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O’Farrell wins 2020 Women’s Prize for ‘Hamnet’

Thursday, 10 September 2020
UK author Maggie O’Farrell has won the 2020 Women’s Prize for Fiction for her novel Hamnet (Tinder Press). Chosen from a shortlist of six and a longlist of 16, Hamnet is inspired...

No physical exhibitors at 2020 Frankfurt Book Fair

Wednesday, 9 September 2020
This year’s Frankfurt Book Fair won’t feature physical exhibitors due to the Covid-19 pandemic, reports the Bookseller. Organisers said it was no longer feasible to hold the planned ‘special edition’...

Hachette UK buys Laurence King Publishing

Thursday, 3 September 2020
Hachette UK has acquired arts and gift specialist Laurence King Publishing (LKP), reports the Bookseller. Under the deal, which was made for an undisclosed sum, managing director Laurence King will...

First phase of online-only Beijing Book Fair begins

Friday, 28 August 2020
The first phase of this year’s Beijing International Book Fair—which is taking place entirely online due to the Covid-19 pandemic—has begun this week, with the launch of the fair’s Smart...

Rijneveld wins International Booker Prize

Thursday, 27 August 2020
Dutch author Marieke Lucas Rijneveld has won the £50,000 (A$91,310) International Booker Prize for their debut novel The Discomfort of Evening (trans by Michele Hutchinson, Faber), reports the Bookseller. Rijneveld's...

Ellmann, Szirtes win James Tait Black prizes

Monday, 24 August 2020
In the UK, Lucy Ellmann and George Szirtes have won the James Tait Black prizes for fiction and biography respectively. Ellmann won the fiction prize for her novel Ducks, Newburyport...

Light wins 2020 PEN/Ackerley Prize

Friday, 21 August 2020
In the UK, Alison Light has won the 2020 PEN/Ackerley Prize for a work of memoir or autobiography, for her memoir A Radical Romance (Fig Tree), reports the Bookseller. Light...

US publishing sales down 4.2% in first half of 2020

Thursday, 20 August 2020
According to the Association of American Publishers’ (AAP) latest StatShot report, the US publishing industry’s revenues were down 4.2% in the first half of 2020, although trade sales were up...

HarperCollins revenue down 5%

An image of the HarperCollins logo. Monday, 10 August 2020
HarperCollins’ total revenue fell 5% in the year to 30 June, according to parent company News Corp. In its annual earnings report, News Corp reported that the publisher’s full year...

WHSmith plans restructure, 1500 redundancies

Thursday, 6 August 2020
In the UK, bookselling chain WHSmith has announced plans for a restructure that could lead to 1500 roles made redundant across the business, reports the Bookseller. In a trading update,...

Hugo Awards 2020 winners announced

Monday, 3 August 2020
The winners of this year’s Hugo Awards, presented annually by the World Science Fiction Convention, have been announced. Best novel went to A Memory Called Empire (Arkady Martine, Tor); best...

French, Italian markets on the mend

Thursday, 30 July 2020
The Bookseller has reported that the French and Italian book markets are both recovering after two months of Covid-19 lockdown. According to the French Booksellers Association, sales from independent booksellers...

Booker Prize 2020 longlist announced

Tuesday, 28 July 2020
The longlist for the 2020 Booker Prize has been announced. The 13 books longlisted for the £50,000 (A$90,000) prize are: The New Wilderness (Diane Cook, Oneworld) This Mournable Body (Tsitsi...

Scholastic revenue drops 10%

Monday, 27 July 2020
Scholastic has reported a 10% drop in revenue for the fiscal year to May 2020, after sales plunged in the fourth quarter due to Covid-19, reports the Bookseller. Revenue fell...

PA reports 2019 as best ever year for UK publishing

Thursday, 23 July 2020
In the UK, the Publishers Association (PA) has reported that 2019 was the best year for publishing in the market’s history, reports Publishing Perspectives. According to the PA’s 2019 yearbook,...

UK customers unsure about returning to bookshops

Monday, 20 July 2020
In the UK, a Nielsen survey has found 35% of regular bookshop customers are unsure about returning to bricks and mortar shops now that lockdown has eased, reports the Bookseller....

Frankfurt reveals virtual program details

Thursday, 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

Tuesday, 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%

Monday, 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

Friday, 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

Thursday, 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 

Wednesday, 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

Wednesday, 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

Friday, 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...