European Parliament passes copyright reform bill
Thursday, 28 March 2019
The European Parliament has passed the EU’s copyright reform bill 348 votes to 274, reports the Bookseller. The Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market aims to update digital...
Sales, earnings up at PRH in 2018
Wednesday, 27 March 2019
Penguin Random House (PRH) parent company Bertelsmann has reported a slight rise in sales and earnings at the publisher in 2018, with revenue up 1.9% to €3.4 billion ($A5.37bn) and...
Waterstones staff campaign for ‘real living wage’
Tuesday, 26 March 2019
In the UK, staff at bookselling chain Waterstones are campaigning to be paid the ‘real living wage’, reports the Bookseller. Piccadilly Waterstones bookseller April Newton set up the online petition...
‘Smash All the Windows’ wins inaugural Selfies Award
Monday, 25 March 2019
In the UK, Jane Davis’ self-published novel Smash All the Windows has won the inaugural Selfies Award for a self-published work of fiction. Smash All the Windows explores the emotional...
‘The Boy at the Back of the Class’ wins Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2019
Friday, 22 March 2019
In the UK, Onjali Q Raúf’s novel The Boy at the Back of the Class (Orion Children's Books) has won the £5000 (A$9230) Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, reports the Bookseller....
US Christian bookstore chain to close 170 bricks-and-mortar stores
Thursday, 21 March 2019
In the US, Christian bookstore chain LifeWay Christian Resources has announced that it will close all 170 of its physical stores by the end of 2019, reports Publishers Weekly. LifeWay...
2019 Carnegie and Kate Greenaway medals shortlists announced
Wednesday, 20 March 2019
In the UK, the shortlists for the Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals 2019 have been announced. The works shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal for an outstanding book for children and...
Kinokuniya’s oldest Asian store outside of Japan to close
Tuesday, 19 March 2019
In Singapore, Japanese bookstore chain Kinokuniya is closing down its oldest branch in Asia outside of Japan, reports the Straits Times. Opened in 1983, Kinokuniya at Liang Court shopping mall...
National Book Critics Circle Awards 2018 winners announced
Monday, 18 March 2019
In the US, the winners of the 2018 National Book Critics Circle Awards have been announced. Among the winners, chosen from shortlists announced in January, are: Fiction Milkman (Anna Burns,...
HBG and Hachette UK sales up despite Lagardère’s profits down
Friday, 15 March 2019
Hachette Book Group (HGB) in the US and Hachette UK have reported 'strong' sales growth in 2018, despite profits falling by 9.6% at parent company Lagardère Publishing. The UK business...
Man Booker International 2019 longlist announced
Thursday, 14 March 2019
The longlist for the 2019 Man Booker International Prize for translated fiction has been announced. The 13 longlisted titles are: Celestial Bodies (Jokha Alharthi, trans by Marilyn Booth, Sandstone Press) Love...
LBF International Excellence Awards winners announced
Wednesday, 13 March 2019
London Book Fair (LBF), in association with the UK Publishers Association, has announced the winners of the International Excellence Awards. The bookstore of the year award went to Fang Suo...
UK audiobook boom continuing with 13% growth in 2018
Tuesday, 12 March 2019
In the UK, Nielsen BookScan reports that audiobooks have grown by 13% in volume during 2018. At the London Book Fair (LBF) Quantum Conference, Nielsen said that the audiobook boom...
First novel translated from Uzbek to English wins €20k EBRD Literature Prize
Friday, 8 March 2019
The first novel translated from Uzbek to English has been awarded the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Literature Prize for a translated work of literary fiction. The Devils'...
UK sales of translated fiction grew in 2018
Thursday, 7 March 2019
In the UK, Nielsen Book statistics commissioned by the Man Booker International Prize show that translated fiction sales in the UK grew by 5.5% in 2018, with sales of £20.7...
Two Nobel Prize in Literature awards scheduled for 2019
Wednesday, 6 March 2019
The Nobel Prize in Literature will be awarded twice this year after the Swedish Academy postponed 2018’s event over a sexual assault scandal, reports the Bookseller. In a statement, the...
UK Romantic Novel Awards winners announced, inaugural Jackie Collins Award announced
Tuesday, 5 March 2019
In the UK, the Romantic Novelists’ Association (RNA) has announced the winners of the 2019 Romantic Novel Awards, as well as an inaugural prize in partnership with Simon & Schuster...
Springer Nature shares journal articles on ResearchGate
Monday, 4 March 2019
Springer Nature is sharing articles from its journals on academic social networking site ResearchGate, reports the Bookseller. In a pilot program spanning three months, the company will upload full-text articles...
Crankstart announced as new Booker Prize sponsor
Friday, 1 March 2019
US-based charitable foundation Crankstart will be the new sponsor of the Booker Prize. Crankstart's five-year sponsorship will begin on 1 June, after the announcement of the 2019 Man Booker International...
PEN America Literary Awards 2019 winners announced
Thursday, 28 February 2019
In the US, PEN America has announced the winners of its 2019 Literary Awards. Among the award winners are: PEN/Jean Stein Book Award Friday Black (Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, riverrun) PEN/Robert...
Scribner acquires new Irving novels in three-book deal
Wednesday, 27 February 2019
Scribner, an imprint of Simon & Schuster UK, has acquired UK and Commonwealth rights to three new novels by American writer John Irving. Darkness as a Bride, Irving's 15th novel,...
Pearson reports 9% revenue drop; PRH has ‘solid’ 2018
Wednesday, 27 February 2019
UK educational publisher Pearson, which owns a 25% stake in Penguin Random House (PRH), has reported company-wide results showing its 2018 revenue fell by 9% to £4.13 billion (A$7.61bn), reports...
Increased Chinese government censorship causes printing delays
Tuesday, 26 February 2019
The Chinese government has implemented a new, strict policy for checking and restricting content in books that are printed in the country, resulting in delays for publishers worldwide, reports the...
UK survey shows working class staff feel background adversely affects career
Monday, 25 February 2019
UK publishing industry staff who identify as ‘working class’ believe their background negatively affects their career in various ways, according to a survey conducted by the Bookseller. In a survey...
PRH Southeast Asia announces inaugural list
Friday, 22 February 2019
The new Southeast Asia arm of Penguin Random House (PRH SEA) has announced its inaugural list of 93 titles, reports the Straits Times. The first list from the Singapore-based operation,...
UK Society of Authors calls for TV shows to pay authors for research, appearances
Thursday, 21 February 2019
The UK's Society of Authors (SoA) is calling for television production companies to pay and credit consulting authors and historians for research they provide to producers of documentaries and historical...
Germany’s largest wholesaler files for bankruptcy
Wednesday, 20 February 2019
Germany’s largest book wholesaler and distributor, KNV, has filed for bankruptcy, reports Publishers Weekly. On Thursday, 14 February, the managing directors of companies within the KNV Group filed for bankruptcy,...
Pearson sells US textbook business
Tuesday, 19 February 2019
UK educational publisher Pearson is selling its US textbook business to private equity group Nexus Capital Management and is shifting its focus to digital, reports the Financial Times. Pearson's US K12...
Simon & Schuster sales flat in 2018
Monday, 18 February 2019
Simon & Schuster worldwide revenues fell marginally from US$830 million (A$1.16bn) in 2017 to US$825 million (A$1.15bn) in 2018, reports Publishers Weekly. During 2018 domestic sales in adult and children's books...
EU agrees on copyright directive
Friday, 15 February 2019
The European Parliament, the Council of the EU and the European Commission have made an agreement on the Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market, which modernises copyright law...
