“Social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook and Goodreads have contributed to a culture in which everyone reads–and tells their friends about–the same handful of books a year. …

As a result, publishers are competing for debut literary talent with the same kind of frenzied auction bidding once reserved for promising debut thrillers or romance novels. …

The need to secure one of the few must-read books of the year has given rise to an elite new club: the million-dollar literary debut.”

–Jennifer Maloney  (‘Betting Big On Literary Newcomers,’ The Wall Street Journal, Arena, Friday, Nov. 20, 2015)