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Scribd restricts access to audiobook content

Tuesday, 25 August 2015
In the US, ebook subscription service Scribd will restrict its audiobook content by introducing a two-tiered service, reports Publishers Weekly. Customers, who pay a monthly US$8.99 (A$12.55) membership fee, will...

Rahman, Benson win 2015 James Tait Black Prizes

Tuesday, 18 August 2015
In the UK, the winners of the James Tait Black Prizes for fiction and biography have been announced, with debut novelist Zia Haider Rahman winning the fiction prize for In...

Borghino appointed IPA secretary general

Tuesday, 18 August 2015
International Publishers Association (IPA) policy director José Borghino has been promoted to secretary general, replacing Jens Bammel in the position. Borghino was appointed policy director in 2013, after previous roles...

Harlequin boosts HarperCollins’ full-year sales results 

Friday, 14 August 2015
HarperCollins’ parent company News Corp has reported the publisher’s revenue and earnings rose in the fiscal year ending 30 June, reports Publishers Weekly. HarperCollins’ total global sales increased 16% to US$1.67bn (A$2.27bn) for...

Pearson sells the ‘Economist’

Thursday, 13 August 2015
Pearson has sold its 50% stake in the Economist Group for £469m (A$992m) to focus on its ‘global education strategy’, reports the Bookseller. The sale, which is split between two...

Anger at Holocaust romance novel’s award listings

Tuesday, 11 August 2015
In the US, an influential romance blogger has criticised the Romance Writers of America (RWA) for shortlisting a novel at its annual awards about the relationship between a Nazi officer and...

Ereader ownership increases to 28% in the UK 

Monday, 10 August 2015
In the UK, the number of people who own an ereader has increased by four percentage points in the past year to reach 28% of the population, reports GoodEReader. The statistics, taken...

New magazine to focus on international children’s literature

Monday, 10 August 2015
A new magazine focussing on international children’s literature will launch in 2016, reports Publishers Weekly. The Read Quarterly is co-founded by UK-based children’s book specialists, Sarah Odedina, young readers’ publisher...

Not the Booker Prize 2015 shortlist announced

Friday, 7 August 2015
The shortlist has been announced for this year’s Not the Booker Prize, which is run by the Guardian in the UK and voted on by the public. The shortlisted titles,...

Thriller Awards 2015 winners announced

Tuesday, 14 July 2015
International Thriller Writers (ITW) has announced the winners of the 2015 Thriller Awards. Winning titles include: The Fever (Megan Abbott, Picador) for Best Hardcover Novel; The Weight of Blood (Laura McHugh,...

The Quarto Group creates direct-to-consumer website

Friday, 10 July 2015
London- and New York-based publisher the Quarto Group has launched a consumer-facing website called QuartoKnows, which will sell direct-to-consumer titles from August, reports the Bookseller. QuartoKnows showcases titles published by...

Davies wins Frank O’Connor Short Story Award

Thursday, 9 July 2015
Welsh author Carys Davies has won the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award—the world’s richest prize for a short-story collection, reports the Guardian. Davies won the €25,000 (A$37,312) prize for...

Malala Yousafzai launches #BooksNotBullets campaign

Thursday, 9 July 2015
Nobel laureate and activist Malala Yousafzai, author of I Am Malala (Weidenfeld & Nicolson), has launched the #BooksNotBullets campaign on social media to pressure world leaders to invest in education...

Serpell wins 2015 Caine Prize for African Writing

Wednesday, 8 July 2015
Zambia’s Namwali Serpell has won the 2015 Caine Prize for African Writing for her short story ‘The Sack’. Published in the collection Africa39: New Writing from Africa South of the...

Scribd makes dramatic cuts to romance list

Thursday, 2 July 2015
Scribd is dramatically reducing the number of romance and erotica titles offered through its subscription service in a move that is believed to prevent romance readers from cannibalising profits, reports...

Fuller wins Desmond Elliott Prize

Thursday, 2 July 2015
In the UK, Claire Fuller’s Our Endless Numbered Days (Penguin) has won the £10,000 (A$20,438) Desmond Elliott Prize for new fiction. Fuller’s debut novel was chosen from a shortlist that...