Sam McBride’s book Burned has ‘gone off the scale’, say publishers

The publishers of Sam McBride’s book on the RHI scandal, Burned, say that the book has become a “2019 publishing phenomenon”.
Journalist and author Sam McBride with publisher Conor Graham at the launch of 'Burned' in the Lyric Theatre. Photo: Laura Davison/Pacemaker PressJournalist and author Sam McBride with publisher Conor Graham at the launch of 'Burned' in the Lyric Theatre. Photo: Laura Davison/Pacemaker Press
Journalist and author Sam McBride with publisher Conor Graham at the launch of 'Burned' in the Lyric Theatre. Photo: Laura Davison/Pacemaker Press

Publisher Conor Graham of Merrion Press said the book by the News Letter’s political editor has already reached number 11 in the Amazon UK publishing charts and as a result they have already had to order two reprints.

“‘In my twenty years in the Irish book trade, as a bookseller, sales rep and now as a publisher, I have never seen this level of interest, both in volume and the sheer instantaneous response from the market, as I’ve experienced with Sam’s book this week. It’s off the scale,” said Mr Graham.

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“I knew how significant the story was and that Sam was the best possible author to tell it, and that he had written it in such a compelling and engaging style, so we all knew it would perform strongly, but we really didn’t anticipate the extraordinary levels of sales, public interest and media coverage it has received.

“It seems set to continue as orders keep flooding in from across Ireland, the UK and international clients.”

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