How will they bring Stieg Larsson back to life?

According to Nielsen BookScan, Stieg Larsson, not only had the topselling novel of 2010 - he owned five out of six of the top spots. Considering that mere death didn't stop publishers from bringing out more books by VC Andrews, maybe they'll bring Larsson back from the dead, too, and we'll see books written by Larsson's ghost or at least by a ghost writer.

Meanwhile, in children's books, Jeff Kinney owned six out of ten of the top spots with Diary of a Wimpy Kid and other books. 

2010's Top 15: Adult Fiction (BookScan)
1 THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO*, by Stieg Larsson (Vintage, trade paper)
2 THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE, by Stieg Larsson (Vintage, trade paper)
3 THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET, by Stieg Larsson (Knopf, hardcover)
4 THE HELP*, by Kathryn Stockett (Amy Einhorn Books, hardcover)
5 THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO*, by Stieg Larsson (Vintage, mass market)
6 THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE, by Stieg Larsson (Vintage, mass market)
7 LITTLE BEE, by Chris Cleave (Simon & Schuster, trade paperback)
8 THE CONFESSION, by John Grisham (Doubleday, hardcover)
9 A RELIABLE WIFE, by Robert Goolrich (Algonquin, trade paperback)
10 THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN*, by Garth Stein (Harper, trade paperback)
11 CUTTING FOR STONE, by Abraham Verghese (Vintage, trade paperback)
12 SAFE HAVEN, by Nicholas Sparks (Grand Central, hardcover)
13 DEAD IN THE FAMILY, by Charlaine Harris (Ace, hardcover)
14 THE LAST SONG, by Nicholas Sparks (Grand Central, mass market)
15 SAVOR THE MOMENT, by Nora Roberts (Berkley, trade paperback)
* Books marked with an asterisk first came out earlier than 2010.

2010's Top 10 Children's Books (from the Globe & Mail, compiled by BookNet Canada):
1. The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner, Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown)
2.  The Ugly Truth, Jeff Kinney (Abrams)
3.  Dog Days, Jeff Kinney (Abrams)
4.  Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Jeff Kinney (Abrams)
5.  How Greg Heffley Went Hollywood, Jeff Kinney (Abrams)
6.  Rodrick Rules, Jeff Kinney  (Abrams)
7.  Mockingjay, Suzanne Collins (Scholastic)
8.  The Last Straw, Jeff Kinney  (Abrams)
9.  Burned, P.C. Cast (St. Martin's)
10. The Battle of the Labyrinth, Rick Riordan (Hyperion)

For all of you wanting to write a bestseller yourself, I have a "How to Write a Bestseller" workshop coming June 19 in Mississauga with New York Times #1 bestselling author Kelley Armstrong as my guest speaker (see here).

I also have a "How to Get Published" workshop coming up in Burlington on February 19 with agent Alisha Sevigny of the Rights Factory (see here), and on May 7, I'll be hosting the "From the Horse's Mouth" seminar at Ryerson University, where one of the guest speakers will be Marilyn Biderman (details to come).

And I have a few "Writing for Children and Young Adults" workshops coming up: on January 29 in Kitchener (see here), on February 26 in Barrie (see here), on March 5 in Toronto (see here), on April 9 in Peterborough (see here), and on April 10 in Kingston (see here).

But if you're really looking to get your writing in shape, sign up for "Extreme Creative Writing," on Wednesday afternoons in Oakville (see here) or Wednesday evenings in Mississauga (see here).

For information about all of my writing workshops and creative writing courses, see here.