B&N plans to open five stores in Chicago angers Volumes
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
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’
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
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
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
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
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
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,...
Children’s authors, editors sign open letter calling for ceasefire
1 February 2024
In the US, over 3500 children’s authors, illustrators, agents, editors, and other members of the children's literature community have signed an open letter to US President Joe Biden as the...
Inaugural Nero Book Award category winners announced
31 January 2024
The four category winners of the inaugural Nero Book Awards have been announced. Winners are: Children’s fiction The Swifts (Beth Lincoln, illus by Claire Powell, Puffin) Debut fiction Close to...
Texas book rating law blocked in Court of Appeals
25 January 2024
In a development Publishers Weekly described as ‘a major victory for freedom to read advocates’, the Fifth Circuit of the US Court of Appeals upheld a lower court decision to...
Newbery, Caldecott, Printz 2024 winners announced
23 January 2024
In the US, the American Library Association (ALA) has announced the winners of its Youth Media Awards, including the Newbery and Caldecott medals and the Printz award, reports Publishers Weekly (PW). Dave...
Atria sends influencer on ‘ultimate world cruise’
22 January 2024
In the US, Atria Books has explained its decision to sponsor non-reader Marc Sebastian to travel the Antarctica leg of an 'ultimate world cruise', after some BookTok users criticised the...
New organisation to ‘certify’ fair AI
18 January 2024
In the US, the Association of American Publishers is among those supporting a new nonprofit organisation called Fairly Trained that aims to ‘certify fair training data use’ in generative AI,...
Audible to cut staff
17 January 2024
Audible CEO Bob Carrigan, in a memo to staff, said that Audible is cutting its workforce, reports Publishers Weekly (PW). PW said the cuts are believed to be about 5%...
Allen-Paisant wins 2023 T S Eliot Prize
16 January 2024
In the UK, Jason Allen-Paisant has won the 2023 T S Eliot Prize, worth £25,000 (A$47,773), for his collection Self-Portrait as Othello (Carcanet Press), reports the Bookseller. Self-Portrait as Othello...
Harper launches YA imprint
15 January 2024
In the UK, HarperCollins Children’s Books (HCCB) is launching a new YA imprint, Harper Fire, reports the Bookseller. HarperCollins said the new imprint would be a chance to 'publish standout,...
B&N aims to open 50 stores in 2024
11 January 2024
In the US, Barnes & Noble (B&N) CEO James Daunt has announced the chain has set a goal of opening 50 new stores in 2024, reports Publishers Weekly (PW). According...
Writers’ Prize 2024 shortlist announced
10 January 2024
The shortlist for the 2024 Writers' Prize, formerly the Rathbones Folio Prize, has been announced. The shortlisted books in each category are: Fiction The Wren, The Wren (Anne Enright, Vintage)...
UK sales value up in 2023 as volume declines
9 January 2024
In the UK, an increase in average selling prices meant the market was up by 1.3% in 2023, despite volume sales being down by 5%, reports the Bookseller. According to...
Hoover, Yarros buoy adult fiction as US print sales decline
8 January 2024
In the US, print sales declined 2.6% in 2023, according to Circana BookScan figures, reports Publishers Weekly (PW). Sales were down 4.1% after the first nine months of the year,...
UK in-house staff turning to freelance work in ‘growing trend’
7 December 2023
In the UK, in-house publishing staff are turning to freelance work to avoid burnout, in what the Bookseller calls ‘a growing trend’. The publication spoke with several professionals in publishing...
Edmondson wins FT Book of the Year for ‘Right Kind of Wrong’
6 December 2023
In the UK, Right Kind of Wrong: Why learning to fail can teach us to thrive (Amy Edmondson, Cornerstone Press) has won the 2023 Financial Times Business Book of the Year...
UK volume sales of big names down on 2022
5 December 2023
In the UK, volume sales of 'big brands' including Jamie Oliver, David Walliams and Richard Osman 'have been suffering a contraction in their Christmas run-in hardback releases', reports the Bookseller....
PRH, authors file lawsuit against Iowa book banning law
4 December 2023
In the US, Penguin Random House and the Iowa State Education Association have joined with four authors and five additional plaintiffs to file a federal lawsuit against Iowa to block...
MacInnes wins 2023 Blackwell’s Book of the Year
29 November 2023
In the UK, In Ascension (Martin MacInnes, Atlantic) has been chosen by booksellers as Blackwell’s Book of the Year 2023, reports the Bookseller. The science fiction book, which was longlisted for...
Armfield, Ransom win 2023 Polari Prizes
28 November 2023
In the UK, Julia Armfield and Jon Ransom have won the 2023 Polari Prizes for work that explores LGBTQ+ experience, reports the Bookseller. Armfield won the £2000 (A$3823) Polari Prize,...
Lynch wins 2023 Booker Prize for ‘Prophet Song’, Aus reprint available from Friday
27 November 2023
In the UK, Paul Lynch has won the 2023 Booker Prize, worth £50,000 (A$95,670), for Prophet Song (Oneworld). Prophet Song follows scientist and mother-of-four Eilish Stack as she tries to protect...
Yong wins Royal Society Science Book Prize
23 November 2023
In the UK, Ed Yong has won the 2023 Royal Society Science Book Prize, worth £25,000 (A$47,740) for An Immense World: How animal senses reveal the hidden realms around us (Vintage), reports...
Vaillant wins Baillie Gifford Prize
21 November 2023
In the UK, John Vaillant has won the £50,000 (A$95,350) Baillie Gifford Prize for Fire Weather: A true story from a hotter world (Sceptre). Judges said Fire Weather is a ‘meticulously researched,...
