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Waterstones debut fiction prize shortlist announced

Monday, 17 July 2023
In the UK, the shortlist for the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize, worth £5000 (A$9570), has been announced, reports the Bookseller. The six titles shortlisted for the award are: Wandering Souls...

Harlequin to introduce TikTok-inspired imprint

Wednesday, 12 July 2023
In the US, Harlequin will launch a new imprint, Afterglow Books, reports Publishers Weekly. Harlequin said the imprint will ‘build upon the popularity of TikTok's #spicytok content’, and target contemporary...

US book sales down 2.7% YTD

Tuesday, 11 July 2023
In the US, book sales in the first half of the year were down 2.7% compared to the same period last year according to data from Circana BookScan, reports Publishers...

UK indie publishers make more than half of sales overseas

Monday, 10 July 2023
British independent publishers are generating more than half their revenue from overseas, the Bookseller reports. The 2023 Independent Publishing Report, from industry group the Independent Publishers Guild (IPG), found that...

German book market slightly down in 2022

Thursday, 6 July 2023
Sales of books in Germany fell 1.9% in 2022 compared to the previous year, reports Publishing Perspectives. Germany’s publishers and booksellers association, Börsenverein, reported that turnover for the year totalled...

French book sales drop 5.4%

Tuesday, 4 July 2023
Sales by French book publishers fell 5.4% in 2022, to a total of €2.9 billion (A$4.7b), reports the Bookseller. The number of books sold fell 7.7% to 448.5 million, according...

200,000 attend first in-person Beijing fair since 2019

Monday, 3 July 2023
Around 200,000 visitors attended the 29th Beijing International Book Fair (BIBF), which ran from 15–18 June, reports Publishing Perspectives. This year’s fair was the first in-person event since 2019, when...

UK gov to consult on PLR scheme

Friday, 30 June 2023
The UK government has launched a consultation into its Public Lending Right (PLR) scheme, which provides authors with up to £6,600 (A$12,570) from loans of their books from libraries in...

Jamaican author McPherson wins Commonwealth Short Story Prize

Wednesday, 28 June 2023
Jamaican writer Kwame McPherson has been named the overall winner of the 2023 Commonwealth Short Story Prize for his story ‘Ocoee’. ‘Oocee’ interweaves Caribbean folklore and stories from African-American history....

BookTok drives UK export sales to Europe

Tuesday, 27 June 2023
In the UK, the Publishers Association’s (PA) Year in Publishing Report for 2022 showed the export market was a ‘huge’ factor in last year’s industry growth, with an 8% rise...

New bid for S&S

Friday, 23 June 2023
Simon & Schuster (S&S) has received a buyout bid from investor Richard Hurowitz, with backing from Abu Dhabi sovereign investor Mubadala Investment Company, reports the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), citing people familiar with...

Ros, Zdung win Yoto Carnegie medals

Thursday, 22 June 2023
In the UK, the winners of the Yoto Carnegie medals for writing and illustration for children and young people have been announced. Welsh author Manon Steffan Ros won the Yoto...

US children’s literature diversity on the rise 

Friday, 16 June 2023
In the US, 40% of 2022 children’s book released had a Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC) author, illustrator or compiler, a new report has found, reports Publishers Weekly. The...

Gilbert withdraws Russian-set novel from publication

Wednesday, 14 June 2023
US author Elizabeth Gilbert is pulling her novel The Snow Forest from publication, in response to a backlash from Ukrainian readers unhappy about the book being set in Russia, reports...

Vivendi’s purchase of Lagardère approved

Tuesday, 13 June 2023
The European Commission has approved French media company Vivendi’s acquisition of Hachette parent company Lagardère, reports Publishers Weekly. Vivendi’s properties include the French book publisher Editis. However, to have its...

Joseph wins RSL Christopher Bland Prize

Friday, 9 June 2023
In the UK, actor and author Paterson Joseph has won the Royal Society of Literature (RSL) Christopher Bland Prize for The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho (Dialogue), reports the...

US publishing sales up 3.2% in first quarter

Thursday, 8 June 2023
In the US, total publishing industry sales rose 3.2% in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the same period last year, reports Publishers Weekly. According to the AAP’s StatShot...

UK Publishers Association sets up AI taskforce

Wednesday, 7 June 2023
In the UK, the Publishers Association (PA) has formed an AI taskforce to help the industry navigate new developments in artificial intelligence technology, reports the Bookseller. PA CEO Dan Conway...

UK bookshop sales down 3.5% YTD

Tuesday, 6 June 2023
In the UK, analysis from the Bookseller has found bookshop sales are down 3.5% by volume for the first 21 weeks of the year compared to the same period last...

US audiobook market grows 10%

Friday, 2 June 2023
In the US, audiobook revenue grew 10% in 2022 to US$1.8 billion (A$2.7b) in total sales, according to a survey of 28 Audio Publishers Association members (APA), reports Publishers Weekly....

Record year of sales for Bloomsbury

Thursday, 1 June 2023
In the UK, Bloomsbury has reported another record performance in the year to end of February 2023, with sales up 15% and profit up 16%, reports the Bookseller. Sales for...

Shortlists announced for James Tait Black prizes

Wednesday, 31 May 2023
In the UK, the shortlists for the James Tait Black prizes have been announced. The shortlisted titles in each category are: Fiction Bitter Orange Tree (Jokha Alharthi, trans by Marilyn...

Alabanza, Jawando win 2023 Jhalak Prizes

Monday, 29 May 2023
In the UK, the winners of the 2022 Jhalak prizes, which recognise ‘authors who feel that their work is often marginalised unless it fulfils a romantic fetishisation of their cultural...