Two in three UK authors, illustrators report loss of income
22 October 2020
In the UK, a Society of Authors (SoA) survey of the financial impact of Covid-19 has found 65% of authors, illustrators and literary translators have reported a loss of income—up...
US$75k Cundill History Prize 2020 finalists announced
21 October 2020
The three finalists for the Cundill History Prize have been announced. Chosen from a shortlist of 10, the finalists are: Tacky’s Revolt: The story of an Atlantic slave war (Vincent Brown,...
Davies, Al-Kadhi win 2020 Polari Prizes
16 October 2020
In the UK, writers Kate Davies and Amrou Al-Kadhi have won the 2020 Polari Prizes for work that explores the LGBT experience, reports the Bookseller. Davies won the £2000 (A$3640) Polari...
Glück awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize for Literature
9 October 2020
American poet Louise Glück has been awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize for Literature, reports Publishers Weekly. Glück was named winner at a ceremony at the Swedish Academy in Stockholm on...
National Book Awards 2020 shortlists announced
7 October 2020
In the US, the shortlists for the 2020 National Book Awards have been announced. The shortlisted titles in each category are: Fiction Leave the World Behind (Rumaan Alam, Bloomsbury) A...
Serpell wins 2020 Arthur C Clarke Award for ‘The Old Drift’
2 October 2020
Zambian author Namwali Serpell has won the 2020 Arthur C Clarke award for science-fiction for her debut novel The Old Drift (Vintage), reports the Guardian. The Old Drift, described as ‘a...
Proportion of UK YA writers of colour doubles since 2017
1 October 2020
In the UK, a study has found the proportion of authors of colour writing YA in the UK has more than doubled since 2017, reports the Guardian. According to research...
UK, North American bodies form green book supply chain alliance
30 September 2020
The UK’s Book Industry Communication (BIC) has formed an international green book supply chain alliance with Canada’s BookNet and US body the Book Industry Study Group, reports the Bookseller. Under...
Children’s nonfiction sales boom in UK
25 September 2020
In the UK, Nielsen data shows sales of children’s books have boomed during 2020 due to nonfiction sales, reports the Bookseller. According to Nielsen media manager Philip Stone, children’s nonfiction...
HarperCollins, S&S add diversity-focused directors
21 September 2020
In the US, HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster (S&S) have both announced new diversity-focused directorial positions, reports Publishing Perspectives. HarperCollins has appointed Gisselda Nuñez to the role of vice-president for diversity,...
PRH to publish first volume of Obama memoir in November
18 September 2020
Penguin Random House will publish the first volume of former US president Barack Obama’s memoir, A Promised Land, globally on 17 November. According to the publisher, the book, which will...
Booker Prize 2020 shortlist announced
16 September 2020
The shortlist for the 2020 Booker Prize has been announced. The six books shortlisted for the £50,000 (A$90,000) prize are: The New Wilderness (Diane Cook, Oneworld) This Mournable Body (Tsitsi Dangarembga, Faber)...
Daunt outlines plan for Barnes & Noble
15 September 2020
In the US, Barnes & Noble (B&N) CEO James Daunt has outlined his strategy for the bookselling chain in a virtual Q&A with Book Industry Study Group executive director Brian...
Bookshop.org launches in the UK
14 September 2020
In the UK, Bookshop.org, a retail site for independent booksellers, has launched to the trade ahead of its planned opening to consumers in November, reports the Bookseller. UK bookshops can...
McAnulty wins nature writing prize for ‘Diary of a Young Naturalist’
11 September 2020
In the UK, Dara McAnulty has been awarded the Wainwright Prize for UK Nature Writing for Diary of A Young Naturalist (Text). According to the Bookseller, McAnulty, 16, is the...
O’Farrell wins 2020 Women’s Prize for ‘Hamnet’
10 September 2020
UK author Maggie O’Farrell has won the 2020 Women’s Prize for Fiction for her novel Hamnet (Tinder Press). Chosen from a shortlist of six and a longlist of 16, Hamnet is inspired...
No physical exhibitors at 2020 Frankfurt Book Fair
9 September 2020
This year’s Frankfurt Book Fair won’t feature physical exhibitors due to the Covid-19 pandemic, reports the Bookseller. Organisers said it was no longer feasible to hold the planned ‘special edition’...
Bonnier Books UK to introduce flexible working for staff
4 September 2020
Bonnier Books UK will introduce flexible working for office staff once the Covid-19 pandemic eases, allowing employees to work up to three days a week from home, reports the Bookseller....
Hachette UK buys Laurence King Publishing
3 September 2020
Hachette UK has acquired arts and gift specialist Laurence King Publishing (LKP), reports the Bookseller. Under the deal, which was made for an undisclosed sum, managing director Laurence King will...
PRH revenue down 1.4% in first half of 2020; Bertelsmann ‘interested’ in buying S&S
2 September 2020
Bertelsmann, the parent company of Penguin Random House (PRH), has reported that the publisher’s global revenue fell 1.4% in the first half of 2020 compared to the same period in...
First phase of online-only Beijing Book Fair begins
28 August 2020
The first phase of this year’s Beijing International Book Fair—which is taking place entirely online due to the Covid-19 pandemic—has begun this week, with the launch of the fair’s Smart...
Rijneveld wins International Booker Prize
27 August 2020
Dutch author Marieke Lucas Rijneveld has won the £50,000 (A$91,3100) International Booker Prize for their debut novel The Discomfort of Evening (trans by Michele Hutchinson, Faber), reports the Bookseller. Rijneveld's...
Ellmann, Szirtes win James Tait Black prizes
24 August 2020
In the UK, Lucy Ellmann and George Szirtes have won the James Tait Black prizes for fiction and biography respectively. Ellmann won the fiction prize for her novel Ducks, Newburyport...
Light wins 2020 PEN/Ackerley Prize
21 August 2020
In the UK, Alison Light has won the 2020 PEN/Ackerley Prize for a work of memoir or autobiography, for her memoir A Radical Romance (Fig Tree), reports the Bookseller. Light...
US publishing sales down 4.2% in first half of 2020
20 August 2020
According to the Association of American Publishers’ (AAP) latest StatShot report, the US publishing industry’s revenues were down 4.2% in the first half of 2020, although trade sales were up...
German-language market reports enduring digital sales growth post-lockdown
13 August 2020
Ebook sales have seen continuous growth before, during and after the Covid-19 lockdown period, according to a Bookwire Insights Report on ebook and audiobook sales in the German-language book market....
HarperCollins revenue down 5%
10 August 2020
HarperCollins’ total revenue fell 5% in the year to 30 June, according to parent company News Corp. In its annual earnings report, News Corp reported that the publisher’s full year...
WHSmith plans restructure, 1500 redundancies
6 August 2020
In the UK, bookselling chain WHSmith has announced plans for a restructure that could lead to 1500 roles made redundant across the business, reports the Bookseller. In a trading update,...
Hugo Awards 2020 winners announced
3 August 2020
The winners of this year’s Hugo Awards, presented annually by the World Science Fiction Convention, have been announced. Best novel went to A Memory Called Empire (Arkady Martine, Tor); best...
‘Look Up!’ wins Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2020
31 July 2020
In the UK, picture book Look Up! (Nathan Byron, illus by Dapo Adeola, Puffin) has won the overall £5000 (A$9010) Waterstones Children’s Book Prize. Look Up! was named the winner...
