US bookstore sales down in 2017
Thursday, 15 February 2018
Preliminary estimates from the US Census Bureau indicate bookstore sales in the US dropped 3.6% in 2017 compared to 2016, reports Publishers Weekly. Sales in 2017 are estimated at $10.73...
Amazon to axe hundreds of jobs
Thursday, 15 February 2018
In the US, Amazon is cutting several hundred jobs at its Seattle headquarters, focused mainly on its established consumer retail business, reports the Seattle Times. The cuts come after the...
Controversy over sexual harassment in US children’s publishing; accused writer responds
Wednesday, 14 February 2018
Jay Asher, author of the young adult novel Thirteen Reasons Why, has responded to reports he was ‘expelled’ from the US Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) for...
Waterstones partners with UK podcast
Wednesday, 14 February 2018
In the UK, bookselling chain Waterstones has announced a year-long partnership with the podcast Mostly Lit to produce a series of in-store events and online content, reports the Bookseller. The...
ALA Youth Media Awards 2018: Newbery, Caldecott, Printz, Stonewall
Tuesday, 13 February 2018
In the US, the American Library Association (ALA), has announced the winners of its Youth Media Awards, including the Newbery and Caldecott medals. Erin Entrada Kelly’s Hello, Universe (HarperCollins) was...
Adult sales up, kids sales down in US
Monday, 12 February 2018
In the US, estimates from the AAP’s StatShot program show that sales of adult trade books increased slightly (0.4%) in the first nine months of 2017 compared to the same...
Penguin US announces imprint for diverse kids books
Friday, 9 February 2018
In the US, Penguin Young Readers will launch a new imprint focusing on diverse books for children and young adults, reports Publishers Weekly. Called Kokila, the new imprint will seek...
Scribd returns to unlimited access model
Thursday, 8 February 2018
In the US, online reading service Scribd is returning to its original ‘unlimited’ access reading model, although some controls will remain in place to limit ‘particularly heavy consumption’ by subscribers,...
Italy to be guest of honour at 2023 Frankfurt Book Fair
Wednesday, 7 February 2018
Italy has been announced as the guest of honour at the 2023 Frankfurt Book Fair (FBF), which will be held from 18-22 October 2023. FBF director Juergen Boos said in...
UK publishers urge Man Booker Prize organisers to reconsider rule change
Tuesday, 6 February 2018
Several UK publishers have signed a letter urging organisers of the Man Booker Prize to reconsider the rule change in 2013 that made US-authored titles eligible for the prize, reports...
New data shows 14.5% growth in Chinese book market in 2017
Monday, 5 February 2018
China’s retail book market expanded in 2017 at a rate of 14.55%, year on year, according to data from Chinese industry-data research firm OpenBook, reports Publishing Perspectives. Children’s books were...
Gui Minhai awarded 2018 IPA Prix Voltaire
Friday, 2 February 2018
The International Publishers Association (IPA) has awarded the 2018 Prix Voltaire award, which supports defenders of the freedom to publish, to missing Chinese-born Swedish publisher Gui Minhai. A Hong Kong-based publisher...
National Book Award recognises works in translation in new award category
Thursday, 1 February 2018
In the US, the National Book Foundation announced that it will present a new award for translated literature as part of this year’s National Book Awards, reports the New York...
Dunmore posthumously awarded Costa Book of the Year for ‘Inside the Wave’
Wednesday, 31 January 2018
In the UK, the late Helen Dunmore has been awarded the £30,000 (A$51,700) Costa Book of the Year award for her poetry collection Inside the Wave (Bloodaxe Books), reports the...
‘Sherlock Holmes’ tops 2017 Audible UK chart
Tuesday, 30 January 2018
In the UK, Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes: The Definitive Collection was Audible’s highest-selling title for 2017, reports the Bookseller. The nine-story collection, which is narrated by Stephen Fry, spent...
New prize launched for thrillers without violence against women
Monday, 29 January 2018
UK screenwriter Bridget Lawless has launched the Staunch Book Prize—an award for the best thriller novel in which no woman is beaten, stalked, sexually exploited, raped or murdered, reports the...
HarperCollins sales up 8.1% as Big Four’s market share shrinks
Thursday, 25 January 2018
In the UK, HarperCollins’ consumer sales grew 8.1% in value in 2017, while the Big Four’s total market share dipped slightly, reports the Bookseller. The combined sales for the Big...
WHSmith high street store Christmas sales down four percent
Thursday, 25 January 2018
In the UK, sales at bookselling chain WHSmith’s high street stores fell four percent like-for-like over the Christmas period—a decline partly attributed to the fall in sales of spoof humour...
Author Earnings to capture real-time sales data; releases 2017 US sales report
Wednesday, 24 January 2018
US-based ebook analysts Author Earnings has expanded its tracking of online US print, audio and digital book sales to capture daily data. The data analysis company previously released quarterly reports...
Freight Books authors told to buy back their stock or have it pulped
Tuesday, 23 January 2018
In the UK, authors at Freight Books, the Scottish independent publisher that went into provisional liquidation in October 2017, have been told to buy back their stock or have it...
Waterstones’ annual profits rise by 80%
Monday, 22 January 2018
UK bookselling chain Waterstones has reported an 80 percent jump in annual profits, reports the Guardian. Waterstones reported that pre-tax profits increased from £9.9m (A$17.1m) to £18m (A$31.25m) in the...
Ferrante joins ‘Guardian Weekend’ as columnist
Friday, 19 January 2018
Bestselling author of the ‘Neapolitan’ series Elena Ferrante will write a regular newspaper column—her first ever—for Guardian Weekend magazine, reports the Guardian. Beginning on 20 January, Ferrante’s weekly column will...
Inaugural Translators’ Association First Translation Prize shortlist announced
Thursday, 18 January 2018
In the UK, the shortlist for the inaugural Translators’ Association First Translation Prize, worth £2000, has been announced, reports the Bookseller. The shortlisted works are: Eve Out of Her Ruins...
Women dominate UK literary fiction bestsellers
Thursday, 18 January 2018
Nine out of the top 10 bestselling literary fiction authors in 2017 were women writers, reports the Bookseller. Margaret Atwood topped the list, benefiting from the TV adaptations of The...
German sales down 2% in 2017
Wednesday, 17 January 2018
German trade paper buchreport has reported sales were down for the German book industry in 2017, with value dropping two percent compared to 2016, reports the Bookseller. Christmas sales in...
Print book volume down by 4% in Canada in 2017
Tuesday, 16 January 2018
Print book sales in Canada have declined in 2017, with print book volume down by four percent and value down by three percent compared to 2016 figures. According to a...
Vuong wins 2017 T S Eliot Prize
Tuesday, 16 January 2018
American poet Ocean Vuong has won the 2017 T S Eliot Prize for poetry, reports the Guardian. Vuong won the prize for his debut collection Night Sky with Exit Wounds...
Czech Republic creates tax-deductible book allowance for employees
Monday, 15 January 2018
In the Czech Republic, the government has introduced a new tax law that allows companies to offer tax-deductible book vouchers to employees, reports Publishing Perspectives. In effect since 1 January...
Quarto to consolidate adult trade imprints
Friday, 12 January 2018
In the UK, Quarto is merging its three adult trade imprints into one new imprint, White Lion Publishing, reports the Bookseller. The publishers’ imprints Aurum Press, Frances Lincoln and Quintessence...
Lonely Planet Kids expands in US market
Friday, 12 January 2018
The children’s imprint of travel publisher Lonely Planet—Lonely Planet Kids—has announced several new appointments as part of its ongoing expansion in the US market, reports Publishers Weekly. Hanna Otero took...
