In Britain, Japanese novels in English translation are experiencing a boom in popularity among a new generation, with word-of-mouth on social media driving book sales.
YouTube is the most popular way of discovering books online for young adults, according to Nielsen's latest report on consumers aged 14 to 25-years-old.
It was Christopher Hitchens, the much-celebrated author and critic, who claimed, "everybody does have a book in them but, in most cases, that's where it should stay." Read more
Saving movies to watch later is a breeze on YouTube TV, where "recording without storage limits" comes free with the monthly subscription fee of $64.99. There are 85-plus channels on offer, and the jewels you choose from this wealth of movies and shows are kept in what they call your "library." Read more
The Society of AuthorsThe British authors’ organization, with a membership of over 7,000 writers. Membership is open to those who have had a book published, or who have an offer to publish (without subsidy by the author). Offers individual specialist advice and a range of publications to its members. Has also campaigned successfully on behalf of authors in general for improved terms and established a minimum terms agreement with many publishers. Recently campaigned to get the Public Lending Right fund increased from £5 million to £7 million for the year 2002/2003. Regularly uses input from members to produce comparative surveys of publishers’ royalty payment systems. http://www.societyofauthors.org/ (SoA) and a number of writers have criticised YouTube for emailing its users saying Article 13, part of the EU's proposed copyright directive, would prevent them from uploading videos onto online platforms. Read more
When 21-year-old Alfie Deyes released his first book, it was No 1 on the Sunday Times bestseller list for 11 weeks. Who are the YouTubers - and why are their books so successful?
Ten years ago, the idea that any old Joe could become famous from the comfort of their own room seemed ridiculous. Today it's a very different story. Vloggers are not just well-known figures to a select few fans - they're global stars in their own right. Read more
I'm only seconds into a digital copy of T.S. Eliot's famous ode to adolescence, The Love Song Of J. Alfred Prufrock, when my ears prickle uncomfortably. As I read-"Let us go then, you and I, / When the evening is spread out against the sky, / Like a patient etherised upon a table"-a soft rock track reminiscent of James Taylor begins to crescendo in the background. Read more
I don't understand why anyone would want to be an Olympic diver. Why would you choose to throw yourself head-first into a flat surface thirty feet below - not just throw yourself but try to look good while you're going down, with somersaults and twists, while people you can't see judge every second of your drop? Sounds horrible. But then again, so does writing. Read more
YouTube sensation Zoella (Zoe Sugg) is not a national treasure in the UK yet, but the controversy over her novel Girl Online, and the questions it raises about authenticity, have a faint echo in the latest book from someone who is definitely a UK national treasure, the TV presenter and media star of the 2012 Olympics, Clare Balding.
‘I always quote Kurt Vonnegut. He said in the early part of his career he was dismissed as a science fiction writer and that critics tend to put genre books, including sci-fi, in the bottom drawer of their desk... It's true. I get the New York Times every Sunday. In 37 novels, I've never had a stand-alone review. I'm always in the crime round-up.
A survey of 787 members of the Society of Authors (SoA) has found that a third of translators and a quarter of illustrators have lost work to generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems. Translators are also more likely to use AI to support their work, with 37% of respondents saying they have done so, followed by 25% of non-fiction writers.
The author Lynne Reid Banks, known for her novel The L-Shaped Room and her children's book series The Indian in the Cupboard, has died at the age of 94.
I launched my podcast Making It Up nearly three years ago with the goal of interviewing writers not for any particular work of theirs, but to talk to them about their lives. I didn't want to ask them what famous author they want to have dinner with or what their top five favorite books are ... yech. Read more
Until we have a mechanism to test for artificial intelligence, writers need a tool to maintain trust in their work. So I decided to be completely open with my readers
‘Books say: she did this because life says: she did this. Books are where things are explained to you; life is where things aren't. I'm not surprised some people prefer books. Books make sense of life. The only problem is that the lives they make sense of are other people's lives, never your own,'