Lowe wins Costa Book of the Year Award Archive
Thursday, 3 February 2022
In the UK, Hannah Lowe has won the £30,000 (A$57,000) Costa Book of the Year for her poetry collection The Kids (Bloodaxe Books). Lowe, a former London teacher, drew on...
Blackwell’s up for sale for first time Archive
Wednesday, 2 February 2022
In the UK, independent bookshop chain Blackwell’s is up for sale, reports the Bookseller. Blackwell’s comprises 18 shops including flagship stores in Oxford and Cambridge. It’s the first time the...
UK indie publishers rally for support as costs spiral Archive
Tuesday, 1 February 2022
In the UK, independent publishers are rallying for support in the face of rising costs, including price hikes of up to 40% for printing, reports the Bookseller. Last week the...
Independent UK publishers post record sales despite data gaps Archive
Monday, 31 January 2022
In the UK, four members of the Independent Alliance posted record annual sales in 2021, despite missing the first 10 weeks of sales data due to lockdowns, reports the Bookseller....
NBCC Awards finalists announced Archive
Friday, 28 January 2022
In the US, the shortlists for the 2021 National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) Awards have been announced. The finalists include: Fiction The Netanyahus (Joshua Cohen, NYRB) Second Place (Rachel Cusk,...
US publishing sales up 12%: AAP Archive
Thursday, 27 January 2022
US publishers have recorded a 12.2% increase in sales for 2021, according to the latest data from the Association of American Publisher’s StatShot program, reports Publishers Weekly. Sales from the...
Newbery, Caldecott 2022 winners announced Archive
Tuesday, 25 January 2022
In the US, the American Library Association (ALA) has announced the winners of its Youth Media Awards, including the Newbery and Caldecott medals, reports Publishers Weekly. Donna Barba Higuera’s middle-grade novel The...
UK book sales by value set new record: Nielsen Archive
Monday, 24 January 2022
In the UK, Nielsen BookScan has recorded 2021 as the biggest ever year for print book sales by value, reports the Bookseller. In 2021, there was a total of £1.82...
UK government delays decision on copyright changes Archive
Wednesday, 19 January 2022
The UK government has decided not to make changes to copyright exhaustion laws following a consultation period, reports the Bookseller. The Intellectual Property Office (IPO), which launched a consultation last...
Taylor wins 2021 T S Eliot Prize Archive
Monday, 17 January 2022
In the UK, Joelle Taylor has won the 2021 T S Eliot Prize, worth £25,000 (A$47,360), for her collection C+nto & Othered Poems (The Westbourne Press), reports the Bookseller. C+nto & Othered...
Americans reading fewer books: Gallup poll Archive
Friday, 14 January 2022
A new Gallup poll shows Americans read an average of 12.6 books during the past year, fewer than the average of 15.6 in 2016 and the smallest number Gallup has...
Pilkey tops US print bestsellers Archive
Thursday, 13 January 2022
In the US, children’s book author Dav Pilkey’s Mothering Heights (Dog Man #10) was the bestselling print book in 2021—one of three of Pilkey’s titles to crack the top 25,...
UK, Ireland bookshop numbers grow for fifth consecutive year Archive
Wednesday, 12 January 2022
Data from the UK Bookseller’s Association (BA) shows the number of independent bookshops in the UK and Ireland has grown for the fifth year in a row, reports the Bookseller....
US print book sales up 8.9% in 2021 Archive
Tuesday, 11 January 2022
In the US, print book sales were up 8.9% in 2021 compared to 2020, according to NPD BookScan data, reports Publishers Weekly. A total of 825.7 million print book were...
Vivendi confirms Lagardère takeover bid Archive
Monday, 10 January 2022
In December, French media company Vivendi completed its purchase of Amber Capital's 17.5% stake in Hachette parent company Lagardère group, bringing its share to 45.1%, reports Publishers Weekly. Under French laws,...
UK supply chain challenges ‘most extreme’ seen: Hachette CEO Archive
Thursday, 9 December 2021
Hachette UK CEO David Shelley has warned ongoing supply chain problems are causing the ‘most extreme’ challenges he’s seen in his career, reports the Bookseller. In his annual letter to...
US ed publishers sue Shopify over alleged selling of pirated material Archive
Wednesday, 8 December 2021
In the US, educational publishers have filed a lawsuit in the US District Court for Eastern Virginia accusing ecommerce platform Shopify of selling pirated material, reports Goodereader. Pearson Education, Macmillan...
Perlroth wins FT and McKinsey Book of the Year, Keefe donates £10k over sponsor’s actions Archive
Tuesday, 7 December 2021
In the UK, This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends: The cyber weapons arms race (Nicole Perlroth, Bloomsbury) has won the 2021 Financial Times and McKinsey Book of...
Kars wins Cundill History Prize for Blood on the River Archive
Monday, 6 December 2021
Marjoleine Kars has won the US$75,000 (A$107,100) 2021 Cundill History Prize for Blood on the River: A chronicle of mutiny and freedom on the wild coast, reports the Bookseller. For Blood on...
McCartney wins Waterstones Book of the Year for ‘The Lyrics’ Archive
Friday, 3 December 2021
In the UK, Waterstones has named Paul McCartney’s The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present (Allen Lane) its Book of the Year for 2021, reports the Bookseller. Waterstones MD James Daunt said,...
Distribution of Sebold memoir halted after man jailed for her rape exonerated Archive
Thursday, 2 December 2021
The UK and US publishers of Alice Sebold’s bestselling memoir Lucky (Picador) have stopped the book’s distribution following the author’s apology to the man who was last week exonerated of...
Sheldrake wins 2021 Royal Society Science Book Prize Archive
Tuesday, 30 November 2021
In the UK, Merlin Sheldrake has won the £25,000 (A$46,600) Royal Society Science Book Prize for Entangled Life: How fungi make our worlds, change our minds and shape our futures...
UK PA data find growth in audiobook, fiction sales Archive
Monday, 29 November 2021
In the UK, data from the Publishers Association (PA) shows substantial growth in audiobook and fiction sales, reports the Bookseller. The figures show audiobook sales in the first six months...
HarperCollins UK book found to have defamatory claims Archive
Thursday, 25 November 2021
A UK high court judge has ruled that numerous passages in Catherine Belton’s book Putin’s People, published in the UK by William Collins, are defamatory of Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich,...
Costa Book Awards shortlists announced Archive
Wednesday, 24 November 2021
In the UK, the shortlists for the 2021 Costa Book Awards have been announced. Shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award are: Unsettled Ground (Claire Fuller, Fig Tree) The High House...
Publishers accuse Internet Archive of ‘stonewalling’ discovery Archive
Tuesday, 23 November 2021
In the US, lawyers representing publishers in a copyright lawsuit against the Internet Archive over the scanning and lending of print library books are claiming that the Internet Archive is...
National Book Awards 2021 winners Archive
Friday, 19 November 2021
In the US, the winners of the 2021 National Book Awards have been announced. The winning titles in each category are: Fiction Hell of a Book (Jason Mott, Trapeze) Nonfiction All...
Keefe wins 2021 Baillie Gifford Prize for Nonfiction Archive
Thursday, 18 November 2021
In the UK, Patrick Radden Keefe has won the £50,000 (A$92,850) Baillie Gifford Prize for Nonfiction for his book Empire of Pain: The secret history of the Sackler dynasty (Picador)....
Storytel buys Audiobooks.com; Spotify moves into US market Archive
Monday, 15 November 2021
Stockholm-based audiobook streaming company Storytel is buying Audiobooks.com from RBmedia for an undisclosed amount, reports Publishers Weekly. The acquisition is Storytel’s first entry into the English-language market. The company, which...
WHSmith eyes return to profitability after stronger FY21 results Archive
Friday, 12 November 2021
UK-based bookselling chain WHSmith has revealed its preliminary results for the financial year ending 31 August, as it eyes a return to 'meaningful profitability'. After posting a £69 million (A$125m)...
