National Book Award 2018 winners announced
16 November 2018
The winners of the 2018 US National Book Awards have been announced. Sigrid Nunez has won the fiction award for her novel The Friend (Riverhead), which follows a woman who is...
‘Chernobyl’ wins 2018 Baillie Gifford Prize for nonfiction
16 November 2018
Ukrainian-American author and historian Serhii Plokhy was won the £30,000 (A$53,880) 2018 Baillie Gifford Prize for nonfiction for his book Chernobyl: History of a Tragedy (Allen Lane). Chosen from a shortlist of six,...
‘Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine’ wins BAMB Readers’ Choice Award
16 November 2018
Gail Honeyman’s Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine (HarperCollins) has won the Books are My Bag (BAMB) Readers’ Choice Award in the UK. Honeyman’s bestselling debut novel, which follows a socially...
Hachette Book Group reorganises divisions, dozens made redundant
15 November 2018
In the US, the Hachette Book Group (HBG) has reorganised its Hachette Books and Nashville divisions, resulting in a number of layoffs, reports Publishers Weekly. Under the reorganisation, Hachette Books...
Robertson wins 2018 Goldsmiths Prize for ‘The Long Take’
15 November 2018
In the UK, Robin Robertson has won the £10,000 (A$17,970) 2018 Goldsmiths Prize for The Long Take (Picador). The prize, established in 2013, rewards British and Irish fiction which ‘breaks the...
‘Bad Blood’ wins 2018 Business Book of the Year
14 November 2018
In the UK, Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup (Picador) by investigative journalist John Carreyou has won the 2018 Financial Times (FT) and McKinsey & Company Business Book of...
UAE grants companies accreditation to self-monitor book content
13 November 2018
In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), regulatory body the National Media Council (NMC) has granted Content Self-Monitoring Program (CSMP) accreditation to five book industry companies so they can monitor the content...
Winners of 2018 Chen Bochui International Children’s Literature Awards announced
12 November 2018
The winners of the 2018 Chen Bochui International Children's Literature Award (CICLA) have been announced. Zhang Mingzhou, president of the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), was honoured as Special...
Brazilian publishers seek to intervene to save leading retailers from closure
9 November 2018
Brazilian publishers are meeting this week to discuss how they might prevent the country’s two largest retailers from closure, reports Publishing Perspectives. The National Syndicate of Book Publishers (SNEl) will...
Amazon’s AbeBooks backflips after booksellers protest
8 November 2018
After two days of striking against Amazon subsidiary AbeBooks, antiquarian booksellers around the world have had success, with the retailer apologising and saying it would reverse the decision that prompted...
Booksellers protest Amazon’s AbeBooks withdrawing from several countries
8 November 2018
Hundreds of antiquarian booksellers from around the world have removed their books from Amazon subsidiary AbeBooks, after it announced it would withdraw its services from several countries, reports the New...
French publisher wins $342k Turjuman Award
7 November 2018
French publishing house Actes Sud has won the Turjuman Award, receiving AED 910,000 (A$342,000) for its French translation of The Nature of Despotism by Syrian author Abdul Rahman Al Kawakibi (trans Hala...
Two books tie for best novel at the 2018 World Fantasy Awards
7 November 2018
In the US, the winners of the 2018 World Fantasy Awards have been announced at the World Fantasy Convention in Baltimore, with two books tying for best novel. The winning...
Last Hong Kong bookshop selling titles banned in China closes
5 November 2018
The last bookshop in Hong Kong selling titles banned by the Communist Party of China has closed, reports the Guardian. People Book Café, situated in Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay district,...
HarperCollins UK named on Best Employers for Race list
2 November 2018
HarperCollins UK is the only publisher to have been named as one of 70 of the best UK employers for race diversity and equality, reports BookBrunch. The Best Employers for Race...
Cundill History Prize 2018 finalists announced
2 November 2018
In Canada, the finalists have been announced for the Cundill History Prize, which rewards ‘the best history writing in English’. Chosen from a shortlist of eight, the finalists are: Prairie...
Philosopher Nussbaum wins US$1m Berggruen Prize
1 November 2018
Philosopher and classicist Martha Nussbaum has won the US$1 million (A$1.4m) Berggruen Prize, which is awarded annually to ‘thinkers whose ideas have profoundly shaped human self-understanding and advancement in a...
PRH acquires majority stake in Brazilian publisher Companhia das Letras
31 October 2018
Penguin Random House (PRH) has acquired a majority stake of 70% in Brazilian publisher Companhia das Letras. PRH previously acquired a 45% stake in the Brazilian publishing house in 2012,...
Kassabova’s ‘Border’ wins UK Nayef Al-Rodhan Prize
31 October 2018
Scotland-based Bulgarian writer Kapka Kassabova has won the 2018 Nayef Al-Rodhan Prize for Global Cultural Understanding for her book Border: A Journey to the Edge of Europe (Granta). Chosen from a shortlist...
Kirkus Prize 2018 winners announced
30 October 2018
US publication Kirkus Reviews has announced the winners of its fifth annual literary prize. Each of the Kirkus Prize winners receives US$50,000 (A$70,830). Ling Ma won the fiction prize for Severance (Text), with...
Shortlist announced for 2018 Diagram Prize for oddest book title
29 October 2018
The shortlist for the 2018 Diagram Prize for Oddest Book Title of the Year, presented by the Bookseller, has been announced. The six shortlisted titles are: Are Gay Men More...
Benyamin wins inaugural JCB Prize for Literature
26 October 2018
Novelist and short story writer Benyamin has won the inaugural JCB prize for Literature in India. Benyamin won Rs 25 lakhs (A$48,220) for his book Jasmine Days (Juggernaut Books), translated into...
UK Dagger awards 2018 winners announced
26 October 2018
The UK Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) has announced the winners of the 2018 Dagger awards. The winners in each category are: Diamond Dagger (for an author whose crime writing careers...
Book sales in Iceland dropped 43% from 2010 to 2017
25 October 2018
Book sales in Iceland dropped 43% between 2010 and 2017, with sales from the first four months of 2018 dropping a further 5% from the same period in 2017, reports...
Four UK bookshops nominated for Britain’s Best Small Shop
24 October 2018
In the UK, four independent bookshops have been nominated for Britain’s Best Small Shop of 2018, reports the Bookseller. The annual competition, managed by the Independent Retailers Confederation, celebrates ‘entrepreneurial...
‘Elmet’ wins 2018 Polari First Book Prize
23 October 2018
UK writer Fiona Mozley has won the 2018 Polari First Book Prize for her debut novel Elmet (John Murray), reports the Bookseller. The prize is awarded annually to an author whose first book...
61% of Canadian publishers are producing audiobooks, up from 16% in 2015
22 October 2018
In Canada, 61% of publishers are producing audiobooks, up from 16% in 2015. According to a recent study on audiobook use published by BookNet Canada, the average audiobook listener in...
PRH US merges Crown, Random House divisions
19 October 2018
Penguin Random House (PRH) US has merged two major adult divisions, Crown Publishing Group and Random House Publishing Group, reports Publishers Weekly. Random House president and publisher Gina Centrello will...
PEN America sues Trump over freedom of speech
18 October 2018
In the US, literary and human rights organisation PEN America is suing President Trump for alleged violations of America's First Amendment (which protects freedom of speech), reports the Associated Press....
Burns wins 2018 Man Booker Prize
17 October 2018
Northern Irish writer Anna Burns has won the 2018 Man Booker Prize for her third novel, Milkman (Faber). She is the first Northern Irish author and 17th woman to win...
