Authors boycott Frankfurt over right-wing publisher
Friday, 22 October 2021
A handful of authors have cancelled their appearances at this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair to protest the presence of German New Right publisher Jungeuropa, reports the Bookseller. Jungeuropa is run...
US$75k Cundill History Prize finalists announced
Thursday, 21 October 2021
The three finalists for the 2021 Cundill History Prize, which rewards ‘the best history writing in English’, have been announced. The finalists are: Survivors: Children’s lives after the Holocaust (Rebecca Clifford,...
Strubel wins 2021 German Book Prize
Wednesday, 20 October 2021
In Germany, Antje Rávik Strubel has won the 2021 German Book Prize for her novel Blaue Frau (S Fischer). Blaue Frau, which translates as Blue Woman in English, was chosen...
Winner of €1m Spanish prize revealed to be three men
Tuesday, 19 October 2021
In Spain, the winner of the €1 million (A$1.57m) Planeta Prize, Carmen Mola, has been revealed as a pseudonym for three men, reports the Bookseller. Carmen Mola won the prize...
Baillie Gifford Prize 2021 shortlist announced
Monday, 18 October 2021
In the UK, the shortlist for this year’s Baillie Gifford Prize for Nonfiction, formerly the Samuel Johnson Prize, has been announced. The six shortlisted books are: Islands of Abandonment: Life...
T S Eliot Prize shortlist announced
Friday, 15 October 2021
In the UK, the shortlist for this year’s T S Eliot Prize for Poetry, worth £25,000 (A$46,100) has been announced. The 10 shortlisted poetry collections are: Eat Or We Both...
Rooney turns down translation rights offer from Israeli publisher
Wednesday, 13 October 2021
Irish novelist Sally Rooney has turned down an offer to have her latest novel, Beautiful World, Where Are You (Faber), translated into Hebrew by Israeli publisher Modan, reports the Guardian....
Bloomsbury withdraws Haigh cookbook
Tuesday, 12 October 2021
In the UK, Bloomsbury has withdrawn a cookbook by Michelin-starred chef and former MasterChef contestant Elizabeth Haigh from circulation, reports the Bookseller. Makan: Recipes from the heart of Singapore was...
Italian book sales rise 29%
Monday, 11 October 2021
In Italy, book sales have risen by 29% in the first nine months of the year, compared to the same period in 2020, reports Publishing Perspectives. According to data from...
Gurnah awarded the 2021 Nobel Prize for Literature
Friday, 8 October 2021
Zanzibar-born British novelist Abdulrazak Gurnah has been awarded the 2021 Nobel Prize for Literature, reports Publishers Weekly. Gurnah was named winner at a ceremony at the Swedish Academy in Stockholm...
Giller Prize 2021 shortlist announced
Thursday, 7 October 2021
In Canada, the shortlist for the C$100,000 (A$109,250) 2021 Giller Prize for the best Canadian fiction published in English has been announced. The shortlisted novels are: What Strange Paradise (Omar...
Goldsmiths Prize 2021 shortlist announced
Thursday, 7 October 2021
In the UK, the shortlist for the 2021 Goldsmiths Prize, worth £10,000 (A$18,700), has been announced. The shortlisted novels are: Checkout 19 (Claire-Louise Bennett, Jonathan Cape) Assembly (Natasha Brown, Hamish Hamilton) A...
National Book Awards 2021 shortlists announced
Wednesday, 6 October 2021
In the US, the finalists for the 2021 National Book Awards have been announced. The shortlisted titles are: Fiction Cloud Cuckoo Land (Anthony Doerr, Fourth Estate) Matrix (Lauren Groff, William...
Whitfield wins Glass Bell Award for ‘People of Abandoned Character’
Tuesday, 5 October 2021
In the UK, Clare Whitfield has won the £2000 (A$3650) Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Award for her debut novel People of Abandoned Character (Head of Zeus), reports the Bookseller. Described...
Canadian book sales up 11%
Monday, 4 October 2021
In its annual look at Canadian publishing, Publishers Weekly reports that print sales for the first six months of this year were up 11.2% over the same period in 2020,...
France proposes minimum rates for book deliveries
Friday, 1 October 2021
In France, lawmakers are considering a draft law that would stop Amazon from offering virtually free delivery for book purchases, reports Politico. The draft law, which has the backing of...
Frankfurt expecting up to 800 international delegates
Thursday, 30 September 2021
The Bookseller reports that Frankfurt Book Fair organisers are expecting between 700 and 800 international delegates to attend this year’s event, which runs from 20–24 October. The number is down...
US$75k Cundill History Prize shortlist announced
Tuesday, 28 September 2021
The shortlist for the 2021 Cundill History Prize, which rewards ‘the best history writing in English’, has been announced. The shortlisted books are: The Loss of Hindustan: The invention of...
FT and McKinsey Business Book of the Year 2021 shortlist announced
Monday, 27 September 2021
In the UK, the shortlist for the Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award has been announced. This year’s six shortlisted books are: The World for Sale:...
‘Gustavo the Shy Ghost’ wins 2021 Klaus Flugge Prize
Thursday, 23 September 2021
Flavia Z Drago has won the £5000 (A$9400) Klaus Flugge Prize for most promising newcomer to children’s picture book illustration for Gustavo the Shy Ghost (Walker Books). The book is...
Dohle assures agents of competitive bidding between PRH, S&S
Wednesday, 22 September 2021
Penguin Random House (PRH) CEO Markus Dohle has told literary agents in a Zoom chat that, following the acquisition of Simon & Schuster (S&S), editors at PRH and S&S will...
Bookshop.org, BA to help underrepresented communities open indie bookshops
Tuesday, 21 September 2021
In the UK, Bookshop.org and the Booksellers Association (BA) have launched a program to help launch and foster new bookshops founded by members of underrepresented communities. The New Futures program...
Joyce wins £10,000 Wilbur Smith prize for ‘Miss Benson’s Beetle’
Monday, 20 September 2021
In the UK, Rachel Joyce has won the £10,000 (A$18,900) Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize for her novel Miss Benson’s Beetle (Black Swan), reports the Bookseller. Set in 1950, the book follows Margery...
Rival French publishing company ups stake in Lagardère
Friday, 17 September 2021
In France, media company Vivendi has upped its stake in Hachette Livre parent company Lagardère to over 45% ownership, reports the Financial Times. Vivendi, which owns French publisher Editis, has...
Booker Prize 2021 shortlist announced
Wednesday, 15 September 2021
The shortlist for the 2021 Booker Prize has been announced. The six books shortlisted for the £50,000 (A$94,300) prize are: A Passage North (Anuk Arudpragasam, Granta) The Promise (Damon Galgut, Chatto & Windus)...
US investment fund becomes largest WHSmith shareholder
Tuesday, 14 September 2021
A US-based investment fund has become the largest shareholder of WHSmith after it upped its stake in the company to around 9%, reports the Times. ‘We are firm believers in...
Canongate revenue up 16% in 2020
Monday, 13 September 2021
In the UK, Canongate Books recorded a turnover of £13.9 million (A$26.1m) in 2020, up 16% on its 2019 result, reports the Bookseller. The company’s pre-tax profit totalled £2.6 million...
Amazon, Big Five seek to dismiss indie booksellers’ price-fixing claim
Friday, 10 September 2021
In the US, Amazon and the Big Five publishers have made separate filings asking a federal court to dismiss the latest iteration of a price-fixing claim filed against them on...
Clarke wins Women’s Prize for Fiction for ‘Piranesi’
Thursday, 9 September 2021
In the UK, Susanna Clarke has won the £30,000 (A$56,100) Women's Prize for Fiction for her second novel Piranesi (Bloomsbury), reports the Bookseller. Clarke’s novel, published long after her award-winning...
Wainwright Prizes for nature, conservation writing winners
Wednesday, 8 September 2021
In the UK, the winners of the Wainwright Prizes for nature and conservation writing have been announced, reports the Bookseller. James Rebanks won the nature category for English Pastoral (Allen...
