Pearson reports a return to profit; PRH revenue ‘slightly up’
Monday, 26 February 2018
UK educational publisher Pearson has posted its annual financial results, revealing pre-tax profits of £421 million (A$750 million), up from a £2.6 billion (A$4.6 billion) loss last year, sustained due...
Shortlist announced for 2018 Jhalak Prize for BAME writers
Friday, 23 February 2018
The shortlist for the UK’s Jhalak Prize for black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) writers has been announced. The shortlisted titles are: The Golden Legend (Nadeem Aslam, Faber) Kumukanda (Kayo...
PEN America Literary Awards 2018 winners announced
Friday, 23 February 2018
In the US, Pen America has announced the winners of its 2018 Literary Awards. Among the award winners are: PEN/Jean Stein Book Award Whereas (Layli Long Soldier, Graywolf Press) PEN/Robert...
UK consumer report finds fewer preschoolers being read to by parents
Thursday, 22 February 2018
A UK report has revealed just 51% of preschool-age children are read to on a daily basis, a drop from 69% in 2013, reports the Bookseller. The survey, which was...
Yiannopoulos drops lawsuit against S&S
Wednesday, 21 February 2018
In the US, far-right commentator Milo Yiannopoulos has withdrawn his lawsuit against Simon & Schuster (S&S), reports the Guardian. In documents filed in New York state supreme court, Yiannopoulos and...
Golden Man Booker launched to mark award’s 50th year
Tuesday, 20 February 2018
The Booker Prize Foundation has announced the launch of a special one-off award to mark the 50th anniversary of the prize. The Golden Man Booker will be awarded to the...
S&S sees 12% revenue increase in fourth quarter
Monday, 19 February 2018
Simon & Schuster has recorded global sales of US$830 million (A$1.05 billion) in 2017, up eight percent from the previous year, report Publishers Weekly. Parent company CBS Corporation released the...
Connect Books sold for just £6 million
Friday, 16 February 2018
UK book wholesaler and distributor Connect Books has been sold to private equity firm Aurelius for £6 million ($A10.6 million), which is nearly half of the sale price originally agreed...
US bookstore sales down in 2017
Thursday, 15 February 2018
Preliminary estimates from the US Census Bureau indicate bookstore sales in the US dropped 3.6% in 2017 compared to 2016, reports Publishers Weekly. Sales in 2017 are estimated at $10.73...
Amazon to axe hundreds of jobs
Thursday, 15 February 2018
In the US, Amazon is cutting several hundred jobs at its Seattle headquarters, focused mainly on its established consumer retail business, reports the Seattle Times. The cuts come after the...
Controversy over sexual harassment in US children’s publishing; accused writer responds
Wednesday, 14 February 2018
Jay Asher, author of the young adult novel Thirteen Reasons Why, has responded to reports he was ‘expelled’ from the US Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) for...
Waterstones partners with UK podcast
Wednesday, 14 February 2018
In the UK, bookselling chain Waterstones has announced a year-long partnership with the podcast Mostly Lit to produce a series of in-store events and online content, reports the Bookseller. The...
ALA Youth Media Awards 2018: Newbery, Caldecott, Printz, Stonewall
Tuesday, 13 February 2018
In the US, the American Library Association (ALA), has announced the winners of its Youth Media Awards, including the Newbery and Caldecott medals. Erin Entrada Kelly’s Hello, Universe (HarperCollins) was...
Adult sales up, kids sales down in US
Monday, 12 February 2018
In the US, estimates from the AAP’s StatShot program show that sales of adult trade books increased slightly (0.4%) in the first nine months of 2017 compared to the same...
Penguin US announces imprint for diverse kids books
Friday, 9 February 2018
In the US, Penguin Young Readers will launch a new imprint focusing on diverse books for children and young adults, reports Publishers Weekly. Called Kokila, the new imprint will seek...
Scribd returns to unlimited access model
Thursday, 8 February 2018
In the US, online reading service Scribd is returning to its original ‘unlimited’ access reading model, although some controls will remain in place to limit ‘particularly heavy consumption’ by subscribers,...
Italy to be guest of honour at 2023 Frankfurt Book Fair
Wednesday, 7 February 2018
Italy has been announced as the guest of honour at the 2023 Frankfurt Book Fair (FBF), which will be held from 18-22 October 2023. FBF director Juergen Boos said in...
UK publishers urge Man Booker Prize organisers to reconsider rule change
Tuesday, 6 February 2018
Several UK publishers have signed a letter urging organisers of the Man Booker Prize to reconsider the rule change in 2013 that made US-authored titles eligible for the prize, reports...
New data shows 14.5% growth in Chinese book market in 2017
Monday, 5 February 2018
China’s retail book market expanded in 2017 at a rate of 14.55%, year on year, according to data from Chinese industry-data research firm OpenBook, reports Publishing Perspectives. Children’s books were...
Gui Minhai awarded 2018 IPA Prix Voltaire
Friday, 2 February 2018
The International Publishers Association (IPA) has awarded the 2018 Prix Voltaire award, which supports defenders of the freedom to publish, to missing Chinese-born Swedish publisher Gui Minhai. A Hong Kong-based publisher...
National Book Award recognises works in translation in new award category
Thursday, 1 February 2018
In the US, the National Book Foundation announced that it will present a new award for translated literature as part of this year’s National Book Awards, reports the New York...
Dunmore posthumously awarded Costa Book of the Year for ‘Inside the Wave’
Wednesday, 31 January 2018
In the UK, the late Helen Dunmore has been awarded the £30,000 (A$51,700) Costa Book of the Year award for her poetry collection Inside the Wave (Bloodaxe Books), reports the...
‘Sherlock Holmes’ tops 2017 Audible UK chart
Tuesday, 30 January 2018
In the UK, Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes: The Definitive Collection was Audible’s highest-selling title for 2017, reports the Bookseller. The nine-story collection, which is narrated by Stephen Fry, spent...
New prize launched for thrillers without violence against women
Monday, 29 January 2018
UK screenwriter Bridget Lawless has launched the Staunch Book Prize—an award for the best thriller novel in which no woman is beaten, stalked, sexually exploited, raped or murdered, reports the...
HarperCollins sales up 8.1% as Big Four’s market share shrinks
Thursday, 25 January 2018
In the UK, HarperCollins’ consumer sales grew 8.1% in value in 2017, while the Big Four’s total market share dipped slightly, reports the Bookseller. The combined sales for the Big...
WHSmith high street store Christmas sales down four percent
Thursday, 25 January 2018
In the UK, sales at bookselling chain WHSmith’s high street stores fell four percent like-for-like over the Christmas period—a decline partly attributed to the fall in sales of spoof humour...
Author Earnings to capture real-time sales data; releases 2017 US sales report
Wednesday, 24 January 2018
US-based ebook analysts Author Earnings has expanded its tracking of online US print, audio and digital book sales to capture daily data. The data analysis company previously released quarterly reports...
Freight Books authors told to buy back their stock or have it pulped
Tuesday, 23 January 2018
In the UK, authors at Freight Books, the Scottish independent publisher that went into provisional liquidation in October 2017, have been told to buy back their stock or have it...
Waterstones’ annual profits rise by 80%
Monday, 22 January 2018
UK bookselling chain Waterstones has reported an 80 percent jump in annual profits, reports the Guardian. Waterstones reported that pre-tax profits increased from £9.9m (A$17.1m) to £18m (A$31.25m) in the...
Ferrante joins ‘Guardian Weekend’ as columnist
Friday, 19 January 2018
Bestselling author of the ‘Neapolitan’ series Elena Ferrante will write a regular newspaper column—her first ever—for Guardian Weekend magazine, reports the Guardian. Beginning on 20 January, Ferrante’s weekly column will...
