Posavec, Quick win Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize
10 March 2022
In the UK, Stefanie Posavec and Miriam Quick have won the £10,000 (A$18,000) Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize for I Am a Book. I Am a Portal to the...
‘Solid’ year for B&N: Daunt
7 March 2022
In the US, Barnes & Noble CEO James Daunt has told Publishers Weekly that 2021 was ‘another year of solid growth’ for the chain, with sales for the first eight...
Amazon to close all physical bookstores
4 March 2022
In the US, Amazon is closing all 24 of its physical bookshops after opening the first in November 2015, reports Publishers Weekly. First launching in Seattle, the chain spread to...
Libel claim against HarperCollins UK dismissed
3 March 2022
In the UK, the High Court has dismissed a libel claim brought against HarperCollins and author Tom Burgis over the 2020 book Kleptopia: How dirty money is conquering the world...
US publishers to attend LBF in ‘limited’ capacity; Russia banned from fairs
2 March 2022
Large US publishers including Hachette Book Group and HarperCollins US will only attend this year’s London Book Fair, which runs 5–7 April, in a ‘limited fashion’, reports the Bookseller. This...
Waterstones buy Blackwell’s
1 March 2022
In the UK, Waterstones has bought former family-owned chain Blackwell’s for an undisclosed sum, reports the Bookseller. The funds for the purchase came via Waterstones owner Elliott Advisors, which also...
Scribner launches in Canada
24 February 2022
In Canada, Simon & Schuster (S&S) has announced it is launching Scribner Canada, reports Publishers Weekly. Scribner Canada will publish literary fiction and nonfiction from Canada, as well as titles...
Record earnings, profits for Lagardère in 2021
18 February 2022
Lagardère Publishing grew its revenue by 9.4% in 2021 while increasing profits by 42.7%, reports Publishers Weekly. Lagardère Group reported revenue from its publishing division totalled €2.6 billion (A$4.11b) with...
S&S revenue grows 10% in 2021, profit up 52%
17 February 2022
In the US, Simon & Schuster's (S&S) revenue grew 10% and its operating income was up 52% year-on-year in 2021, on the back of strong performance from its distribution and...
Record year for Bonnier Books
14 February 2022
Bonnier Books reported a record year for sales in 2021, according to Swedish parent company Bonnier Group, reports the Bookseller. Bonnier Books’ 2021 sales totalled SEK 6.9 billion (A$1.04b), up...
Waterstones Children’s Book Prize shortlists announced
11 February 2022
In the UK, the shortlists for the 2022 Waterstones Children’s Book Prize have been announced. Illustrated books Wolfboy (Andy Harkness, Bloomsbury Children’s) Alone! (Barr Falls, Farshore) The Viking Who Liked Icing (Lu...
Folio Prize 2022 shortlist announced
10 February 2022
In the UK, the shortlist for the £30,000 (A$57,000) Rathbones Folio Prize has been announced. The eight shortlisted titles are: Assembly (Natasha Brown, Hamish Hamilton) The Promise (Damon Galgut, Chatto & Windus) Men Who Feed Pigeons (Selima Hill,...
Waterstones reportedly in talks to buy Blackwell’s
8 February 2022
In the UK, Waterstones is in exclusive talks to buy independent book chain Blackwell’s, reports Sky News. The acquisition would mean UK chains Waterstones, Foyles and Blackwell’s, as well as...
Book prices to rise in 2022: Ingram
4 February 2022
In the US, Ingram Content Group has warned that price inflation is set to affect book publishers in 2022 due to higher shipping and printing costs, reports Publishers Weekly. Director...
Lowe wins Costa Book of the Year Award
3 February 2022
In the UK, Hannah Lowe has won the £30,000 (A$57,000) Costa Book of the Year for her poetry collection The Kids (Bloodaxe Books). Lowe, a former London teacher, drew on...
UK indie publishers rally for support as costs spiral
1 February 2022
In the UK, independent publishers are rallying for support in the face of rising costs, including price hikes of up to 40% for printing, reports the Bookseller. Last week the...
Independent UK publishers post record sales despite data gaps
31 January 2022
In the UK, four members of the Independent Alliance posted record annual sales in 2021, despite missing the first 10 weeks of sales data due to lockdowns, reports the Bookseller....
NBCC Awards finalists announced
28 January 2022
In the US, the shortlists for the 2021 National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) Awards have been announced. The finalists include: Fiction The Netanyahus (Joshua Cohen, NYRB) Second Place (Rachel Cusk,...
US publishing sales up 12%: AAP
27 January 2022
US publishers have recorded a 12.2% increase in sales for 2021, according to the latest data from the Association of American Publisher’s StatShot program, reports Publishers Weekly. Sales from the...
Newbery, Caldecott 2022 winners announced
25 January 2022
In the US, the American Library Association (ALA) has announced the winners of its Youth Media Awards, including the Newbery and Caldecott medals, reports Publishers Weekly. Donna Barba Higuera’s middle-grade novel The...
UK book sales by value set new record: Nielsen
24 January 2022
In the UK, Nielsen BookScan has recorded 2021 as the biggest ever year for print book sales by value, reports the Bookseller. In 2021, there was a total of £1.82...
UK government delays decision on copyright changes
19 January 2022
The UK government has decided not to make changes to copyright exhaustion laws following a consultation period, reports the Bookseller. The Intellectual Property Office (IPO), which launched a consultation last...
Taylor wins 2021 T S Eliot Prize
17 January 2022
In the UK, Joelle Taylor has won the 2021 T S Eliot Prize, worth £25,000 (A$47,360), for her collection C+nto & Othered Poems (The Westbourne Press), reports the Bookseller. C+nto & Othered...
Americans reading fewer books: Gallup poll
14 January 2022
A new Gallup poll shows Americans read an average of 12.6 books during the past year, fewer than the average of 15.6 in 2016 and the smallest number Gallup has...
Pilkey tops US print bestsellers
13 January 2022
In the US, children’s book author Dav Pilkey’s Mothering Heights (Dog Man #10) was the bestselling print book in 2021—one of three of Pilkey’s titles to crack the top 25,...
UK, Ireland bookshop numbers grow for fifth consecutive year
12 January 2022
Data from the UK Bookseller’s Association (BA) shows the number of independent bookshops in the UK and Ireland has grown for the fifth year in a row, reports the Bookseller....
US print book sales up 8.9% in 2021
11 January 2022
In the US, print book sales were up 8.9% in 2021 compared to 2020, according to NPD BookScan data, reports Publishers Weekly. A total of 825.7 million print book were...
Vivendi confirms Lagardère takeover bid
10 January 2022
In December, French media company Vivendi completed its purchase of Amber Capital's 17.5% stake in Hachette parent company Lagardère group, bringing its share to 45.1%, reports Publishers Weekly. Under French laws,...
UK supply chain challenges ‘most extreme’ seen: Hachette CEO
9 December 2021
Hachette UK CEO David Shelley has warned ongoing supply chain problems are causing the ‘most extreme’ challenges he’s seen in his career, reports the Bookseller. In his annual letter to...
US ed publishers sue Shopify over alleged selling of pirated material
8 December 2021
In the US, educational publishers have filed a lawsuit in the US District Court for Eastern Virginia accusing ecommerce platform Shopify of selling pirated material, reports Goodereader. Pearson Education, Macmillan...
