Small Press Distribution closes in the US
Tuesday, 2 April 2024
In the US, independent book distributor Small Press Distribution (SPD) has closed, effective immediately, reports Publishers Weekly (PW). SPD executive director Kent Watson said SPD staff are in the process...
Women’s Prize for Nonfiction 2024 shortlist announced
Thursday, 28 March 2024
The shortlist for the inaugural Women’s Prize for Nonfiction, worth £30,000 (A$58,000), has been announced. The six titles shortlisted for the award are: Thunderclap: A memoir of art and life...
PRH 2023 results flat, despite revenue rise
Wednesday, 27 March 2024
While Penguin Random House (PRH) recorded a 7% revenue rise worldwide for the full year 2023—to €4.53 billion (A$7.51b), up from €4.22 billion (A$7.00b) in 2022—profit dropped slightly, down by...
Dylan Thomas Prize 2024 shortlist announced
Tuesday, 26 March 2024
In the UK, the Swansea University has announced the shortlist of the 2024 Dylan Thomas Prize. The shortlisted titles, chosen from a longlist announced in January, are: A Spell of...
‘Greenwild’ wins 2024 Waterstones Children’s Book of the Year
Monday, 25 March 2024
In the UK, Greenwild: The world behind the door (Pari Thomson, illus by Elisa Paganelli, Macmillan) is the overall winner of the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, reports the Bookseller. Now...
Crewe wins 2023 Charlotte Aitken Young Writer of the Year Award
Wednesday, 20 March 2024
In the UK, Tom Crewe has won the 2023 Charlotte Aitken Young Writer of the Year Award, worth £10,000 (A$19,404), for The New Life (Vintage). Crewe’s novel was chosen from a...
Publishers ask court to uphold finding against Internet Archive
Tuesday, 19 March 2024
In the US, publishers Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins, Penguin Random House and Wiley have filed a brief in the Second Circuit court of appeals asking that the court uphold Judge...
‘The Bee Sting’ wins Nero Book Prize
Monday, 18 March 2024
The Bee Sting by Paul Murray (Hamish Hamilton) has won the overall Nero Book Prize, worth £30,000 (A$57,684). Murray’s novel was chosen unanimously as the winner by a judging panel chaired...
Carnegie Medal 2024 shortlists announced
Thursday, 14 March 2024
In the UK, the 2024 shortlists for the Carnegie Medal for Illustration (previously known as the Kate Greenaway Medal for Illustration) and the Carnegie Medal for Writing have been announced....
Berry wins overall Writers’ Prize for ‘The Home Child’
Thursday, 14 March 2024
Poet Liz Berry is the winner of the 2024 Writers' Prize overall Book of the Year award, worth £30,000 (A$58,000), for The Home Child (Vintage). Berry’s novel-in-verse was inspired by the...
Global book report highlights growing book prices
Wednesday, 13 March 2024
A new Nielsen BookData-GfK study of the global book market has found that publishing revenue and book prices grew in many countries in 2023, reports Publishing Perspectives. The Global Book...
International Booker Prize 2024 longlist
Tuesday, 12 March 2024
The longlist for the 2024 International Booker Prize, worth £50,000 (A$96,900), has been announced. The titles in the running for this year’s prize are: Crooked Plow (Itamar Vieira Junior, trans...
Former PRH, Macmillan executives launch new profit-share publishing venture
Thursday, 7 March 2024
In the US, three former high-level staff from Penguin Random House (PRH) and Macmillan have launched a new publishing company, Authors Equity, reports Publishers Weekly. Former PRH US CEO Madeline...
Amazon ebook anticompetition lawsuit to proceed
Wednesday, 6 March 2024
In the US, a federal judge has formally adopted a magistrate judge’s recommendation that a consumer class action against Amazon for anticompetitive conduct in relation to the ebook market be...
US diversity baseline survey shows ‘incremental’ gains
Tuesday, 5 March 2024
In the US, results from Lee & Low’s 2023 ‘Diversity Baseline’ survey of the publishing workforce have been released, finding the industry ‘has made incremental gains in broadening its workforce...
Spotify adds audiobook-only subscription offer
Monday, 4 March 2024
Music streaming platform Spotify has announced a new subscription category ‘for literary enthusiasts who are looking for more audiobook-specific content’. The new audiobooks access tier, available only in the US...
Lagardère global publishing revenue up 2.2%
Thursday, 29 February 2024
Lagardère, the parent company of Hachette, has reported its publishing revenue for 2023 came in at €2.8 billion (A$4.7b) for 2023, up 2.2% on 2022 as reported and up 1.9%...
Self-publishing platform secures funding for AI-powered publishing
Wednesday, 28 February 2024
Publishing figures Stefan von Holtzbrinck, the owner of Holtzbrinck Publishing Group, which owns Macmillan, and former Penguin CEO Michael Lynton are among those investing in Inkitt, a self-described data-driven publishing...
Charlotte Aitken Young Writer of the Year Award 2023 shortlist announced
Tuesday, 27 February 2024
In the UK, the shortlist for the 2023 Charlotte Aitken Young Writer of the Year Award has been announced, reported the Bookseller. The prize money for the award is £10,000...
PRH to turn Grantham facility into new hub for PRH US in Europe
Monday, 26 February 2024
In the UK, Penguin Random House (PRH) UK’s Grantham Book Services warehouse will be retrofitted to become a new operational hub for PRH US to fulfil orders from customers in...
UK indies struggling to find distribution post-Grantham
Wednesday, 21 February 2024
In the UK, independent publishers are finding distribution ‘particularly challenging’ following last year’s announcement that Grantham Book Services (GBS) will close in 2025, reported the Bookseller. ‘The reality is that...
Glasgow Worldcon chair promises transparency following Hugo censorship
Monday, 19 February 2024
In the US, a report by science fiction and fantasy writers Chris M Barkley and Jason Sanford on the 2023 Hugo Awards—which draws on leaked emails from a member of...
B&N plans to open five stores in Chicago angers Volumes
Thursday, 15 February 2024
In the US, Barnes & Noble (B&N) has announced plans to open five new bookstores in the Chicago area from the coming US spring, after earlier sharing its goal to...
Amazon removes King Charles titles reportedly generated by AI
Wednesday, 14 February 2024
In the UK, Amazon has removed from its website several titles about King Charles, which reportedly were written using artificial intelligence and were said to contain false information about the...
Spears memoir most listened to as Spotify pays publishers ‘tens of millions’
Tuesday, 13 February 2024
Spotify said it has paid audiobook publishers ‘tens of millions’ since launching its limited-streaming audiobook offer to subscribers in the UK, Australia and the US last year, reported the Bookseller....
Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2024 shortlists announced
Monday, 12 February 2024
In the UK, the shortlists for the 2024 Waterstones Children’s Book Prize have been announced. The shortlisted titles in each category are: Illustrated books The Queen Next Door (Marcela Ferreira,...
European publishers welcome EU agreement on AI Act
Thursday, 8 February 2024
In Europe, the Federation of European Publishers (FEP) has welcomed the European Union voting in favour of what the FEP calls the 'world's first concrete regulation of AI', reported the Bookseller....
Indigo considers offer to take chain private
Wednesday, 7 February 2024
In Canada, the board of the Indigo Books & Music bookselling chain, headed by former Penguin Random House CEO Markus Dohle, has established a special committee of independent directors to...
Hugo board members censured, resign, after Gaiman, Kuang, Zhao deemed ineligible in 2023 awards
Tuesday, 6 February 2024
In the US, science fiction authors and readers have been shocked by revelations that works by authors including Neil Gaiman, R F Kuang, and Xiran Jay Zhao were deemed ineligible...
Vivendi considers plans to put Hachette on stock market
Monday, 5 February 2024
In France, Vivendi, which acquired Hachette parent company Lagardère in 2023, has detailed plans to split Vivendi into four entities, each of which would be listed on the stock market,...
