Charlotte Aitken Young Writer of the Year Award 2023 shortlist announced
Tuesday, 27 February 2024
In the UK, the shortlist for the 2023 Charlotte Aitken Young Writer of the Year Award has been announced, reported the Bookseller. The prize money for the award is £10,000...
PRH to turn Grantham facility into new hub for PRH US in Europe
Monday, 26 February 2024
In the UK, Penguin Random House (PRH) UK’s Grantham Book Services warehouse will be retrofitted to become a new operational hub for PRH US to fulfil orders from customers in...
Glasgow Worldcon chair promises transparency following Hugo censorship
Monday, 19 February 2024
In the US, a report by science fiction and fantasy writers Chris M Barkley and Jason Sanford on the 2023 Hugo Awards—which draws on leaked emails from a member of...
B&N plans to open five stores in Chicago angers Volumes
Thursday, 15 February 2024
In the US, Barnes & Noble (B&N) has announced plans to open five new bookstores in the Chicago area from the coming US spring, after earlier sharing its goal to...
Spears memoir most listened to as Spotify pays publishers ‘tens of millions’
Tuesday, 13 February 2024
Spotify said it has paid audiobook publishers ‘tens of millions’ since launching its limited-streaming audiobook offer to subscribers in the UK, Australia and the US last year, reported the Bookseller....
Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2024 shortlists announced
Monday, 12 February 2024
In the UK, the shortlists for the 2024 Waterstones Children’s Book Prize have been announced. The shortlisted titles in each category are: Illustrated books The Queen Next Door (Marcela Ferreira,...
European publishers welcome EU agreement on AI Act
Thursday, 8 February 2024
In Europe, the Federation of European Publishers (FEP) has welcomed the European Union voting in favour of what the FEP calls the 'world's first concrete regulation of AI', reported the Bookseller....
Hugo board members censured, resign, after Gaiman, Kuang, Zhao deemed ineligible in 2023 awards
Tuesday, 6 February 2024
In the US, science fiction authors and readers have been shocked by revelations that works by authors including Neil Gaiman, R F Kuang, and Xiran Jay Zhao were deemed ineligible...
Vivendi considers plans to put Hachette on stock market
Monday, 5 February 2024
In France, Vivendi, which acquired Hachette parent company Lagardère in 2023, has detailed plans to split Vivendi into four entities, each of which would be listed on the stock market,...
Children’s authors, editors sign open letter calling for ceasefire
Thursday, 1 February 2024
In the US, over 3500 children’s authors, illustrators, agents, editors, and other members of the children's literature community have signed an open letter to US President Joe Biden as the...
Texas book rating law blocked in Court of Appeals
Thursday, 25 January 2024
In a development Publishers Weekly described as ‘a major victory for freedom to read advocates’, the Fifth Circuit of the US Court of Appeals upheld a lower court decision to...
Newbery, Caldecott, Printz 2024 winners announced
Tuesday, 23 January 2024
In the US, the American Library Association (ALA) has announced the winners of its Youth Media Awards, including the Newbery and Caldecott medals and the Printz award, reports Publishers Weekly (PW). Dave...
Atria sends influencer on ‘ultimate world cruise’
Monday, 22 January 2024
In the US, Atria Books has explained its decision to sponsor non-reader Marc Sebastian to travel the Antarctica leg of an 'ultimate world cruise', after some BookTok users criticised the...
New organisation to ‘certify’ fair AI
Thursday, 18 January 2024
In the US, the Association of American Publishers is among those supporting a new nonprofit organisation called Fairly Trained that aims to ‘certify fair training data use’ in generative AI,...
Allen-Paisant wins 2023 T S Eliot Prize
Tuesday, 16 January 2024
In the UK, Jason Allen-Paisant has won the 2023 T S Eliot Prize, worth £25,000 (A$47,773), for his collection Self-Portrait as Othello (Carcanet Press), reports the Bookseller. Self-Portrait as Othello...
Harper launches YA imprint
Monday, 15 January 2024
In the UK, HarperCollins Children’s Books (HCCB) is launching a new YA imprint, Harper Fire, reports the Bookseller. HarperCollins said the new imprint would be a chance to 'publish standout,...
B&N aims to open 50 stores in 2024
Thursday, 11 January 2024
In the US, Barnes & Noble (B&N) CEO James Daunt has announced the chain has set a goal of opening 50 new stores in 2024, reports Publishers Weekly (PW). According...
UK sales value up in 2023 as volume declines
Tuesday, 9 January 2024
In the UK, an increase in average selling prices meant the market was up by 1.3% in 2023, despite volume sales being down by 5%, reports the Bookseller. According to...
Hoover, Yarros buoy adult fiction as US print sales decline
Monday, 8 January 2024
In the US, print sales declined 2.6% in 2023, according to Circana BookScan figures, reports Publishers Weekly (PW). Sales were down 4.1% after the first nine months of the year,...
UK in-house staff turning to freelance work in ‘growing trend’
Thursday, 7 December 2023
In the UK, in-house publishing staff are turning to freelance work to avoid burnout, in what the Bookseller calls ‘a growing trend’. The publication spoke with several professionals in publishing...
UK volume sales of big names down on 2022
Tuesday, 5 December 2023
In the UK, volume sales of 'big brands' including Jamie Oliver, David Walliams and Richard Osman 'have been suffering a contraction in their Christmas run-in hardback releases', reports the Bookseller....
PRH, authors file lawsuit against Iowa book banning law
Monday, 4 December 2023
In the US, Penguin Random House and the Iowa State Education Association have joined with four authors and five additional plaintiffs to file a federal lawsuit against Iowa to block...
Armfield, Ransom win 2023 Polari Prizes
Tuesday, 28 November 2023
In the UK, Julia Armfield and Jon Ransom have won the 2023 Polari Prizes for work that explores LGBTQ+ experience, reports the Bookseller. Armfield won the £2000 (A$3823) Polari Prize,...
Lynch wins 2023 Booker Prize for ‘Prophet Song’, Aus reprint available from Friday
Monday, 27 November 2023
In the UK, Paul Lynch has won the 2023 Booker Prize, worth £50,000 (A$95,670), for Prophet Song (Oneworld). Prophet Song follows scientist and mother-of-four Eilish Stack as she tries to protect...
Yong wins Royal Society Science Book Prize
Thursday, 23 November 2023
In the UK, Ed Yong has won the 2023 Royal Society Science Book Prize, worth £25,000 (A$47,740) for An Immense World: How animal senses reveal the hidden realms around us (Vintage), reports...
Vaillant wins Baillie Gifford Prize
Tuesday, 21 November 2023
In the UK, John Vaillant has won the £50,000 (A$95,350) Baillie Gifford Prize for Fire Weather: A true story from a hotter world (Sceptre). Judges said Fire Weather is a ‘meticulously researched,...
National Book Awards 2023 winners announced
Monday, 20 November 2023
In the US, the winners of the 2023 National Book Awards have been announced. The winning titles in each category are: Fiction Blackouts (Justin Torres, FSG) Nonfiction The Rediscovery of America:...
Vivendi closes Editis sale
Thursday, 16 November 2023
French media company Vivendi has closed the sale of publishing house Editis to International Media Invest for €653 million (A$1.1b), reports the Bookseller. The sale price is less than the...
Kochanski wins £50k Wolfson History Prize
Tuesday, 14 November 2023
In the UK, Halik Kochanski has won the £50,000 (A$96,280) Wolfson History Prize for Resistance: The underground war in Europe, 1939–45 (Allen Lane). Kochanski's book was chosen from a shortlist of...
Report shows continued growth in UK audiobook sales
Monday, 13 November 2023
In the UK, Nielsen BookData's Books & Consumers survey found there was 6% growth in volume and 12% growth in value of audiobooks in that market in the first seven...
