Frankfurt reveals virtual program details
16 July 2020
The organisers of the Frankfurt Book Fair, which will run from 12–18 October, have revealed the details of the fair’s virtual program, reports the Bookseller. As previously reported, in May...
BA welcomes Gardners expansion
14 July 2020
In the UK, the Booksellers Association (BA) has welcomed the news that wholesaler Gardners has bought assets of Bertrams, the book wholesaler that went into administration earlier this year. Last...
US half-year print book sales up 2.8%
13 July 2020
In the US, print book sales in the first half of 2020 were up 2.8% on the same period in 2019 according to NPD BookScan, reports Publishers Weekly. In the...
Clanchy, Whitehead win 2020 Orwell Prize
10 July 2020
UK author Kate Clanchy and US novelist Colson Whitehead have won this year's Orwell Prizes for political writing and political fiction respectively, reports the Bookseller. Each prize is worth £3000 (A$5435)....
German book sales down 8.3% in year to June
9 July 2020
In Germany, book sales are down 8.3% for the year to June, according to the German Publishers and Booksellers Association. The overall drop in sales represents a recovery from a...
Gardners owner makes Bertrams asset purchase
8 July 2020
The Little Group, owner of UK book wholesaler Gardners, has agreed to an asset purchase of book wholesaler the Bertram Group, which went into administration earlier this year. Books+Publishing understands...
Johnson wins 2020 PEN Pinter Prize
8 July 2020
In the UK, poet and reggae artist Linton Kwesi Johnson has been awarded the 2020 PEN Pinter Prize. Prize judge Claire Armitstead said: ‘Once we had laid our nominations on...
Owusu wins 2020 £10,000 Desmond Elliott Prize
3 July 2020
Derek Owusu has won the Desmond Elliott Prize for first-time novelists for his verse novel That Reminds Me (#Merky Books). Owusu’s book, the semi-autobiographical story of a British-Ghanaian boy called...
Indian writer Pandey named overall winner of 2020 Commonwealth Short Story Prize
1 July 2020
Indian writer Kritika Pandey has been named the overall winner of the 2020 Commonwealth Short Story Prize for her story ‘The Great Indian Tee and Snakes’. Pandey’s story explores forbidden...
Pan Mac and Nosy Crow win at 2020 British Book Awards; ‘Queenie’ wins book of the year
30 June 2020
In the UK, the winners of the 2020 British Book Awards, known as the ‘Nibbies’, have been announced. In the trade section of the awards, Pan Macmillan was named publisher...
Furloughed UK staff return to work
29 June 2020
In the UK, major publishers are planning for furloughed staff to return to work, with most saying they have no plans to make redundancies, reports the Bookseller. As previously reported,...
UK book sales up 30% as bookshops reopen
25 June 2020
In the UK, almost 4 million books were sold in the first six days after bookshops reopened last week, an almost 30% jump on the same week last year, reports...
Macmillan US sets up inclusive management team; CEO steps back
24 June 2020
In the US, Macmillan Publishing will establish a 13-member trade management committee to set goals and objectives for its trade publishers, divisions and departments, reports Publishers Weekly. In a letter...
UK publishing staff share salaries to promote pay transparency
23 June 2020
In the UK, a document inviting publishing staff to share their salaries is circulating in the industry, reports the Bookseller. Nearly 900 staff have entered their salary, experience, ethnicity, sexual...
Bertrams enters administration
22 June 2020
In the UK, wholesaler Bertrams has gone into administration and will be making company-wide redundancies, reports the Bookseller. As previously reported, Bertrams was put up for sale in May after...
US bookshop sales down 65% in April
17 June 2020
According to US Census Bureau estimates, bookshop sales fell 65.3% in April compared to the same month in 2019, reports Publishers Weekly. Physical sales at bookshops fell in April by...
Abulafia wins Wolfson History Prize for ‘The Boundless Sea’
16 June 2020
In the UK, David Abulafia’s The Boundless Sea (Allen Lane)—a history of humankind told through its relationship with the world’s oceans—has won the £40,000 (A$72,670) Wolfson History Prize. Judging panel chair...
Hickey wins Walter Scott Prize for ‘The Narrow Land’
16 June 2020
Irish author Christine Dwyer Hickey has won the £25,000 (A$45,450) Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction for her novel The Narrow Land (Atlantic). Hickey, whose novel explores the marriage of...
Revenue up, profit down at Wiley
15 June 2020
In the UK, Wiley has reported a marginal gain in revenue and a drop in profit in the year to April 2020, reports the Bookseller. Wiley reported revenue of US$1.83...
US publishing sales down 16% in April
12 June 2020
In the US, total publishing sales fell 16% in April compared to the same month in 2019 according to the AAP’s Statshot program, reports Publishers Weekly. The drop in total...
US publishers pledge to increase diversity
10 June 2020
In the US, three of the Big Five publishers have pledged to diversify their workforce and publish more Black authors, following a collective action to protest the industry’s role in...
US publishing staff take collective action to protest industry’s role in systemic racism
9 June 2020
In the US, more than 1100 workers in the publishing and media industries took a day off from work to spend time in service of the Black community on June...
Hachette, S&S, Bloomsbury latest publishers to skip Frankfurt
4 June 2020
Hachette, Simon & Schuster and Bloomsbury are the latest publishers to announce they won’t exhibit at this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair. HarperCollins, Bonnier Books UK and Pan Macmillan UK, as...
Book trade shows support for Black Lives Matter
2 June 2020
The UK book trade is supporting the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of protests following the killing of unarmed black man George Floyd by police in the US,...
US publishers sue Internet Archive for copyright infringement
2 June 2020
In the US, publishers including Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins, John Wiley & Sons and Penguin Random House have filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against the Internet Archive, reports Publishers Weekly....
Major publishers to skip Frankfurt’s physical event
1 June 2020
HarperCollins, Bonnier Books UK and Pan Macmillan UK won’t attend Frankfurt Book Fair’s physical event, while other UK publishers and agents are uncertain about attending, reports the Bookseller. As previously...
Karp appointed S&S CEO
29 May 2020
In the US, Jonathan Karp has been appointed president and CEO of Simon & Schuster (S&S), reports Publishers Weekly. Karp will succeed Carolyn Reidy, who died from a heart attack...
Pitts wins 2020 Jhalak Prize for ‘Afropean: Notes from Black Europe’
28 May 2020
In the UK, writer and broadcast journalist Johny Pitts has won the Jhalak Prize for black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) writers, for Afropean: Notes From Black Europe (Penguin Press),...
UK publishers prepare for crowded autumn release schedule
25 May 2020
In the UK, publishers are preparing to battle for shelf space and media attention due to the number of key spring and summer titles shifting into the European autumn, reports...
RWA retires RITA Awards
22 May 2020
In the US, the Romance Writers of America (RWA) will retire its annual RITA Awards, which have been presented annually since 1982, reports Publishers Weekly. The move follows the cancellation...
