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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...

Furloughed UK staff return to work

Monday, 29 June 2020
In the UK, major publishers are planning for furloughed staff to return to work, with most saying they have no plans to make redundancies, reports the Bookseller. As previously reported,...

UK book sales up 30% as bookshops reopen

Thursday, 25 June 2020
In the UK, almost 4 million books were sold in the first six days after bookshops reopened last week, an almost 30% jump on the same week last year, reports...

Bertrams enters administration

Monday, 22 June 2020
In the UK, wholesaler Bertrams has gone into administration and will be making company-wide redundancies, reports the Bookseller. As previously reported, Bertrams was put up for sale in May after...

US bookshop sales down 65% in April

Wednesday, 17 June 2020
According to US Census Bureau estimates, bookshop sales fell 65.3% in April compared to the same month in 2019, reports Publishers Weekly. Physical sales at bookshops fell in April by...

Hickey wins Walter Scott Prize for ‘The Narrow Land’

Tuesday, 16 June 2020
Irish author Christine Dwyer Hickey has won the £25,000 (A$45,450) Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction for her novel The Narrow Land (Atlantic). Hickey, whose novel explores the marriage of...

Revenue up, profit down at Wiley

Monday, 15 June 2020
In the UK, Wiley has reported a marginal gain in revenue and a drop in profit in the year to April 2020, reports the Bookseller. Wiley reported revenue of US$1.83...

US publishing sales down 16% in April

Friday, 12 June 2020
In the US, total publishing sales fell 16% in April compared to the same month in 2019 according to the AAP’s Statshot program, reports Publishers Weekly. The drop in total...

US publishers pledge to increase diversity

Wednesday, 10 June 2020
In the US, three of the Big Five publishers have pledged to diversify their workforce and publish more Black authors, following a collective action to protest the industry’s role in...

Book trade shows support for Black Lives Matter

Tuesday, 2 June 2020
The UK book trade is supporting the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of protests following the killing of unarmed black man George Floyd by police in the US,...

Major publishers to skip Frankfurt’s physical event

Monday, 1 June 2020
HarperCollins, Bonnier Books UK and Pan Macmillan UK won’t attend Frankfurt Book Fair’s physical event, while other UK publishers and agents are uncertain about attending, reports the Bookseller. As previously...

Karp appointed S&S CEO

Friday, 29 May 2020
In the US, Jonathan Karp has been appointed president and CEO of Simon & Schuster (S&S), reports Publishers Weekly. Karp will succeed Carolyn Reidy, who died from a heart attack...

RWA retires RITA Awards

Friday, 22 May 2020
In the US, the Romance Writers of America (RWA) will retire its annual RITA Awards, which have been presented annually since 1982, reports Publishers Weekly. The move follows the cancellation...

UK indies hail £160m emergency funding package

Thursday, 21 May 2020
In the UK, independent publishers have spoken of their ‘huge relief’ after receiving funding from Arts Council England’s £160m (A$297m) emergency coronavirus package, reports the Bookseller. Recipients of the funding, which...

Waterstones to put its books under 72-hour quarantine

Tuesday, 19 May 2020
In the UK, bookselling chain Waterstones will put its books under a 72-hour quarantine after they have been handled by browsing shoppers, reports the Guardian. As part of Waterstones' plan...

Bertrams put up for sale

Monday, 18 May 2020
In the UK, wholesaler Bertrams has been put up for sale by its parent company Aurelius, reports the Bookseller. Bertrams’ subsidiary companies Dawson Books and Education Umbrella are also up...

Washington wins 2020 Dylan Thomas Prize

Friday, 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

Friday, 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...