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Foyles launches same-day delivery, free 2nd class postage

Thursday, 29 October 2015
UK independent bookselling chain Foyles has launched a same-day delivery service to all addresses in central London, reports the Bookseller. The service is priced at £7.50 (A$16.12) for the first...

Scottish pop singer wins Edinburgh first book prize

Wednesday, 28 October 2015
Scottish pop singer and author Colin MacIntyre has won this year’s Edinburgh International Book Festival (EIBF) Book Award for his debut novel The Letters of Ivor Punch (Orion), reports the...

YA novel wins British Fantasy Award

Tuesday, 27 October 2015
Frances Hardinge’s Cuckoo Song (Pan Macmillan) has become the first YA novel to win the award for best fantasy novel at the British Fantasy Awards, reports the Guardian. Cuckoo Song...

Amazon files lawsuit against ‘fake reviewers’

Monday, 19 October 2015
In the US, Amazon has filed a lawsuit against more than 1000 people it claims are writing fake reviews on its website, reports the Guardian. The company claims the defendants...

National Book Award 2015 shortlists announced

Thursday, 15 October 2015
In the US, the shortlists for the 2015 National Book Awards have been announced in the categories of fiction, nonfiction, poetry and young people’s literature. On the fiction shortlist are:...

James wins 2015 Man Booker Prize

Wednesday, 14 October 2015
Jamaican novelist Marlon James has won the £50,000 (A$105,550) Man Booker Prize for his novel A Brief History of Seven Killings (Bloomsbury). Set across three decades, the 686-page novel ‘uses...

‘Fishnet’ wins 2015 Not the Booker Prize

Tuesday, 13 October 2015
Kirstin Innes’ debut novel Fishnet (Freight Books) has won this year’s Not the Booker Prize, which is run by the Guardian in the UK. Chairman of the judges Sam Jordison...

Samuel Johnson Prize 2015 shortlist announced

Monday, 12 October 2015
The shortlist for the Samuel Johnson Prize for Nonfiction has been announced. The six shortlisted titles, chosen from a longlist of 12, are: Ted Hughes: The Unauthorised Life (Jonathan Bate,...

Svetlana Alexievich awarded 2015 Nobel Prize in Literature

Friday, 9 October 2015
Belarusian journalist and author Svetlana Alexievich has been awarded the 2015 Nobel Prize in Literature for ‘her polyphonic writings, a monument to suffering and courage in our time’. Alexievich was born...

Bonnier developing new ebook subscription service

Friday, 9 October 2015
Publisher Bonnier is developing a new ebook and audiobook subscription service in its native Sweden, with plans to expand the service internationally, reports the Bookseller. The Bookbeat service is still in the...

Iran to boycott FBF over Rushdie speech

Friday, 9 October 2015
Iran has announced it will boycott this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair (FBF) after organisers invited author Salman Rushdie to deliver a keynote speech, reports the Guardian. Iran’s foreign ministry said...

Buckley wins £15,000 BBC National Short Story Award

Thursday, 8 October 2015
In the UK, novelist Jonathan Buckley has won the £15,000 ($A31,890) BBC National Short Story Award for his story ‘Briar Road’. Mark Haddon was named the runner-up and received £3000...

Canongate reports ‘extremely disappointing’ 2014 results

Thursday, 8 October 2015
Scottish independent publisher Canongate has reported ‘extremely disappointing’ results for 2014, with turnover down 24% to £7.9m (A$16.8m), according to the Bookseller. CEO Jamie Byng has blamed the results on...

Nobel Prize for Literature announced on Thursday

Tuesday, 6 October 2015
The winner of this year’s Nobel Prize for Literature will be announced this Thursday 8 October (7pm AEDT), reports the Guardian. Among the favourites at bookmakers Ladbrokes and Paddy Powers...

Goldsmiths Prize 2015 shortlist announced

Monday, 5 October 2015
In the UK, the shortlist for the 2015 Goldsmiths Prize has been announced. The shortlisted titles are: Beatlebone (Kevin Barry, Canongate), Acts of the Assassins (Richard Beard, Harvill Secker), Satin...

Apple launches iBooks in China

Thursday, 1 October 2015
Apple has launched iBooks, iTunes Movies and Apple Music in China, reports Reuters. Paid iBooks start at 0.5 yuan (A$0.11), although free iBooks are also available. iTunes movies range from...

Forward Prize for Poetry 2015 winners announced

Thursday, 1 October 2015
In the UK, the winners of the 2015 Forward Prize for Poetry have been announced at a ceremony in London. Jamaican-born writer Claudia Rankine won the £10,000 (A$21,570) Forward Prize...

UK Folio Prize will not run in 2016

Thursday, 1 October 2015
In the UK, the Folio Prize has announced it will not run in 2016, following The Folio Society’s decision to end its sponsorship of the award. The prize is currently...

UK children’s book sales up 3.2% YTD

Wednesday, 30 September 2015
In the UK, children’s book sales are up 3.2% this year thanks to strong sales in picture books, fiction and colouring-in titles, reports the Bookseller. According to Nielsen BookScan data,...