The production and reception of Deon Meyer’s works
An evaluation of the factors contributing to bestseller status
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12943108 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Elizabeth Le Roux (0000-0002-4766-5822, University of Pretoria, corresponding author), Samantha Buitendach (University of Pretoria) |
| Year | 2014 |
| Volume | 19 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 18-34 |
| Publication date | 2014-01-02 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Scrutiny2 (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1812-5441 • E-ISSN: 1753-5409 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/18125441.2014.906230 |
| OpenAlex | W2001710746 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 10 |
Deon Meyer is a household name in South Africa as a bestselling crime fiction author. This article explores how and why Meyer’s career has evolved in the way that it has, in an attempt to answer the question of what has made him so successful. The focus is not, like so much academic analysis of fiction, on the form or content of Meyer’s work, but rather on the wider social context, and in particular the publishing and reception history of this author. In particular, attention is paid to a few key success factors: the role of the literary agent, the building of international market awareness through the sale of English-language translation and other subsidiary rights, literary awards, and branding decisions. With careful branding, a marketable personality, media exposure and well-chosen paratext, the “Deon Meyer” legend has been able to reach bestselling status
Advertising · Art · Business · Context (archaeology · Legend · Literature · Media studies · Paratext · Publishing · Sociology · Authorship Attribution and Profiling · Crime and Detective Fiction Studies · History · Narrative Theory and Analysis · Psychology
Cape Town, City of Crime in South African Fiction
Die problematisering van die etiese
South African Crime and Detective Fiction in English
Dialogues across Boundaries in Two Southern African Thrillers
The market of symbolic goods
Introduction to the Paratext
Writing Crime in the New South Africa
Watching the Detectives
| Citations per year | 0.25 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2014 - 2023 (10) |
| Highly cited | No |