to his no ban rule. True to form, he’s doing it with flair.
Ms. Rachel Lands A Book Deal: Children’s YouTube star Rachel Accurso has announced her multi-book deal with PRH this week. Accurso’s internet fame began when her son was diagnosed with a speech delay and, facing a lack of online resources, she decided to make her own. She used her background in childhood development and music education to great effect and started posting her musical videos online. Now 5 years and more than eight million subscribers later she will bring her method to the written word. Congratulations Rachel and may more words–spoken and read–be brought to children’s lives through your work.
A Self-Made Sensation: When Jeneva Rose signed with a small publisher for her first book The Perfect Marriage in 2020 she recognized very quickly that they did not have a budget to promote her book. So she took matters into her own hands. With a background in marketing she took to social media, especially TikTok, to get her book in front of viewers. Through a series of clever videos, and a witty repartee with a hate-mail reader, she quickly amassed a huge following. And she hasn’t slowed down since. With eight books and a comedy thriller audiobook to her name, she remains committed to being in charge of her own promotion and to not having all her eggs in one basket. I personally want to know how she has the time to write all those books and hustle like a boss to promote them, when I can’t find the time to make a proper grocery list.
An Author’s Legacy Revisited: Last week we talked about what happens to an author’s unfinished work after their death. Gabriel Garcia Marquez is in the news this week because his sons published his unfinished book Until August. Marquez requested, before his death in 2014, that the novel be destroyed. The Nobel Prize winning author is famous for his books Love In The Time Of Cholera and One Hundred Years Of Solitude among other works. Claiming that their father’s dementia limited his ability to properly judge his own work, they moved forward with publishing the book and it was released this week. There is much debate as to whether Until August should have remained unpublished or not and whether it enhances or detracts from his legacy. Maybe my plans to have my unfinished works burned posthumously need to be moved up to antemortem. The next time I get the sniffles, I might get a little heavy handed with the delete key, just in case.
The Poet Gene: It seems that the poet gene runs in the family. Genealogy company Ancestry.com has announced that Taylor Swift is distant cousins to Emily Dickinson. Maybe that is why Swift has named her soon to be released album The Tortured Poets Department. Fans have linked Swift with the poet before, most notably with her album Evermore–which has been linked to Dickenson’s poem Forevermore. And Swift has even name-dropped Dickenson in the past. Like Dickenson before her, Swift has an uncanny way with verse and the ability to harness a rabid fan base of women of all ages. We can only hope that Swift will not follow in the footsteps of her ancestor and close herself off from society. And just as a refresher let’s see what Dickenson thought of herself and fame:
I’m Nobody! Who are you?
Are you – Nobody – too?
Then there’s a pair of us!
Don't tell! they'd advertise – you know!
How dreary – to be – Somebody!
How public – like a Frog –
To tell one’s name – the livelong June –
To an admiring Bog!
~ Emily Dickenson
Reader In Residence: Perelandra Bookshop in Fort Collins CO offers a “reader in residence” program where they provide a $50 stipend for books and another $50 for coffee in exchange for you to visit their bookstore and read a few times a week. That’s it. No posting, no reviews, no performances. Just reading and a hot beverage. That you get paid to enjoy. Best. Residency. Ever! Where do I apply?
Deep Dive: See below for all the extra deep cuts of this week’s book news.
Peacock developing Long Bright River by Liz Moore
Cal Newport’s new book Slow Productivity
Reese’s Book Club Pick Anita de Monte Laughs Last by Xochitl Gonzalez
Good Morning America chose Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera as their March book club pick.
Read With Jenna Book Club chooses two books: The Great Divide by Cristina Henriquez and The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros.
Instagram of the Week: Everybody’s favorite librarian just started his own book club.
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