Writers’ Prize 2024 shortlist announced
Wednesday, 10 January 2024
The shortlist for the 2024 Writers' Prize, formerly the Rathbones Folio Prize, has been announced. The shortlisted books in each category are: Fiction The Wren, The Wren (Anne Enright, Vintage)...
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...
Edmondson wins FT Book of the Year for ‘Right Kind of Wrong’
Wednesday, 6 December 2023
In the UK, Right Kind of Wrong: Why learning to fail can teach us to thrive (Amy Edmondson, Cornerstone Press) has won the 2023 Financial Times Business Book of the Year...
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...
MacInnes wins 2023 Blackwell’s Book of the Year
Wednesday, 29 November 2023
In the UK, In Ascension (Martin MacInnes, Atlantic) has been chosen by booksellers as Blackwell’s Book of the Year 2023, reports the Bookseller. The science fiction book, which was longlisted for...
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...
Shelley to lead Hachette in UK and US
Wednesday, 15 November 2023
Hachette Book Group (HBG) in the US and Hachette UK (HUK) will be reorganised under ‘a new English-language management structure’ that will see HUK CEO David Shelley take on 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...
Branigan wins 2023 Cundill History Prize
Friday, 10 November 2023
Guardian writer Tania Branigan has won the 2023 Cundill History Prize, worth US$75,000 (A$117,100), for Red Memory: Living, remembering and forgetting China’s Cultural Revolution (Faber). The book is an exploration...
Myers wins Goldsmiths Prize for Cuddy
Thursday, 9 November 2023
In the UK, Benjamin Myers has won the £10,000 (A$19,200) Goldsmiths Prize for Cuddy (Bloomsbury), a retelling of the story of the hermit St Cuthbert. Cuddy incorporates poetry, prose, play,...
FTC files ‘long-awaited’ antitrust suit against Amazon
Wednesday, 8 November 2023
In the US, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a long-awaited antitrust lawsuit against Amazon on 26 September, reports Publishers Weekly (PW). The FTC’s 172-page complaint—which is supported by 17...
US survey finds drop in reading participation
Monday, 6 November 2023
In the US, a new report from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) found reading rates among adults declined over the past five years, reports Publishers Weekly. The report...
PRH UK to cut 38 roles
Thursday, 2 November 2023
In the UK, Penguin Random House (PRH) has proposed removing 38 roles as the publisher faces ‘longer-term’ challenges to profitability ‘in the face of increasing cost pressures’, reports the Bookseller....
KKR completes S&S purchase
Wednesday, 1 November 2023
Private equity firm KKR has completed its US$1.6 billion (A$2.5b) purchase of Simon & Schuster (S&S) from Paramount Global in an all-cash transaction, reports Publishers Weekly. S&S is a now...
SoA calls for UK government to ‘urgently review’ proposed cuts to PLR rate
Friday, 27 October 2023
In the UK, the Society of Authors (SoA) is calling on the government to ‘urgently review’ a proposed 55% cut to the Public Lending Right (PLR) rate, reports the Bookseller....
Scholastic to end controversial diverse stories collection
Thursday, 26 October 2023
In the US, Scholastic will stop offering its diverse stories collection—Share Every Story, Celebrate Every Voice—following accusations its rollout aided censorship at book fairs, reports Publishers Weekly. In a letter...
Over 100,000 trade visitors attend Frankfurt
Wednesday, 25 October 2023
About 105,000 trade visitors from 130 countries attended this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair (FBF), which ran from 18–22 October, reports Publishers Weekly. FBF director Juergen Boos said the fair had...
Scholastic accused of censorship over roll-out of diversity collection
Monday, 23 October 2023
In the US, Scholastic has denied accusations that the creation of its new collection—Share Every Story, Celebrate Every Voice—is censoring diverse stories at its book fairs, reports Publishers Weekly. In...
Global book revenue up in 2023
Thursday, 19 October 2023
A joint market report from Nielsen BookData and GfK Entertainment, analysing 16 countries, shows an increase in turnover for the majority of book markets in the first eight months of...
US$75K Cundill History Prize finalists announced
Wednesday, 18 October 2023
The finalists for the 2023 Cundill History Prize, which ‘rewards the best history writing in English’, have been announced. The finalists are: Red Memory: Living, remembering and forgetting China’s Cultural...
Arab publishing orgs pull out of Frankfurt
Tuesday, 17 October 2023
The Arab Publishers’ Association, the Emirates Publishers Association, the Sharjah Book Authority and the PublisHer network have withdrawn from the Frankfurt Book Fair (FBF), following the fair’s statement at the...
