PRH earnings down 21% in first half of the year
Thursday, 1 September 2022
Penguin Random House’s (PRH) revenue was up but earnings were down in the first half of 2022, parent company Bertelsmann has reported. While global revenue in the six months to...
Ridgway, Chaudhuri win James Tait Black prizes
Tuesday, 30 August 2022
In the UK, Keith Ridgway and Amit Chaudhuri have won the James Tait Black prizes for fiction and biography respectively. Ridgway won the fiction prize for A Shock (Picador), a...
Gunty wins inaugural Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize
Monday, 29 August 2022
In the UK, US author Tess Gunty has won the inaugural £5000 (A$8520) Waterstones Debut Fiction prize for The Rabbit Hutch (Oneworld), reports the Bookseller. The Rabbit Hutch describes the...
Jaigirdar wins YA Book Prize
Friday, 26 August 2022
In the UK, Adiba Jaigirdar has won the 2022 YA Book Prize for her second novel Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating (Hodder Children’s), reports the Bookseller. Described as...
Beijing International Book Fair delayed until November
Tuesday, 23 August 2022
The Beijing International Book Fair, which was scheduled to open tomorrow 24 August, has been delayed until November. The fair will now run from 24–27 November. According to Publishing Perspectives,...
DoJ, PRH present closing arguments
Monday, 22 August 2022
In the US, closing arguments in the Department of Justice (DoJ) antitrust case aiming to block the Penguin Random House (PRH) acquisition of Simon & Schuster (S&S) were heard on...
US market sales down 1.6% in first half of 2022
Friday, 19 August 2022
According to the Association of American Publishers’ (AAP) latest StatShot report, the US publishing industry’s revenues were down 1.6% in the first half of 2022, with trade sales flat over...
HarperCollins global revenue up 10%; profits hit by higher costs
Wednesday, 10 August 2022
HarperCollins global revenue grew 10% in the financial year ending 30 June. Parent company News Corp reported the publisher’s full year revenue was up US$206 million (A$296m) to US$2.2bn (A$3.1bn)...
Gardners expands to US
Tuesday, 9 August 2022
The Little Group, the parent company of the UK’s largest book wholesale and distribution company Gardners, has opened Gardners US, reports Publishers Weekly. Based in Florida, Gardners US is offering...
DoJ, PRH case underway in US
Thursday, 4 August 2022
In the US, the Department of Justice’s (DoJ) trial to block Penguin Random House (PRH) from acquiring Simon & Schuster (S&S) began in Washington DC on 1 August. Witnesses called...
Vivendi looks to sell Editis
Tuesday, 2 August 2022
French media company Vivendi has said it will try to sell off Editis—France’s second-largest publisher—when its planned acquisition of Hachette Livre parent company Lagardère goes through, reports the Bookseller. Previously,...
Glass Bell Award 2022 shortlist announced
Friday, 29 July 2022
In the UK, the shortlist for the £2000 (A$3500) Goldsboro Glass Bell Award has been announced. The shortlisted novels are: We Are All Birds of Uganda (Hafsa Zayyan, Merky Books)...
Hachette first-half sales up in the UK, US
Thursday, 28 July 2022
Hachette’s UK sales were up 1.5% in the first half of 2022, reports the Bookseller. According to Hachette parent company Lagardère, the UK's performance was driven by children’s and YA...
Booker Prize 2022 longlist announced
Wednesday, 27 July 2022
The longlist for the 2022 Booker Prize has been announced. The 13 books longlisted for the £50,000 (A$86,650) prize are: Glory (NoViolet Bulawayo, Viking) Trust (Hernan Diaz, Picador) The Trees...
Scholastic sales up 26%
Tuesday, 26 July 2022
In the US, Scholastic’s revenue grew 26% to US$1.6 billion (A$2.3b) in the year ending 31 May. The company posted an operating profit of US$97.5 million (A$140.2m) after a loss...
PRH acquisition of S&S goes to court
Monday, 25 July 2022
In the US, the bid by the Department of Justice (DoJ) to block the acquisition of Simon & Schuster (S&S) by Penguin Random House (PRH) will be heard in court...
China book sales down 14%
Friday, 22 July 2022
Data from Beijing OpenBook has shown a 13.8% year-on-year decline in book sales in China for the first half of 2022, reports Publishing Perspectives. Compared to the same period in...
German book sales flat amid concerns for bricks-and-mortar shops
Thursday, 21 July 2022
German book sales were up 0.7% year-on-year by value in the first half of 2022, reports the Bookseller. The data, from trade association Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels, shows sales from...
HarperCollins US staff to go on one-day strike
Wednesday, 20 July 2022
In the US, unionised employees of HarperCollins will hold a one-day strike on Wednesday, July 20, reports Publishers Weekly. UAW Local 2110, a union for technical, office and professional workers,...
Orwell Prizes 2022 winners announced
Monday, 18 July 2022
In the UK, journalist Sally Hayden and novelist Claire Keegan have won the 2022 Orwell Prizes. Hayden was awarded the Orwell Prize for Political Writing for My Fourth Time, We...
Arthur C Clarke Award shortlist announced
Tuesday, 12 July 2022
The shortlist for the Arthur C Clarke Award for science fiction book of the year, worth £2022 (A$3571), has been announced. The shortlisted titles are: Deep Wheel Orcadia (Harry Josephine...
US first-half book sales down 6.6%
Monday, 11 July 2022
In the US, book sales were down 6.6% year-on-year for the first half of 2022, but remain about 15% higher than the same period in 2019—the last pre-pandemic year, reports...
Ingram to become UK wholesaler
Friday, 8 July 2022
Ingram is to become a wholesaler in the UK, reports the Bookseller. Ingram Content Group UK senior vice-president David Taylor said the company will launch the full service in September...
Europe passes digital piracy, disinformation measures
Thursday, 7 July 2022
The European Parliament has passed the Digital Services Act (DSA), which comprises measures for European Union nations to battle digital piracy, among other crimes, reports Publishers Weekly. Under the new...
HarperCollins US union authorises strike
Wednesday, 6 July 2022
Unionised employees of HarperCollins US have voted to authorise a strike if the publisher does not agree to a fair contract, reports Publishers Weekly. UAW Local 2110, a union for...
French book sales down 6%
Tuesday, 5 July 2022
French publishers’ sales were down 6% year-on-year for the first half of 2022, but remain 10% higher than the same period the year prior to the pandemic, reports the Bookseller....
Mortimer wins 2022 Desmond Elliott Prize
Monday, 4 July 2022
Maddie Mortimer has won the Desmond Elliott Prize for a first-time novelist for Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies (Picador), reports the Bookseller. Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies is a ‘coming-of-age...
Celestin wins Gold Dagger for ‘Sunset Swing’
Thursday, 30 June 2022
In the UK, the winners of the Crime Writers’ Association Daggers awards for crime writing have been announced. Ray Celestin won the Gold Dagger, awarded to the best crime novel...
New report on global digital book sales
Tuesday, 28 June 2022
A new report from Austrian publishing consultant Ruediger Wischenbart has analysed recent digital book sales trends in markets including Brazil, Italy, Spain, German-speaking countries and Latin America. Data in the...
Jackson wins £50k Wolfson History Prize
Thursday, 23 June 2022
In the UK, Clare Jackson has won the Wolfson History Prize for Devil-Land: England under siege, 1588–1688 (Allen Lane), reports the Bookseller. Devil-Land is described by judges as ‘a masterpiece of historical...





