US publishers to attend LBF in ‘limited’ capacity; Russia banned from fairs
Wednesday, 2 March 2022
Large US publishers including Hachette Book Group and HarperCollins US will only attend this year’s London Book Fair, which runs 5–7 April, in a ‘limited fashion’, reports the Bookseller. This...
Opposition grows as Vivendi files Lagardère takeover bid
Wednesday, 23 February 2022
In France, media company Vivendi has filed its proposed takeover bid for Hachette Livre parent company Lagardère Group amid growing opposition to the merger, reports the Bookseller. In December Vivendi—which...
Blackwell’s up for sale for first time
Wednesday, 2 February 2022
In the UK, independent bookshop chain Blackwell’s is up for sale, reports the Bookseller. Blackwell’s comprises 18 shops including flagship stores in Oxford and Cambridge. It’s the first time the...
US publishing sales up 12%: AAP
Thursday, 27 January 2022
US publishers have recorded a 12.2% increase in sales for 2021, according to the latest data from the Association of American Publisher’s StatShot program, reports Publishers Weekly. Sales from the...
UK government delays decision on copyright changes
Wednesday, 19 January 2022
The UK government has decided not to make changes to copyright exhaustion laws following a consultation period, reports the Bookseller. The Intellectual Property Office (IPO), which launched a consultation last...
UK, Ireland bookshop numbers grow for fifth consecutive year
Wednesday, 12 January 2022
Data from the UK Bookseller’s Association (BA) shows the number of independent bookshops in the UK and Ireland has grown for the fifth year in a row, reports the Bookseller....
US ed publishers sue Shopify over alleged selling of pirated material
Wednesday, 8 December 2021
In the US, educational publishers have filed a lawsuit in the US District Court for Eastern Virginia accusing ecommerce platform Shopify of selling pirated material, reports Goodereader. Pearson Education, Macmillan...
Costa Book Awards shortlists announced
Wednesday, 24 November 2021
In the UK, the shortlists for the 2021 Costa Book Awards have been announced. Shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award are: Unsettled Ground (Claire Fuller, Fig Tree) The High House...
Galgut wins Booker Prize for ‘The Promise’
Thursday, 4 November 2021
South African author Damon Galgut has won the £50,000 (A$91,830) Booker Prize for his ninth novel The Promise (Chatto & Windus), reports the Bookseller. Galgut’s novel, set in South Africa during the...
Bonnier UK to launch ‘disruptive’ new publisher
Wednesday, 27 October 2021
In the UK, Bonnier Books is launching a new ‘independently run, disruptive publisher of literary fiction and narrative nonfiction’, Footnote Press, in partnership with founders Vidisha Biswas and Sujoy Roy,...
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...
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...
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)...
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...
PRH half-yearly profits up 55%
Wednesday, 1 September 2021
Penguin Random House (PRH) parent company Bertelsmann has reported the publisher posted a profit rise of 55.1% and a 10.9% growth in sales for the first half of 2021. Total...
Beijing International Book Fair postponed at last minute
Wednesday, 25 August 2021
The Beijing International Book Fair (BIBF), which was set to run from 25–29 August, has been postponed due to an outbreak of Covid-19 in the city, reports the Bookseller. 'Due...
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)...
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...
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...
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...
‘World first’ UK plan to pay authors royalties on used book sales
Wednesday, 2 June 2021
In the UK, a collaboration between online retailers and writers’ organisations will pay authors royalties on used book sales for the first time, reports the Bookseller. The agreement between the...
Barjas wins US$50k International Prize for Arabic Fiction
Wednesday, 26 May 2021
Jordanian poet and novelist Jalal Barjas has won the International Prize for Arabic Fiction for his novel Notebooks of the Bookseller (Arabic Institute for Research and Publishing). Barjas receives US$50,000...
Gilligan wins Ondaatje Prize for ‘The Butchers’
Wednesday, 12 May 2021
In the UK, Ruth Gilligan has won the £10,000 (A$18,000) Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize for The Butchers (Atlantic), a literary thriller set in the Irish Borderlands during the 1996...
UK publisher consumer sales up 7% in 2020
Wednesday, 28 April 2021
In the UK, Publishers Association (PA) figures show UK book sales—particularly fiction and audiobooks—soared in 2020, with consumer sales up 7% on 2019 despite bookshop closures, reports the Guardian. The...
Shortlist announced for 2021 Jhalak Prize for BAME writers
Wednesday, 14 April 2021
The shortlist for the UK’s Jhalak Prize for Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) writers, and the inaugural Jhalak Children’s & Young Adult Prize have been announced. The titles shortlisted...
International Booker Prize longlist announced
Wednesday, 31 March 2021
The longlist for the 2021 International Booker Prize for translated fiction has been announced. The 13 longlisted titles are: I Live in the Slums (Can Xue, trans from Chinese by...
Bertelsmann’s S&S merger faces scrutiny in US, UK
Wednesday, 24 March 2021
Penguin Random House (PRH) parent company Bertelsmann’s acquisition of Simon & Schuster (S&S) is facing scrutiny from government agencies in both the US and the UK, reports the Bookseller. In...
Women’s Prize for Fiction 2021 longlist announced
Thursday, 11 March 2021
In the UK, the longlist for the 2021 Women’s Prize for Fiction has been announced. Now in its 26th year, the £30,000 (A$54,040) prize is presented annually to the best...
PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction 2021 finalists announced
Wednesday, 3 March 2021
In the US, the finalists have been announced for the 2021 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, which recognises the best work of fiction published in the preceding year by an American...
Bezos to step down as Amazon CEO
Wednesday, 3 February 2021
In the US, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has announced he will step down from the role and become executive chairman, reports the Sydney Morning Herald. Under the transition, Amazon Web...
