Nickianne Moody

Although Spain has one of the lowest per capita rates of book buying in Europe, popular and mass-market print fiction is perennially in demand. The essays in this volume assess the appeal of popular genres such as the detective novel, romance, and science fiction to particular groups of readers and consider what makes a bestseller in the Spanish context. They look at how reader taste is directed by nonacademic book-buying magazines and analyze the political intentions of seemingly innocuous comics and popular novels with particular reference to women's writing. Montalban, Esther Tusquets, or Carmen Martin Gaite decide to incorporate the themes, devices, and structures of mass cultural products into their highbrow literature. The wide-ranging nature of this volume and its fusion of textual analysis and theoretical overview provide unique access to aspects of Spanish mass, popular, and high literature hitherto largely ignored by the critics. Shelley Godsland is Jubilee Research Fellow, Department of Hispanic Studies, Royal Holloway, University of London. Nickiane Moody is principal lecturer in Media and Cultural Studies at Liverpool John Moores University.

Reading the Popular in Contemporary Spanish Texts

How do books attract their readers? This collection takes a closer look at book covers and their role in promoting sales and shaping readers' responses. Judging a Book by Its Cover brings together leading scholars, many with experience in the publishing industry, who examine the marketing of popular fiction across the twentieth century and beyond. Using case studies, and grounding their discussions historically and methodologically, the contributors address key themes in contemporary media, literary, publishing, and business studies related to globalisation, the correlation between text and image, identity politics, and reader reception. Topics include book covers and the internet bookstore; the links between books, the music industry, and film; literary prizes and the selling of books; subcultures and sales of young adult fiction; the cover as a signifier of literary value; and the marketing of ethnicity and lesbian pulp fiction. This exciting collection opens a new field of enquiry for scholars of book history, literature, media and communication studies, marketing, and cultural studies.

Fans, Publishers, Designers, and the Marketing of Fiction

Judging a Book by Its Cover

Nicole Matthews

This collection examines the role of book covers in the marketing of popular fiction across the twentieth century and beyond. Using case studies, the contributors address key themes and topics in contemporary media, literary, publishing, and business stud

Nickianne Moody

Books

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