Washington wins 2020 Dylan Thomas Prize
15 May 2020
In the UK, US author Bryan Washington has won the 2020 International Dylan Thomas Prize for his debut short story collection, Lot (Atlantic). Swansea University professor and judging panel chair...
UK reading more books in lockdown: Nielsen
15 May 2020
In the UK, Nielsen Book research has found 41% of UK adults are reading more since lockdown started, but only 25% are buying more books, and 18% are buying fewer...
Simon & Schuster CEO Carolyn Reidy dies
13 May 2020
In the US, Simon & Schuster (S&S) president and CEO Carolyn Reidy has died suddenly after experiencing a heart attack. Reidy was 71. Simon & Schuster Australia told Books+Publishing the...
Woodson, Albertine win 2020 Hans Christian Andersen Award
12 May 2020
US writer Jacqueline Woodson and Swiss illustrator Albertine have been named the winners of the 2020 IBBY (International Board on Books for Young People) Hans Christian Andersen Award. Woodson has...
Frankfurt director plans ‘completely different experience’ for this year’s fair
11 May 2020
Frankfurt Book Fair director Juergen Boos has said this year’s fair will go on, but it will be a ‘completely different experience’, reports Publishers Weekly (PW). On social distancing guidelines,...
Survey shows UK small publishers at risk of closing
8 May 2020
A significant proportion of UK and Ireland’s small presses are at risk of closing due to the effects of the Covid-19 lockdown, according to the results of a Bookseller survey....
Faber sales down ‘about a third’ as sales of ‘Normal People’ top 100k in Aus
7 May 2020
In the UK, Faber chief executive Stephen Page has told the Bookseller the publisher’s sales are down by ‘about a third year on year for print’ during the country’s lockdown...
Robinson awarded 2020 Ondaatje Prize for ‘A Portable Paradise’
7 May 2020
In the UK, Roger Robinson has won the £10,000 (A$19,250) Royal Society of Literature’s Ondaatje Prize for his poetry collection A Portable Paradise (Peepal Tree Press). 'The spirit of place in...
Whitehead wins second Pulitzer Prize for ‘The Nickel Boys’
6 May 2020
In the US, Colson Whitehead has won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for fiction for his novel The Nickel Boys (Fleet). He is the fourth person to win the fiction prize...
McGraw Hill and Cengage call off merger
5 May 2020
McGraw Hill and Cengage have ‘mutually agreed to terminate their proposed merger’, according to a statement from McGraw Hill. According to the Bookseller, Cengage said the decision was brought about...
Edgar Allan Poe Awards 2020 winners announced
5 May 2020
In the US, the Mystery Writers of America has announced the winners of the 2020 Edgar Allan Poe Awards, which honour ‘the best in mystery fiction, nonfiction and television’ published...
Gardners re-opens with ‘much reduced staff’
5 May 2020
In the UK, Garners has announced it is again accepting online orders and ‘will look to turning on further methods of accepting orders as soon as we can’, after having...
Bertrams future ‘at risk’
4 May 2020
In the UK, the Sunday Times reports that Bertrams will appoint an administrator, with the Bookseller writing that the book wholesaler’s future is ‘at risk’ following the sale of its...
Amazon’s first quarter sales up 26%, net earnings down 31%
4 May 2020
In the US, Amazon has posted a 26% increase in revenue in the first quarter of 2020, up to US$75.5 billion (A$118.2b), reports Publishers Weekly. Sales through the company’s online...
Covid-19 hits first quarter sales at Bertelsmann, Lagardère
1 May 2020
The parent companies of Hachette and Penguin Random House (PRH) have both reported first-quarter revenue declines due to the challenges of Covid-19. According to Publishers Weekly, Lagardère—the parent company of...
Shortlist announced for £40k Wolfson History Prize
30 April 2020
In the UK, the shortlist for the £40,000 (A$76,200) Wolfson History Prize shortlist has been announced. The shortlisted titles are: The Boundless Sea: A Human History of the Oceans (David Abulafia,...
UK to introduce micro-loan scheme for small businesses
28 April 2020
In the UK, the government will introduce a new micro-loan scheme for small businesses, in response to the impact of the coronavirus lockdown, reports the Bookseller. From 4 May, businesses...
Pearson reports 5% decline in first quarter update
27 April 2020
Pearson has announced a 5% decline in revenue in its first quarter update, in line with revised expectations reported in March due to Covid-19. It also reported a 10% decline...
Bologna releases schedule for virtual book fair
27 April 2020
Organisers of the Bologna Children’s Book Fair (BCBF) have released the schedule for the virtual book fair, which will take place across BCBF's digital channels from 4–7 May. Among the...
Global publishing bodies call for economic stimulus for book trade
24 April 2020
The International Publishers Association (IPA), along with several other peak publishing industry bodies, has urged governments around the world to adopt ‘economic stimulus packages to sustain their respective publishing sectors...
Amazon revealed as anonymous £250k donor to UK bookseller hardship fund
24 April 2020
In the UK, Amazon has been revealed as the anonymous donor that pledged £250,000 (A$488,600) to a crowdfunding campaign to help booksellers affected by the Covid-19 crisis, reports the Bookseller....
Mystery donor pledges £250k to UK bookseller hardship fund
23 April 2020
In the UK, a crowdfunding campaign has raised around £380,000 (A$742,700) for booksellers affected by the Covid-19 crisis, after a mystery donor pledged £250,000 (A$488,600), reports the Bookseller. Penguin Random...
Women’s Prize for Fiction shortlist announced
22 April 2020
The 2020 shortlist for the £30,000 (A$58,600) Women's Prize for Fiction has been announced. The shortlisted novels are: Girl, Woman, Other (Bernardine Evaristo, Hamish Hamilton) The Mirror & The Light...
International Booker postponed amid distribution disruption
21 April 2020
The Booker Prize Foundation has postponed the International Booker Prize winner announcement due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The award was originally set to be announced on 19 May, but will...
Shortlist for £10,000 Ondaatje Prize announced
21 April 2020
The 2020 shortlist for the £10,000 (A$19,520) Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize has been announced. The annual award recognises books ‘of the highest literary merit—fiction, nonfiction or poetry—which best...
PW launches #BooksAreEssential campaign
20 April 2020
US trade publication Publishers Weekly (PW) has launched a new social media campaign to promote the importance of books. The #BooksAreEssential hashtag was created in response to the shutdown of...
Court limits Amazon France to delivery of essential items
17 April 2020
In France, Amazon has closed six of its warehouses after a court ruling stopped the delivery of nonessential items, reports the Bookseller. The court in Nanterre found that Amazon had...
Aissaoui wins US$50k International Prize for Arabic Fiction
16 April 2020
Algerian author Abdelouahab Aissaoui has won the International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF) for his novel The Spartan Court, which tells the story of the French campaign against Algiers in...
PRH Spain introduces online direct sales platform
15 April 2020
In Spain, Penguin Random House (PRH) has launched Mugustaleer, a direct sales ecommerce platform for print books, after several weeks of country-wide lockdown measures that have included bookshop closures. Ten...
Shortlist announced for 2020 Jhalak Prize for BAME writers
15 April 2020
The shortlist for the UK’s Jhalak Prize for black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) writers has been announced. The shortlisted titles are: The Black Flamingo (Dean Atta, Hodder Children’s) Remembered...
