UK publishers furlough staff
8 April 2020
Penguin Random House (PRH) UK, Hachette UK and Bonnier UK are furloughing a number of their workers, reports the Bookseller. For furloughed workers, the UK government is providing grants for...
Dylan Thomas Prize 2020 shortlist announced
8 April 2020
The shortlist for the £30,000 (A$60,000) International Dylan Thomas Prize has been announced. The shortlisted titles are: Surge (Jay Bernard, Chatto & Windus) Flèche (Mary Jean Chan, Faber) Inland (Téa...
James Patterson spearheads fundraising effort for US bookshops
6 April 2020
In the US, author James Patterson is leading a group that is seeking to raise millions of dollars to help save US bookshops from closing permanently due to the Covid-19...
Pan Mac Australia parent company begins ‘cost-saving’ initiative; layoffs, wage cuts in US
3 April 2020
In the US, Macmillan Publishers has laid off an undisclosed number of employees across all divisions, reports Publishers Weekly (PW). The publisher has also temporarily reduced pay for select employees and...
Korean artist Baek Heena wins 2020 Astrid Lindgren award
2 April 2020
In Sweden, Korean artist Baek Heena has been announced as the winner of the five million krona (A$820k) Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (ALMA). Baek has published 13 picture books, including...
HarperCollins to acquire Egmont Books UK
2 April 2020
HarperCollins has announced its intention to acquire Egmont Books UK, as well as Egmont’s book businesses in Poland and Germany, reports the Bookseller. The transaction is for an undisclosed sum...
Bologna goes digital with virtual fair and rights platform
1 April 2020
Organisers of the Bologna Children’s Book Fair (BCBF) will launch a series of new digital initiatives on 4 May, reports Publishers Weekly. In light of the cancellation of this year’s...
Bertram closes temporarily
1 April 2020
In the UK, wholesaler Bertram has temporarily closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, reports the Bookseller. Bertram Group CEO Raj Patel cited staff welfare as a primary concern, noting that...
French peasant saga wins Republic of Consciousness Prize
31 March 2020
In the UK, Jean-Baptiste Del Amo has won this year’s Republic of Consciousness Prize for Small Presses for his novel Animalia (trans by Frank Wynne, Text), reports the Bookseller. Del...
Gardners suspends new orders
31 March 2020
UK-based distributor Gardners has suspended taking new orders for physical products, citing the safety and wellbeing of its workforce as the reason for the decision. An announcement on the Gardners...
B&N closes 400 shops temporarily
30 March 2020
In the US, bookselling chain Barnes & Noble (B&N) has temporarily closed about 400 stores to the public, reports Publishers Weekly. The chain is working with state and local governments...
PRH, BA back crowdfunding campaign for booksellers
27 March 2020
In the UK, Penguin Random House (PRH) and the Booksellers Association (BA) are backing a crowdfunding campaign to raise money for booksellers affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, reports the Bookseller....
US publishers consider moving pub dates
26 March 2020
In the US, major publishers are struggling with whether or not to move publication dates of forthcoming titles in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, reports Publishers Weekly (PW). Publishers are...
PRH profits, revenue up 6.2% in 2019
25 March 2020
Penguin Random House (PRH) revenue and profit was up 6.2% in 2019, according to parent company Bertelsmann, reports the Bookseller. The publisher’s revenues increased 6.2% to €3.64 billion (A$6.6b), with...
Luiselli becomes first woman to win Folio Prize
24 March 2020
In the UK, Mexican novelist Valeria Luiselli has become the first woman to win the £30,000 (A$59,470) Rathbones Folio Prize for her novel Lost Children Archive (Fourth Estate). Lost Children...
UK trade launches emergency funds for authors, bookshops
23 March 2020
In the UK, the Society of Authors (SoA) has launched an Authors Emergency Fund, while the Bookseller’s Association (BA) will donate £30,000 (A$60,520) to the Book Trade Charity to support...
US print book sales down 10% last week
20 March 2020
In the US, NPD BookScan figures show print book unit sales fell 10% for the week ending March 14 compared to the previous week, after physical bookstores began closing their...
Macmillan lifts library embargo for new-release ebooks
19 March 2020
In the US, Macmillan has abandoned its embargo on new-release ebooks in libraries, reports Publishers Weekly. ‘There are times in life when differences should be put aside,’ said Macmillan CEO...
US kids authors launch digital festival in wake of cancellations
18 March 2020
In the US, a group of children’s authors have launched a digital festival focused on children’s literature, after more than a dozen US literary festivals were cancelled in less than...
Amazon deprioritises book sales
18 March 2020
In the US and Europe, Amazon has deprioritised book sales as the company works to meet the surge in demand for household staples, medical supplies and other high demand products,...
US staff at PRH, Macmillan to work from home; Madrid Book Fair postponed
16 March 2020
In response to the global coronavirus pandemic, the US offices of Penguin Random House and Macmillan will remain open but staff have been instructed to work from home. In an...
National Book Critics Circle Awards winners announced
16 March 2020
In the US, the winners of the 2019 National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) Awards have been announced. The winners include: Fiction Everything Inside: Stories (Edwidge Danticat, Knopf) Nonfiction Say Nothing:...
Bologna book fair cancelled
12 March 2020
Due to the spread of coronavirus in Italy, organisers of the Bologna Children's Book Fair (BCBF) have cancelled this year’s rescheduled event, which was due to run from 4–7 May....
US publishers’ sales up 1.8% in 2019: StatShot
11 March 2020
In the US, estimates from the Association of American Publishers’ (AAP) StatShot program show that US publishers’ sales totalled US$14.7 billion (A$22.6b) in 2019, up 1.8% on the previous year,...
PRH pulls worldwide staff from Bologna
11 March 2020
Penguin Random House (PRH) will not send any staff to the rescheduled Bologna Children’s Book Fair, making it the second of the Big Five publishers to cancel its appearance at...
S&S pulls UK, US staff from Bologna
10 March 2020
Staff from the UK and US divisions of Simon & Schuster (S&S) won’t attend the rescheduled Bologna Children’s Book Fair in May, reports Publishers Weekly. Last month, the fair was postponed...
Hachette staff walkout to protest Woody Allen’s memoir
6 March 2020
In the US, employees at Grand Central Publishing, Little, Brown and several other Hachette Book Group (HBG) imprints have staged a walkout three days after Grand Central Publishing announced it...
ViacomCBS looks to sell S&S
5 March 2020
In the US, mass media company ViacomCBS is planning to sell Simon & Schuster, reports Publishers Weekly. At a Morgan Stanley investor conference, ViacomCBS CEO Bob Bakish said it will...
Women’s Prize for Fiction 2020 longlist announced
4 March 2020
In the UK, the longlist for the 2020 Women’s Prize for Fiction has been announced. Now in its 25th year, the £30,000 (A$58,370) prize is presented annually to the best...
LBF to go ahead as publishers pull UK staff from fair
4 March 2020
Penguin Random House (PRH), Pan Macmillan and Hachette Livre, as well as Curtis Brown parent company Original Talent, have withdrawn all staff—including UK employees—from the London Book Fair (LBF) due...
