MAIN NEWS HEADLINES
January 24 – January 31, 2008 Edition
Cellphone Novels
Hit Bestseller Lists
In Japanese Market
TOKYO/1/20/08–According to The New York Times , five novels that originated as cell phone novels–tapped out on phone keypads by young women with dexterous thumbs–have become bestsellers in Japan, after being published in book form. Of last year’s 10 bestselling novels, five were originally cellphone novels, the Times reported. The works are mostly love stories written in short text-messaging style. The top three bestsellers were written by first-time cellphone novelists.
Fans praise the novels as a new literary genre creating and consumed by a new generation of readers with different reading habits. After cellphone readers ranked her novel #1, the 21-year-old novelist named Rin, had her book, “If You” published in hardcover form and sold 400,000 copies.
Authorlink Note: Our StoryLink feature offers writers the opportunity to upload their stories to Authorlink for sale via download both on Authorlink and on cellphones worldwide. And New York Times bestselling authors are contributing their short stories, too, on Authorlink’s CELEBWIRE.
