Reese Witherspoon Announces First Novel, Co-Written With Harlen Coben

1 month ago 10

Welcome to Today in Books, our daily round-up of literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more.

Reese Witherspoon Announces First Novel, Co-Written With Harlen Coben

I have long wondered why Witherspoon didn’t have her own imprint…or house. But after the spate of high profile celebrity thriller collaborations (Viola Davis, both Clintons, etc), I should have seen something like this coming. (I know you will be shocked to hear that this will be a thriller.) I am surprised that she didn’t choose to team up with a woman, since most of her book club selections are by women and she has stated clearly that her bookish enterprises are geared toward women. I also would pay folding money to see the terms of the deal (advance, royalty split, etc etc). Vegas is not taking bets that one of the main characters will be a 40ish blond woman.

The Millions’ Great Fall Book Preview

There aren’t too many things on the bookish internet that I wish I made, but the seasonal previews at The Millions are one of them. In-depth, wide-ranging, and well-written, the preview should serve as the reading menu of choice for most readers of literary work, both fiction and otherwise. I think I do a pretty good job catalog diving, but there are things here that I myself missed: Lydia Davis translating Proust for one, and a collection of actually great Amazon reviews. This one is for the real ones.

Over 30 Years, 40% of Publishing Jobs Disappeared. What Happened?

Good look at labor data and the publishing industry from Thad McIlroy and Jim Millot that considers the whole board. The top line is pretty striking–almost half of the book gigs that existed when I was in high school don’t exist. This is bad, right? Right? Well, productivity improvements happen. Consolidation happens. Self-publishing might account for half of all dollars that go toward buying books, and that activity isn’t captured here. And what of Audible originals etc? Sub-groups of tech companies that produce books much like a traditional publisher. Layoffs continue, this year faster than in any year that I have paid close attention to the industry, even as profits rise. Welcome to capitalism, kids.