Amazon reportedly plans to open US department stores
Monday, 23 August 2021
Amazon is planning to open large department-style stores in the US, reports the Wall Street Journal (WSJ). According to the WSJ, the retail spaces will be around 30,000 square feet...
Sharjah Book Authority launches pro-reading campaign
Friday, 20 August 2021
In the United Arab Emirates, the Sharjah Book Authority (SBA) has launched a new pro-reading campaign with the slogan ‘If you’re into something, you’re into books’, reports Publishing Perspectives. The...
US half-yearly bookstore sales up 30%
Wednesday, 18 August 2021
In the US, bookstore sales in the first half of 2021 rose 30.3% compared to the same period last year, reports Publishers Weekly. Bookstore sales rose from US$2.82 billion (A$3.9b)...
Hachette Book Group to acquire Workman Publishing
Tuesday, 17 August 2021
In the US, Hachette Book Group (HBG) will acquire independent publisher Workman Publishing in a US$240 million (A$327m) deal, reports Publishers Weekly. Workman Publishing, which has about 300 employees across...
Picador apologises over response to criticism of Orwell Prize-winner
Wednesday, 11 August 2021
In the UK, Kate Clanchy will partially rewrite her 2020 Orwell Prize-winning book Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me as publisher Picador says it’s ‘profoundly sorry’ for...
HarperCollins reports revenue up 19%, profit up 42%
Monday, 9 August 2021
HarperCollins has reported a record profit and 19% revenue growth in the 2021 fiscal year, according to parent company News Corp’s annual results. The publisher reported revenue of US$1.98 billion...
UK authors, illustrators protest mooted copyright changes
Tuesday, 3 August 2021
In the UK, over 2600 authors and illustrators have signed an open letter to protest the government’s reconsideration of copyright and trade laws, reports Publishing Perspectives. The letter comes after...
US reading time up 21%
Friday, 30 July 2021
Survey results from the US Department of Labor found people were spending 21% more time reading in May–December 2020, compared to the same period in 2019, reports Publishers Weekly. According...
Polari Prize shortlists announced
Thursday, 29 July 2021
In the UK, the shortlists for the Polari Prizes for LGBTQ+ literature have been announced, reports the Bookseller. The titles shortlisted for the £2000 (A$3770) Polari Prize, which awards an...
Booker Prize 2021 longlist announced
Tuesday, 27 July 2021
The longlist for the 2021 Booker Prize has been announced. The 13 books longlisted for the £50,000 (A$93,600) prize are: A Passage North (Anuk Arudpragasam, Granta) Second Place (Rachel Cusk,...
Scholastic sales down 13%
Monday, 26 July 2021
Scholastic has reported a 13% drop in sales for the year ending 31 May. Revenue declined US$186.8 million (A$253.6m) to US$1.3 billion (A$1.76b), due to lower sales through Scholastic’s book...
Warwick appointed Scholastic CEO
Tuesday, 20 July 2021
Peter Warwick has been appointed Scholastic president and CEO, succeeding long-time chairman, president and CEO Dick Robinson, reports Publishers Weekly. Warwick, a Scholastic board member since 2014, will be the...
Italian book sales up 44% in first half
Wednesday, 14 July 2021
Trade book sales in Italy have grown 44% in unit sales and 42% in value in the first six months of 2021, according to the Italian Publisher's Association (AIE). The...
US print book sales up 18.5% in first half of 2021
Monday, 12 July 2021
In the US, print book unit sales were up 18.5% in the first half of this year compared to the same period in 2020, reports Publishers Weekly. All the major...
US author Choi wins £30k Sunday Times Audible Short Story Award
Friday, 9 July 2021
US author Susan Choi has won the £30,000 ($A55,665) 2021 Sunday Times Audible Short Story Award for her ‘luminous’ story ‘Flashlight’, reports the Bookseller. ‘Flashlight’ follows a 10-year-old girl who...
US supply chain struggles with high costs, service disruptions
Thursday, 8 July 2021
In the US, the book industry supply chain is struggling under the challenges of truck driver shortages, widespread port congestion and skyrocketing container costs, according to a Book Industry Study...
‘A Kind of Spark’ wins Waterstones Children’s Book Prize
Friday, 2 July 2021
In the UK, Scottish author Elle McNicoll has won the overall £5000 (A$9215) Waterstones Children’s Book Prize for her debut novel A Kind of Spark (Knights of Media), reports the...
Sri Lankan writer D’Almeida wins overall Commonwealth Short Story Prize
Thursday, 1 July 2021
Sri Lankan writer Kanya D’Almeida has been named the overall winner of the 2021 Commonwealth Short Story Prize for her story ‘I Cleaned The—'. D’Almeida’s story is about “‘dirty work’:...
Smith, Yaffa win 2021 Orwell Prizes
Monday, 28 June 2021
UK novelist Ali Smith and US journalist Joshua Yaffa have won this year’s Orwell Prizes for political fiction and political writing respectively, reports the Bookseller. Smith was awarded the political...
Mantel wins Walter Scott Prize for ‘The Mirror & Light’
Monday, 21 June 2021
In the UK, Hilary Mantel has won the £25,000 (A$46,155) Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction for The Mirror & the Light (Fourth Estate)—11 years after the first book in...
Reynolds, Smith win 2021 Carnegie, Greenaway medals
Thursday, 17 June 2021
The UK Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) has announced the winners of the 2021 Carnegie and Kate Greenaway medals. Jason Reynolds won the Carnegie Medal for children’s...
Pulitzer Prize winners announced
Wednesday, 16 June 2021
In the US, the winners of the Pulitzer Prizes were announced at a virtual ceremony on 11 June, reports Publishers Weekly. Louise Erdrich won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction for...
Waterstones profit down 8.4% in 2020
Tuesday, 15 June 2021
UK bookselling chain Waterstones’ after-tax profit fell 8.4% to £20.8 million (A$38m) in the year to 25 April 2020, reports the Bookseller. Revenue was down 4.3% on 2019 to £376...
Frankfurt plans for in-person event
Friday, 11 June 2021
Frankfurt Book Fair organisers are planning on hosting an in-person fair this year from October 20–24, reports Publishers Weekly. Fair director Juergen Boos told Publishers Weekly the fair ‘will be...
Hazareesingh wins £40,000 Wolfson History Prize
Thursday, 10 June 2021
In the UK, Sudhir Hazareesingh has won the £40,000 (A$73,045) Wolfson History Prize for Black Spartacus: The epic life of Toussaint Louverture (Allen Lane), reports the Bookseller. Black Spartacus is...
UK book industry unites for ‘Save Our Books’ copyright campaign
Wednesday, 9 June 2021
In the UK, publishing industry organisations have launched a campaign against mooted changes to copyright laws they claim would lead to a flood of cheap copies of UK books coming...
Bloomsbury records ‘outstanding’ results in 2020
Tuesday, 8 June 2021
In the UK, Bloomsbury recorded an ‘outstanding’ financial year, as shown in its 2020 preliminary results, with sales up 14% to £185.1 million (A$338.2m) and profit up 22% to £19.2 million...
UK backlist titles up during lockdowns
Monday, 7 June 2021
In the UK, Nielsen BookScan data has found demand for backlist titles increased over lockdown, reports the Bookseller. A report from Enders Analysis covers the shift in demand from frontlist...
US audiobook sales grows 12%
Friday, 4 June 2021
In the US, an Audio Publishers Association report found audiobook revenue grew 12% to US$1.3 billion (A$1.7 billion) last year, reports Publishing Perspectives. The result is the ninth year in...
French author Diop wins International Booker Prize
Thursday, 3 June 2021
French author David Diop has won the £50,000 (A$91,400) International Booker Prize for his novel At Night All Blood is Black (trans by Anna Moschovakis, Pushkin). The judges described At...
