Hugo Awards 2018 winners announced
Tuesday, 21 August 2018
For the third year running, N K Jemisin has won the best novel category at the Hugo Awards for science-fiction and fantasy titles. Jemisin picked up the award for her...
Brown, Williams win 2018 James Tait Black Prizes
Monday, 20 August 2018
The winners of the James Tait Black Prizes for fiction and biography—the UK’s oldest literary awards—have been announced. Craig Brown’s Ma'am Darling: 99 Glimpses of Princess Margaret (HarperCollins) has won the...
SAGE acquires Talis
Friday, 17 August 2018
In the UK, journal publishing company SAGE Publishing has acquired education-technology company Talis, along with its course list management system Talis Aspire, for an undisclosed sum, reports the Bookseller. Used...
UK working class writers’ festival planned for 2020
Thursday, 16 August 2018
In the UK, authors, publishers and trade professionals will launch a working class writers’ festival, reports the Bookseller. Author Natasha Carthew initially tweeted to her followers in July: ‘Comrades! This is a call...
Bonnier sells Weldon Owen to Insight Editions
Wednesday, 15 August 2018
Bonnier Books has sold illustrated books imprint Weldon Owen to US-based illustrated publisher Insight Editions, reports the Bookseller. The business will operate as Weldon Owen International, a newly formed subsidiary of...
Turkish agency seeks support from international publishers during economic crisis
Wednesday, 15 August 2018
In Turkey, the Istanbul-based Kalem Agency is urging publishers and agents to support the country's book trade in light of the current economic crisis, reports the Bookseller. Kalem Agency owner Nermin...
China: book copyright imports, exports up; millions of pirated books confiscated
Tuesday, 14 August 2018
A Chinese government report says the export and import of book copyrights in China has increased, and the country has cracked down on copyright infringement, reports Xinhua News. The report...
Children’s publishing fair to run during Beijing International Book Fair
Tuesday, 14 August 2018
A new dedicated children’s publishing fair will run in conjunction with this year’s Beijing International Book Fair (BIBF), which runs from 22-26 August. Covering an area of 14,000 square metres,...
HarperCollins revenue up 7% in 2018
Monday, 13 August 2018
In the US, HarperCollins has reported a 23% rise in earnings to US$244 million (A$335m) in the financial year ending 30 June, and a 7% rise in revenue to US$1.76...
UK comedian launches Comedy Women in Print prize
Friday, 10 August 2018
UK comedian, actor and author Helen Lederer is launching the Comedy Women in Print (CWIP) prize, reports the Bookseller. The award will be presented in two categories: the prize for...
Frankfurt Book Fair launches human rights campaign
Friday, 10 August 2018
In Germany, Frankfurt Book Fair (FBF) and the German Publishers and Booksellers Association have launched the ‘On the Same Page’ campaign to mark the 70th anniversary of the United Nations (UN)...
UK government refuses visas for Edinburgh book festival authors
Thursday, 9 August 2018
In the UK, about a dozen authors who were planning to attend this year’s Edinburgh International Book Festival (EIBF) have had their visas refused, reports the Guardian. Many of the authors...
Socialist London bookshop attacked; three UKIP members suspended
Wednesday, 8 August 2018
Bookmarks bookshop in central London was attacked by a group of far-right protesters as the store was closing on Saturday, 4 August. While no arrests have been made since the...
Oceanofpdf piracy website taken down
Tuesday, 7 August 2018
US-hosted ebook piracy website Oceanofpdf, which was giving away ebooks for free, has been shut down, reports the Bookseller. The site, which was active for seven months, had offered thousands...
Hachette adds LibraryThing reviews to US website
Tuesday, 7 August 2018
Tens of thousands of book and audiobook reviews written by members of social book cataloging app LibraryThing have been added to Hachette’s US website. Hachette Book Group (HBG), a division...
US book-industry survey finds one in five women report sexual harassment
Monday, 6 August 2018
US book-industry journal Publishers Weekly has released the results of its survey on sexual harassment in the industry, with almost one fifth of the 664 respondents reporting that they have...
Royal Society 2018 Science Book Prize shortlist announced
Friday, 3 August 2018
In the UK, the Royal Society has announced the shortlist for the 2018 Science Book Prize for ‘outstanding popular science books’ written for a non-specialist audience. The shortlisted books are:...
India reduces GST on ebooks
Wednesday, 1 August 2018
In India, the GST Council has announced that GST on ebooks will be reduced from 18% to 5%, but the lack of clarity has left publishers ‘perplexed’, reports the Hindu. The...
UK study finds 8% of YA books written by authors of colour in past decade
Tuesday, 31 July 2018
In the UK, a new study has shown that 8% of YA books published in the UK between 2006 and 2016 were by authors of colour. In the study, titled 'The...
‘Alex Rider’ books to be adapted into YA drama series
Monday, 30 July 2018
In the UK, Anthony Horowitz’s 'Alex Rider' series will be adapted to an eight-part television drama series for teenagers, starting with the second book Point Blanc, to be produced by production company...
UK literature events company to present ‘immersive performances’
Friday, 27 July 2018
In the UK, a new literature events company called Story Machine Productions (SMP) has launched, with plans to create 'immersive performances' at festivals inspired solely by book content, reports Book...
Hosein wins Commonwealth Writers’ Short Story Prize 2018
Thursday, 26 July 2018
Kevin Jared Hosein, from Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean, has won the 2018 Commonwealth Writers’ Short Story Prize for the short story 'Passage'. Hosein's short story explores 'a midlife crisis-ridden protagonist...
Beijing government to invest millions to increase number of bookstores
Wednesday, 25 July 2018
In China, the Beijing municipal government announced it will invest RMB 50 million (A$10m) per year to support 150 brick-and-mortar bookstores in the city, reports the China Daily. The government aims...
Man Booker Prize 2018 longlist announced
Tuesday, 24 July 2018
The longlist for the 2018 Man Booker Prize has been announced. The 13 books longlisted for the £50,000 (A$88,800) prize are: Snap (Belinda Bauer, Bantam) Milkman (Anna Burns, Faber) Sabrina...
US sales declined slightly in 2017; 5.4% rise in adult nonfiction sales
Tuesday, 24 July 2018
US publishers’ total industry sales fell slightly in 2017 to US$26.23 billion (A$35.5bn), down from US$26.27 billion (A$35.6bn) in 2016, according to results released by the Association of American Publishers...
Kampot Readers & Writers Festival cancelled for 2018
Monday, 23 July 2018
In Cambodia, the 2018 Kampot Readers & Writers Festival (KRWF) has been cancelled, but festival organisers say it will return in 2019 as a biennial event. Festival founder and director...
‘The Intrusions’ wins 2018 Theakston Crime Novel of the Year
Monday, 23 July 2018
Stav Sherez’s The Intrusions (Faber) has won the 2018 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award, reports the Guardian. The winning novel follows detectives Jack Carrigan and Geneva...
UK book sales up 5% in 2017
Friday, 20 July 2018
British publishing sales rose 5% to £5.7 billion (A$10bn) in 2017, according to the Publishers Association’s (PA) annual yearbook, reports the Bookseller. Export sales drove the growth, and were up...
Charnock wins 2018 Arthur C Clarke Award
Thursday, 19 July 2018
Anne Charnock’s Dreams Before the Start of Time (Amazon Publishing) has won the 2018 Arthur C Clarke Award for science-fiction, reports the Guardian. Set in London in 2034, Dreams Before the...
Smith to leave Bonnier Zaffre UK
Wednesday, 18 July 2018
In the UK, Mark Smith is stepping down from the position of CEO of Bonnier Zaffre after selling his equity stake in the firm, reports the Bookseller. Smith was named...
