Chinese market down 12% in 2022
Wednesday, 8 February 2023
Overall book sales in China decreased 12% in 2022 according to Beijing OpenBook, reports Publishing Perspectives. While sales via short video ecommerce, such as on TikTok and other platforms, were...
Miller wins FT Book of the Year for ‘Chip War’
Wednesday, 7 December 2022
In the UK, Chip War: The Fight for the world’s most critical technology (Chris Miller, S&S) has won the 2022 Financial Times (FT) Book of the Year Award. In Chip War, Miller unpicks the...
‘A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth’ wins Royal Society Science Book Prize
Wednesday, 30 November 2022
In the UK, Henry Gee has won the 2022 Royal Society Science Book Prize for A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth: 4.6 billion years in 12 chapters (Picador),...
Taylor, Zmith win 2022 Polari Prizes
Wednesday, 16 November 2022
In the UK, writers Joelle Taylor and Adam Zmith have won the 2022 Polari Prizes for work that explores the LGBT experience, reports the Bookseller. Taylor won the £2000 (A$3642) Polari Prize...
Judge releases full decision blocking PRH acquisition of S&S
Wednesday, 9 November 2022
In the US, federal court judge Florence Pan’s 80-page written decision blocking Penguin Random House’s (PRH) acquisition of Simon & Schuster (S&S) has been published, reports Publishers Weekly. Pan found...
Court blocks PRH acquisition of S&S
Wednesday, 2 November 2022
Bertelsmann, the parent company of Penguin Random House, will appeal a ruling by a US federal court blocking its proposed acquisition of Simon & Schuster (S&S). In a two-page order,...
HarperCollins US staff vote to strike
Wednesday, 19 October 2022
Representatives for unionised HarperCollins US employees will go on strike on 7 November, reports Publishers Weekly. Employees have been negotiating for 11 months for a new employment agreement but have...
US print sales down 4.8% YTD
Wednesday, 12 October 2022
In the US, unit sales of print books were down 4.8% in the first nine months of the year compared to the same period in 2021, reports Publishers Weekly. According...
National Book Award Finalists announced
Wednesday, 5 October 2022
In the US, the finalists for the 2022 National Book Awards have been announced. The shortlisted titles are: Fiction The Rabbit Hutch (Tess Gunty, Knopf) The Birdcatcher (Gayl Jones, Beacon)...
FT Business Book of the Year Award shortlist announced
Wednesday, 28 September 2022
In the UK, the shortlist for the 2022 Financial Times Business Book of the Year Award has been announced. The shortlisted books are: Dead in the Water: Murder and fraud...
Spotify US unveils audiobook catalogue
Wednesday, 21 September 2022
In the US, audio streaming platform Spotify has unveiled its catalogue of 300,000 audiobook titles, reports the Bookseller. Audiobooks on Spotify will sit alongside the platform’s music and podcast catalogues...
Booker Prize 2022 shortlist announced
Wednesday, 7 September 2022
The shortlist for the 2022 Booker Prize has been announced. The six books shortlisted for the £50,000 (A$85,510) prize are: Glory (NoViolet Bulawayo, Viking) The Trees (Percival Everett, Influx) Treacle...
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)...
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...
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,...
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...
Eswatini writer Kota wins overall Commonwealth Short Story Prize
Wednesday, 22 June 2022
Eswatini writer Ntsika Kota has been named the overall winner of the 2022 Commonwealth Short Story Prize for his story ‘and the earth drank deep’. Kota’s story centres on a...
Ozeki wins Women’s Prize for Fiction for ‘The Book of Form and Emptiness’
Thursday, 16 June 2022
In the UK, Ruth Ozeki has won the £30,000 (A$52,120) Women’s Prize for Fiction for her fourth novel The Book of Form and Emptiness (Text), reports the Bookseller. Ozeki's novel tells the...
US audiobooks grow by double digits for 10th straight year
Wednesday, 8 June 2022
The US audiobook market recorded its 10th straight year of double-digit growth in 2021, with data from the Audio Publishers Association (APA) showing the market grew 25% compared to 2020,...
Spufford wins £10k Encore Award for ‘Light Perpetual’
Wednesday, 25 May 2022
In the UK, Francis Spufford has won the £10,000 (A$17,630) Royal Society of Literature (RSL) Encore Award, presented annually to the best second novel of the year, for his book...
UK publishing staff report stress, burnout
Wednesday, 11 May 2022
A survey by the Bookseller has found the UK publishing trade is facing ‘industry-wide burnout’, with nearly nine out of 10 (89%) respondents having experienced work-related stress over the past...
Ondaatje Prize 2022 shortlist announced
Thursday, 21 April 2022
The shortlist for this year’s £10,000 (A$17,500) Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize has been announced. The annual award recognises the book ‘of highest literary merit—fiction, nonfiction or poetry—which best...
Water Scott Prize 2022 shortlist announced
Wednesday, 13 April 2022
In the UK, the Water Scott Prize 2022 shortlist has been announced. The titles shortlisted for the £25,000 (A$43,600) prize for historical fiction are: Rose Nicolson (Andrew Greig, Riverrun) News of the Dead...
SoA calls on Amazon to cut ebook refund window
Wednesday, 6 April 2022
In the UK, the Society of Authors (SoA) is calling on Amazon to cut its ebook returns window from 14 days to 48 hours, reports the Bookseller. An online petition,...
US publishers to attend LBF in ‘limited’ capacity; Russia banned from fairs
Wednesday, 2 March 2022
Large US publishers including Hachette Book Group and HarperCollins US will only attend this year’s London Book Fair, which runs 5–7 April, in a ‘limited fashion’, reports the Bookseller. This...
Opposition grows as Vivendi files Lagardère takeover bid
Wednesday, 23 February 2022
In France, media company Vivendi has filed its proposed takeover bid for Hachette Livre parent company Lagardère Group amid growing opposition to the merger, reports the Bookseller. In December Vivendi—which...
Blackwell’s up for sale for first time
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...
US publishing sales up 12%: AAP
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...
UK government delays decision on copyright changes
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...
UK, Ireland bookshop numbers grow for fifth consecutive year
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....
