Laing, Hilsum win 2019 James Tait Black Prizes
20 August 2019
The winners of the James Tait Black Prizes for fiction and biography—the UK’s oldest literary awards—have been announced. Olivia Laing won the £10,000 (A$17,920) prize for fiction for her novel...
Lonely Planet turnover down, profit up in 2018
19 August 2019
In the UK, Lonely Planet recorded a five percent drop in turnover and a 111% increase in profit before tax for the 2018 calendar year, reports the Bookseller. The publisher’s...
Macfarlane wins nature writing prize for ‘Underland’
16 August 2019
In the UK, Robert Macfarlane has been awarded the Wainwright Golden Beer Book Prize for his eighth book Underland (Hamish Hamilton). Judges called Underland ‘a passionate book which celebrates the...
UK retailers demand business tax reform
14 August 2019
In the UK, the Booksellers Association (BA) has joined with more than 50 retailers in signing an open letter demanding the government take action on the business rates system, reports...
Foyles to install libraries in luxury UK retirement homes
13 August 2019
In the UK, bookselling chain Foyles has made a deal with developer Elysian Residences to install libraries in its high-end retirement homes, reports the Times. For each Elysian Residences development,...
HarperCollins earnings up six percent in fiscal 2018–19
12 August 2019
In the US, HarperCollins has reported a six percent rise in earnings despite flat annual revenue for the 2018–19 fiscal year, reports Publishers Weekly. EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation,...
UK sales of Booker Prize longlisted titles up nearly 200%
6 August 2019
In the UK, the titles longlisted for the Booker Prize sold a combined 4740 copies according to Nielsen BookScan, up 198% on the week before the announcement, reports the Bookseller. Oyinkan...
Trump renews threat of tariffs on Chinese imports
5 August 2019
In the US, president Donald Trump has threatened to impose 10% tariffs on US$300 billion (A$442b) worth of goods imported from China, including ‘virtually all books’, reports Publishers Weekly. The...
US student groups urge government to block Cengage and McGraw-Hill merger
31 July 2019
In the US, more than 40 college student organisations are urging the Department of Justice (DoJ) to block the proposed merger of educational publishers Cengage and McGraw-Hill, reports the Bookseller....
RITA Awards 2019 winners announced
30 July 2019
The Romance Writers of America (RWA) has announced the winners of the 2019 RITA Awards, which recognise excellence in romance novels and novellas. Among the winners in the 13 categories...
Scholastic income down 55% despite sales rise
29 July 2019
In the US, Scholastic has reported a 2019 fiscal year operating income of US$25 million (A$36.2m), a 55% drop on the previous year despite sales rising 2% to US$1.65 billion...
Amazon UK begins releasing weekly sales charts
25 July 2019
Amazon UK has this week launched Amazon Charts, a weekly book bestseller list tracking sales and reads of fiction and nonfiction, reports the Bookseller. Its the first time print and...
Booker Prize 2019 longlist announced
24 July 2019
The longlist for the 2019 Booker Prize has been announced. The 13 books longlisted for the £50,000 (A$88,875) prize are: The Testaments (Margaret Atwood, Chatto & Windus, September) Night Boat...
UK Booksellers Association launches green bookselling manifesto
23 July 2019
In the UK, the Booksellers Association (BA) has launched ‘Green Bookselling: A Manifesto for the BA, Booksellers and the Book Industry’, as it calls on the trade to reduce its...
Publishers, authors concerned over Audible’s audio-to-text program
22 July 2019
In the US, publishers, literary agents and authors have expressed concern that Audible’s proposed program Captions, which transcribes audio to text alongside its audiobooks, infringes on rights holders, reports Publishers...
Two women awarded Japan’s top literary awards
19 July 2019
In Japan, novelists Natsuko Imamura and Masumi Oshima have been awarded two of the country’s top literary awards, reports Kyodo News. Imamura was awarded the Akutagawa Prize for her novel...
Thompson wins 2019 Arthur C Clarke Award for ‘Rosewater’
18 July 2019
Tade Thompson’s Rosewater (Orbit) has won the 2019 Arthur C Clarke award for science fiction, reports the Guardian. Set in a future Africa, the events of Rosewater take place in a...
US audiobook sales up 25% in 2018
18 July 2019
In the US, the Audio Publishers Association (APA) has reported audiobook revenue in 2018 grew by 24.5% to total US$940 million (A$1.34b), reports Publishing Perspectives. Unit sales were up 27.3%,...
Pearson shifts to digital-first model
17 July 2019
UK-based educational publisher Pearson will shift to a digital-first model, reports Publishers Weekly. The publisher has announced that it will only update the digital editions of its 1500 American university...
BA says UK government’s digital services tax ‘a step in the right direction’
16 July 2019
The Booksellers Association (BA) has welcomed the UK government’s decision to introduce a digital services tax on big tech companies from next April, but says it does not resolve the...
Crime writers condemn Staunch Prize after organisers suggest thrillers could ‘bias jurors’
15 July 2019
In the UK, crime writers have condemned the organisers of the Staunch Prize—awarded to thrillers without violence against women—for claiming the genre could bias jurors, reports the Guardian. The Staunch...
Winners of inaugural Comedy Women in Print Prize announced
12 July 2019
In the UK, the winners of the inaugural Comedy Women in Print Prize (CWIP) have been announced. In the published author category, Laura Steven was awarded for her YA novel...
Cypriot writer Soteriou wins 2019 Commonwealth Short Story Prize
10 July 2019
Cypriot writer Constantia Soteriou has been named the overall winner of the 2019 Commonwealth Short Story Prize for her story 'Death Customs'. It is the first time in the history...
US bookshops raise $48k for #BookstoresAgainstBorders campaign
9 July 2019
In the US, around 150 independent bookshops, small presses and other literary organisations have raised more than US$48,000 (A$68,860) for the #BookstoresAgainstBorders fundraising campaign, reports Publishers Weekly. Initiated by Wisconsin...
Frankfurt Book Fair to allow book sales during public access days
9 July 2019
For the first time, exhibitors will be allowed to sell books during the closing weekend of the 2019 Frankfurt Book Fair, reports Book Brunch. The last two days of the...
UK Society of Authors launches £5000 prize for illustrated children’s books
5 July 2019
In the UK, the Society of Authors (SoA) has launched the Queen's Knickers Award, a new £5000 (A$8950) prize for children’s illustrated books aimed at readers aged 0–7. Aimed at...
Locus Awards winners announced
2 July 2019
In the US, the winners of the 2019 Locus Awards for science fiction and fantasy writing have been announced. Winners include: The Calculating Stars (Mary Robinette Kowal, Tor) in the...
UK publishing employment up 3.9% in 2018
1 July 2019
In the UK, publishing industry employment was up 3.9% in 2018, growing from 192,000 jobs in 2017 to 199,000 in 2018, reports the Bookseller. The figures from the Department for...
UK survey finds that older women feel misrepresented in fiction
28 June 2019
In the UK, a survey of more than 1000 women over 40 has found that 51% of respondents feel that older women tend to fall into stereotyped roles in fiction,...
Amazon responds to NYT feature alleging widespread sales of counterfeit books
27 June 2019
In the US, Amazon has responded to claims made in a New York Times (NYT) feature that the company takes a lax approach to policing counterfeit books, reports Publishers Weekly....
