London Book Fair 2013

Special link: London Book Fair 2013

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Designers & Books

Designers & Books is devoted to publishing lists of books that esteemed members of the design community identify as personally important, meaningful, and formative - books that have shaped their values, their worldview, and their ideas about design

63% of publishers plan eBook in 2012: DCL Report

Publishers are beginning to understand the importance of having their eBooks available in multiple digital formats. According to a new survey from Data Conversion Laboratory (DCL), 43 percent of publishers "realized the importance of compatibility with all e-readers, including iPad, MOBI (Kindle), Nook and custom formats." The report, which interviewed 411 publishers, found that 63 percent of publishers plan to publish a digital book in 2012. The report also found that 64 percent of publishers are interested in publishing non-fiction and technical digital content. The preferred eReader among is group was the iPad with 44 percent of the respondents preferring the iPad as their eReader of choice, versus 36 percent preferring a Kindle

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Pan Macmillan launches new ebook bundles and second round of digital-only Short Reads

Pan Macmillan has published its first ebook bundles (collections of 2 or 3 titles in a single ebook) and a second collection of ebook Short Reads for 2011's digital Christmas. The ebook bundles will sell from between £13.99 and £15.99 and include books by bestselling writers Ken Follett, Jon Ronson, Sue Grafton and Andrew Marr. Ken Follett’s Thundering Good Thrillers feature three classic spy thrillers from the master stortyteller, Eye of the Needle, Jackdaws and Hornet Flight. A History of 20th Century Britain bundles together for the first time Andrew Marr's two bestselling volumes, A History of Modern Britain and The Making of Modern Britain. Jon Ronson's Adventures with Extraordinary People includes The Pyschopath Test, published earlier this year. Sue Grafton's new novel, V Is For Vengeance, has also been published early in ebook to meet the demand over Christmas, with the hardback out in January

Monday, December 26, 2011

BTB #270: For Authors, A Changing World, in Europe & Beyond

Not only publishers feel the impact of the digital revolution. For better and for worse, authors around the world face new questions and new challenges brought by the Internet and the rise of social media. Personal branding and marketing; new income sources and remuneration schemes; copyright protection and licensing; even the act of writing itself – all these are evolving into new forms. But are the changes happening the same way for every region of the world, whether in bigger and smaller countries, or in language communities of different sizes? As part of special programming within Beyond the Book from RightsDirect, the European subsidiary of Copyright Clearance Center, Victoriano Colodrón speaks with Natalie Ariën of VAV, the Flemish Authors’ Association, representing the interests of Dutch-speaking authors from the Flanders region of Belgium. VAV members include authors of prose, poetry, plays, screenplays, children's and youth literature, literary non-fiction and comic strip/cartoons, as well as illustrators and literary translators

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Jo Shapcott wins Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry

Jo Shapcott has won the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry, its judges saluting the "calm but sparkling Englishness" of her award-winning verse. Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy, chair of the judging panel, said the medal was "the true crowning of her career". Shapcott won the Costa Book of the Year award in January for Of Mutability, a collection of poems partly inspired by her battle against breast cancer. George V inaugurated the Gold Medal for Poetry in 1933

Lesley Pearse event (UK)

Meet Lesley Pearse at Greenwich libraries (UK) on 23 January 2012 at 7-8 pm. She will be talking about her latest novel "The Promise"

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Dangdang launches E-book platform in China

Dangdang has announced the launch of its e-book platform in China. Dangdang provides approximately 50,000 book titles in the initial launch of the e-book platform at e.dangdang.com. After online payment, customers can download the digital content using Dangdang's free applications on iPhone(TM), iPad(TM) and Android(TM) devices or read online on their PCs

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Read Google eBooks offline

Google eBooks now supports offline reading in Google Chrome

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

National Post launches e-book publishing program (Canada)

The National Post has become the first Canadian daily to launch an e-book publishing program. Following the model made popular by Amazon's Kindle Singles and Byliner.com, the newspaper's editors, in partnership with HarperCollins Canada, will bring together feature-length articles that have appeared in print and online and republish them in a downloadable EPUB format. Duncan Clark, vice-president of digital media, says the project responds to growing reader appetite for intelligent, long-form journalism they can "dig into" and "invest time in."

Monday, December 19, 2011

Tower Hamlets Book Award 2011 wiiner (UK)

The winner of the Tower Hamlets Book Award 2011 is Joe Layburn, for Street Heroes

Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Nonfiction longlist

The longlist for the Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Nonfiction has been announced:

* Something Fierce: Memoirs of a Revolutionary Daughter, by Carmen Aguirre
* Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory, and the Conquest of Everest, by Wade Davis
* The Patrol: Seven Days in the Life of a Canadian Soldier in Afghanistan, by Ryan Flavelle
* Eating Dirt: Deep Forests, Big Timber, and Life with the Tree-Planting Tribe, by Charlotte Gill
* Nation Maker: Sir John A. MacDonald: His Life, Our Times Volume Two: 1867-1891, by Richard Gwyn
* The Measure of a Man: The Story of a Father, a Son, and a Suit, by J.J. Lee
* Facing the Hunter: Reflections on a Misunderstood Way of Life, by David Adams Richards
* Why Not? Fifteen Reasons to Live, by Ray Robertson
* Afflictions and Departures: Essays, by Madeline Sonik
* The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary: A Canadian Story of Resilience and Recovery, by Andrew Westoll
* Bad Animals: A Father's Accidental Education in Autism, by Joel Yanofsky

The short list will be announced on January 10, 2012 and the winner on March 5, 2012

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Vaclav Havel, Czech leader and playwright, dies at 75

Vaclav Havel, the Czech Republic's first president after the Velvet Revolution against communist rule, has died at the age of 75. The former dissident playwright, who suffered from prolonged ill-health, died on Sunday morning, his secretary Sabina Tancecova said

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Roger McGough becomes new Poetry Society president (UK)

Roger McGough, the one-time pop star with the Liverpool band The Scaffold – famed for its 1968 Christmas No1 Lily the Pink – has been drafted in as the new president of the beleaguered Poetry Society. The society said McGough, dubbed the "patron saint of poetry" by Carol Ann Duffy, would provide "a serious depth of experience, vitality and irrepressible wit"

George Whitman, Paris bookseller and cultural beacon, is dead at 98

George Whitman, the American-born owner of Shakespeare & Company, a fabled English-language bookstore on the Left Bank in Paris and a magnet for writers, poets and tourists for close to 60 years, died on Wednesday in his apartment above the store. He was 98

Quindlen named World Book Night chair

Anna Quindlen has been named honorary national chairperson for World Book Night U.S., and the organization has named the 30 titles that will be given away on World Book Night, set for April 23. In addition, World Book Night U.S. has opened the registration process for those wishing to become volunteer book givers

Reader's Digest cuts 150 positions

Reader's Digest has completed another restructuring, eliminating 150 positions across its worldwide operations. The cuts were in all business groups, including books. In the U.S., Harold Clarke continues to oversee the book group as president and publisher, books, music & trade publishing

Friday, December 16, 2011

Paris museum wins Bronte bidding war

A French museum has won a bidding war for an unpublished Charlotte Bronte manuscript, dashing hopes that it could return to the author's former home. The Musee des Lettres et Manuscrits in Paris bought the second issue of Young Men's Magazine at auction for £690,850. It outbid the Bronte Parsonage Museum, based in the family's former house in Haworth, West Yorkshire. The work, written when Bronte was 14, is regarded as important for the light it sheds on her literary development

Christopher Hitchens dies

British author, literary critic and journalist Christopher Hitchens has died, aged 62, according to Vanity Fair magazine. He died from pneumonia, a complication of the oesophageal cancer he was suffering from, at a Texas hospital

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

2012 Man Booker Prize for Fiction: full judging panel announced

The full judging panel for the 2012 Man Booker Prize for Fiction has been announced

Russell Hoban, cult author, dies aged 86

Legendary cult author Russell Hoban, whose apocalyptic novel Riddley Walker was described by Anthony Burgess as "what literature is meant to be", died last night aged 86, his publisher has announced. Hoban, born in Pennsylvania but a resident of London for more than 30 years, first made a name for himself with his children's books; his series about Frances the badger and his novel The Mouse and His Child are acclaimed as modern classics

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

The Huffington Post is launching a book club

The Huffington Post is launching a book club. This is why. Stories are how we understand our world. Books are not separate from the rest of our lives - just as a song can provide the perfect soundtrack to a real-life experience, so the characters, ideas, dilemmas, behaviors we learn through our books help us "read" everything else that surrounds us. This is why our Book Club is different. Just like other book clubs, it's a way for us to invite you to read books that you otherwise might not, and to be part of a larger community discussing their narratives and themes. Unlike any other book club, we also want to hear about how your reading intersects with your experiences, your memories, your everyday life and with current events

Book swaps at London tube and train stations 'a good idea', says Johnson

London mayor agrees to look into creating a network for sharing books at capital's stations in time for 2012 Olympics

BTB #265: Copyright & Commerce: Orphan Works & Fair Use in a Digital Age

From the perspective of copyright, 2011 has been a year like so many others in the Digital Age. Suits and counter-suits over copyrighted text, music, film and video continue to fly in and out of court. The long-standing "Google Books" case is, for now, scheduled for trial in 2012, while the HathiTrust - a consortium of university libraries - has drawn a new lawsuit from authors for announcing plans to post online copyrighted texts that may or may not be "orphan works." A panel of IP experts and commentators offered their answers and insights into these compelling issues this morning at the Newseum in Washington, DC. Maria A. Pallante: The 12th Register of Copyrights and Director of the United States Copyright Office; Cecilia Kang: National technology reporter for the Washington Post; and Victor Perlman: General Counsel, American Society of Media Photographers spoke with CCC's Chris Kenneally

Bounce! plans to expand publisher representation (UK)

Bounce! Sales & Marketing Ltd aims to expand the number of publishers it represents following the appointment of Catherine Stokes to the new post of sales and marketing director. The company will also begin to provide more bespoke marketing services to its clients

Monday, December 12, 2011

Penguin Shorts

The first affordable quality books for a mass audience were brought out by Penguin nearly 80 years ago. And while times have changed the way we read books is only just now becoming different. Sometimes it is still only a hardback or paperback book that will do. But at other times we prefer to read on something even more portable. Penguin Shorts are designed to fill a gap. They are short, they are original and affordable and they are written by some of today's best and most exciting writers. They are also only available exclusively in digital form

2012 Stan Lee Excelsior Award shortlist

The shortlist for the 2012 Stan Lee Excelsior Award has been announced

Orla Kiely to create range of baby and toddler books

Designer Orla Kiely, best known for creating handbags and hats, will launch a new range of baby and toddler books in September with Colours and Numbers, inspired by her own trademark designs. The books will be published by Egmont Press

Sunday, December 11, 2011

BTB #264: Setting Goals For Self-Publishing

Joining CCC's Chris Kenneally to offer insights on self-publishing and to help authors ask the right questions before they self-publish is Joel Friedlander, who blogs at thebookdesigner.com where he draws on more than 30 years in publishing. Friedlander also recently presented at the Self-Publishing Boot Camp held at Stanford University (the next session will be in San Francisco, February 20, 2012, in partnership with San Francisco Writers University

BBC Short Story Award goes global for 2012

The BBC's award for short fiction is to turn international for one year to celebrate the Olympics, with the shortlist to be expanded from five stories to 10. The judging panel will be chaired by broadcaster Clive Anderson

Bloomsbury Institute enters reader events market

Bloomsbury Institute events will include live interviews and discussions at the Bloomsbury Salon, and the Bloomsbury Institute Lectures, which will showcase contemporary thinking and new research across Academic disciplines. We’ve teamed up with Intelligence Squared, the world’s premiere debating forum, to present The Intelligence Squared Bloomsbury Book Club, an exclusive opportunity for readers to meet authors including Nadine Gordimer, William Boyd and Stella Rimington and discuss the books with them. Our events are in the evening, beginning at 6pm for 6.30pm until 7.30pm at 50 Bedford Square, London, WC1B 3DP. Bloomsbury Salon and Lecture tickets cost £8 including a glass of wine and the price of the ticket is redeemable against a book purchase on the night

Second work of memoir from Auster

Faber is to publish Winter Journal, a second work of memoir by American writer Paul Auster, in September 2012

Queen of Tartan Noir to take on Tattoo Girl

Scots novelist Denise Mina will write six graphic novels based on the best-selling Stieg Larsson novels for DC Comics

Cheap classics boom as rest of book trade struggles

While recession bites elsewhere, sales of Wordsworth Editions' £1.99 classics have surged

Saturday, December 10, 2011

John Kinsella withdraws from TS Eliot Poetry Prize

John Kinsella has become the second poet to withdraw from the TS Eliot Prize in protest over its sponsorship by investment firm, Aurum Funds. The Australian, who was shortlisted for his collection Armour, said he was withdrawing on "ethical" grounds.
Prize organisers The Poetry Book Society made the deal after losing its public funding earlier this year. Alice Oswald withdrew from the shortlist on Tuesday saying she felt "uncomfortable" with the sponsorship

Friday, December 9, 2011

Grand Central and Little, Brown U.K. partner for thrillers in translation

Grand Central Publishing has announced a partnership with Little, Brown Book Group U.K. that will see the two publishers jointly acquiring and publishing up to six titles per year, focusing on crime/suspense/thrillers in translation. The books will be published under the Grand Central banner in the U.S. and under a new imprint, Trapdoor, in the U.K.

Darcie Chan: how I became a best-selling author

This summer, Darcie Chan's debut novel became an unexpected hit. It has sold more than 400,000 copies and landed on the best-seller lists alongside brand-name authors like Michael Connelly, James Patterson and Kathryn Stockett. It's been a success by any measure, save one. Ms. Chan still hasn't found a publisher

Catherine Hall is theThe Green Carnation Prize Winner 2011

Catherine Hall has won the 2011 Green Carnation Prize with her second novel, The Proof of Love. Set during the long hot summer of 1976, it is a deeply evocative and moving tale of a young Cambridge mathematician who arrives in a remote village in the Lake District and takes on a job as a farm labourer. Just as he is slowly winning the trust of the suspicious local community, tragedy strikes

Thursday, December 8, 2011

The Royal Society of Chemistry celebrates 170 years of publishing

The Royal Society of Chemistry celebrates 170 years of publishing today with the awarding of a Chemical Landmark plaque at the learned society's office in Cambridge. The blue plaque will be placed outside the main entrance of Thomas Graham House at the Cambridge science park

Hard Case Crime to publish lost novel by James M. Cain

Hard Case Crime has announced their discovery and plan to publish, a novel that was once thought lost by James M. Cain. Cain was the author of The Postman Always Rings Twice, Double Indemnity (adapted for the screen by Raymond Chandler), and Mildred Pierce, all of which have been put to film with great acclaim

How ‘maverick' Seren's getting ready for the next chapter in the story of publishing (Wales)

Publishing house Seren continues to sparkle 30 years after its creation, as Robert Llewellyn Jones discovers

McGraw-Hill cutting 10 pct of education unit work force, freezing pension; eyes $100M savings

Publishing company McGraw-Hill Cos., which owns the Standard & Poor's corporate credit rating firm, says it will cut 550 jobs at its education arm and freeze all employees' pensions next year as part of a plan to split into two companies. At the education business, McGraw-Hill said Wednesday that it will cut 20 percent of executive positions and 10 percent of the workforce overall, making most of the reductions by the end of this year

Dymocks launches publishing arm (Australia)

Australian book retailer Dymocks has launched its new web-based publishing arm to enable aspiring authors to produce, publish and distribute their work as both physical and electronic books

The Blue Peter Book Awards 2012 shortlist announced

The Blue Peter Book Awards 2012 shortlist announced:

* Discover the Extreme World by Camilla de la Bedoyere, Clive Gifford, John Farndon, Steve Parker, Stewart Ross and Philip Steele (Miles Kelly)

* The Official Countdown to the London 2012 Games by Simon Hart (Carlton Books)

* The Considine Curse by Gareth P. Jones (Bloomsbury)

* A Year without Autumn by Liz Kessler (Orion Children's Books)

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

PA Bulletin 6 December 2011 (UK)

PA Bulletin 6 December 2011, from The Publishers Association, UK, is now available online #publisher #publishing

Thomas Allen and Cormorant launch e-book initiative for indie bookstores

In early 2012, Thomas Allen Publishers and Cormorant Books will roll out cStories, an initiative that will make digital short-story "singles" available for sale through independent booksellers' websites. The stories, all Canadian-authored titles from Cormorant and Thomas Allen, will include previously published short fiction as well as new writing. Sold as EPUB files for $1.99 each, they will be exclusive to independent booksellers who sign on for the project

Are publishers putting the squeeze on bloggers?

There are worrying signs from some quarters that online reviewers are being held to much stricter terms than traditional journalists receiving review copies

Amanda Knox, Raffaele Sollecito working on book deals

Amanda Knox may be one step closer to telling the world her side of the story about her saga of being wrapped up in an Italian murder trial that caught the world's eye. Knox, who recently returned home to the United States after winning an appeal of her conviction, has officially inked a deal with attorney Robert Barnett to represent her when it comes to book deals

BTB #263: Google Book Settlement: Good Riddance or Lost Opportunity?

In March, Judge Denny Chin rejected the proposed settlement between Google and book publishers and authors over Google's book scanning and book search programs. At the recent "Copyright & Technology" conference, a panel of legal experts considered the unanswered questions that decision left behind. Presenting their views were James Grimmelmann of New York Law School; Edward Rosenthal, whose firms represents the Authors Guild in their suit against the HathiTrust; attorney Mary Rasenberger, who from 2002-2008 served in the Copyright Office and the Office of Strategic Initiatives of the Library of Congress, and as director for the National Digital Preservation Program; and Frederic Haber, general counsel, Copyright Clearance Center. CCC's Chris Kenneally moderated.

The Frances Lincoln Diverse Voices Children’s Book Award 2013

Shami Chakrabarti, Director of Liberty (The National Council for Civil Liberties), and Alex Wheatle MBE, the award-winning British novelist of Jamaican heritage, have joined the judging panel of The Frances Lincoln Diverse Voices Award, which was jointly founded by Frances Lincoln Ltd and Seven Stories, the national centre for children's books, in memory of Frances Lincoln (1945-2001) to encourage and promote diversity in children's fiction

Profile to publish starry book for National Libraries Day (UK)

Alan Bennett, Julian Barnes and Stephen Fry are among the stellar contributors to The Library Book, to be published by Profile for National Libraries Day on 4th February. The book is a compilation of famous writers' thoughts on why libraries matter and is edited by Profile publicist Rebecca Gray, who volunteers in her spare time for a mobile library for homeless people. All royalties will go to charity The Reading Agency to help their work supporting libraries

Monday, December 5, 2011

The Federation of Children's Book Groups wins the 2011 Eleanor Farjeon Award

The Federation of Children's Book Groups has won the 2011 Eleanor Farjeon Award. The £2,000 award is given to individuals deemed to have made an outstanding contribution to the world of children's books. It was presented to FCBG chair Adam Lancaster by Anne Harvey from the Eleanor Farjeon estate and the Children's Book Circle, which co-ordinates the award, at a ceremony in London

'New' Jane Austen portrait unearthed by author

'New' Jane Austen portrait unearthed by authorA British author is claiming to have unearthed a previously unseen portrait of Pride And Prejudice writer Jane Austen. Dr Paula Byrne, the author of a new book on Austen, was given the portrait by her husband and recognised the long, straight "Austen nose". There are currently just two recognised portraits of Austen - one sketched by her sister Cassandra in 1810. The find is the subject of a BBC Two documentary scheduled for Boxing Day. Byrne - who has previously written books on poet Mary Robinson and author Evelyn Waugh - was presented with the portrait by her husband, Shakespeare scholar Jonathan Bate, who had bought it at auction. The pencil drawing on vellum is inscribed "Miss Jane Austin" on the back. Byrne insists that "apart from the striking family resemblance", this was the first clue as to the identity of the sitter

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Library Thing Author Interview: Anthony Horowitz

We've got a special mid-month author interview with Anthony Horowitz, the author of the popular Alex Rider series of books as well as several popular UK television series and mini-series, including "Foyle’s War," "Midsomer Murders," and "Poirot." Anthony's latest work is The House of Silk, a new Sherlock Holmes adventure published last month by Mulholland Books

In conversation: Neil Gaiman talks to Shaun Tan

'I use text as the grout between the tiles of the pictures. I always overwrite and then trim it down to the bare bones' - Neil Gaiman

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Saudi Research and Publishing Company launches new Android application

In line with its vision to deliver news to its growing target audience around the world, the Saudi Research and Publishing Company (SRPC) is set to launch native Android apps for all its publications starting with Asharq Al Awsat, the pioneering pan-Arab daily and the world's most trusted source of Arab news

Biography of cancer wins Guardian First Book award

Siddhartha Mukherjee's 'remarkable and unusual' study, The Emperor of All Maladies, beats four novels to the £10,000 prize

Coates to launch Bilbary e-book site

Former Waterstone's m.d. Tim Coates is to launch Bilbary, an international online consumer site for the sale and lending of e-books

Usborne seeks "boutique" publishing boost

Usborne is focusing on series and younger readers to help grow its fiction sales in the coming two years. The publisher is not expanding its fiction list next year, but aims to boost its fiction sales by "boutique publishing", said Rebecca Hill, fiction editorial director

Beall's List of Predatory, Open-Access Publishers by Jeffrey Beall 2012 Edition

Predatory, open-access publishers are those that unprofessionally exploit the author-pays model of open-access publishing (Gold OA) for their own profit. Typically, these publishers spam professional email lists, broadly soliciting article submissions for the clear purpose of gaining additional income. Operating essentially as vanity presses, these publishers typically have a low article acceptance threshold, with a false-front or non-existent peer review process. Unlike professional publishing operations, whether subscription-based or ethically-sound open access, these predatory publishers add little value to scholarship, pay little attention to digital preservation, and operate using fly-by-night, unsustainable business models

Friday, December 2, 2011

Hachette says France ready for digital books

Regulation and a devoted book culture look set to cushion the impact on French publishers and booksellers of the impending digital revolution that has so transformed markets in the United States and Britain. Arnaud Nourry, the CEO of Hachette Books Group, predicted that e-books would take off in France this year and that the market would benefit from the relatively late adoption of digital reading because it would benefit from lessons learned elsewhere

The Man Booker International Prize 2013 - judging panel announced

The judges for the biennial 2013 Man Booker International Prize have been announced. This is the fifth time that the Prize has been awarded. In order to ensure a panel with the broadest reading experience, the number of judges will increase from three to five. Chaired by Sir Christopher Ricks, the scholar and literary critic, the panel consists of author and essayist Elif Batuman, writer and broadcaster Aminatta Forna, novelist Yiyun Li and author and academic Tim Parks

Royal Society Young People's Book Prize 2011 winner

How the World Works by Christiane Dorion and illustrated by Beverly Young is the the winner of the Royal Society Young People's Book Prize 2011

Sting sees music of the future through app

Sting is the latest musician to release an app following the likes of Lady Gaga, Slash and Britney. The singer believes they are the future of music and may favour the app over the album from now on. Apps have only been around for the last few years but this new tecnology has become incredibly popular. Hundreds of thousands are currently available and 14 billion downloads have been made worldwide since 2009. By 2015 experts are predicting this figure will rise to 183 billion

Nicanor Parra awarded Cervantes Prize

Chilean poet Nicanor Parra has won the Cervantes Prize, the Spanish-speaking world's highest literary honour, it has been announced. The prestigious plaudit comes with a cash award of 125,000 euros (£107,000). The prize, which was announced in Madrid by Spanish Culture Minister Angeles Gonzalez-Sinde, honours a writer's body of work. Parra, now aged 97, is considered one of the most important poets of Spanish language writing

Andrew Martin wins the CWA Ellis Peters Award

A dark tale of wartime intrigue has been named by The Crime Writers' Association as the winner of this year's prestigious Ellis Peters Historical Award, at a ceremony at the Athenaeum in London. Andrew Martin's novel The Somme Stations, published by Faber and Faber, was selected for the £3,000 first prize

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Christa Wolf dies aged 82

Christa Wolf, one of the best known authors from the former East Germany, has died in Berlin at the age of 82 after a long illness. In works including Cassandra and Medea, she explored power shifts and war, as experienced by women. Wolf courted controversy throughout her career and had links to the East German Stasi police in the 1960s

'Fahrenheit 451' finally out as an e-book

At age 91, Ray Bradbury is making peace with the future he helped predict. The science fiction/fantasy author and longtime enemy of the e-book has finally allowed his dystopian classic "Fahrenheit 451" to be published in digital format. Simon & Schuster released the electronic edition Tuesday at a list price of $9.99

Penguin sees dark clouds after strong Christmas

Book publisher Penguin, a unit of Pearson, sees "dark clouds" gathering after a strong Christmas, as structural and cyclical factors combine to obscure the view

Louise Harrison reminisces about brother George Harrison and the Beatles

For more than 40 years, Beatles fans have asked Louise Harrison to write a book about her famous younger brother, George. Now she has finally relented. The 80-year-old former Sarasota resident has finished most of the text for a book to be released next year or 2013. Now she's scanning never-before-published photos, letters and documents that will fill the rest of the pages

Booksellers feel pressure as turnover falls (Switzerland)

Swiss booksellers and publishers are currently facing tough times, prompted by the economic crisis, online and discounter competition and e-books. Many hope that a return to a fixed book price system will help solve their problems. Another way out could be specialisation

Blackstaff Press enter digital age with eBook list

After 40 years of successful book publishing, Blackstaff Press is marking its special birthday by recognising just how much the publishing industry has changed over the last four decades - with the launch of its first eBook list

Czech illustrator Zdenek Miler dies, aged 90

Czech illustrator and animated film director Zdenek Miler, the author of the world-renowned "Little Mole" (Krtek) character, died at the age of 90 Wednesday, Czech news agency CTK said

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Nicola Morgan self-publishes digital backlist (UK)

Young adult author Nicola Morgan has issued an e-book of her 2002 novel Mondays are Red after regaining rights from publisher Hodder. The book is on Amazon for Kindle as of 28 November and also will be made available for reading on all other devices. It has been issued under the name Crabbit Publishing

Scholastic UK targets younger market

Scholastic UK is building its younger fiction in order to replicate its strength in the Young Adult market. Publishing and commercial director Lisa Edwards said: "We have a big footprint in the teen market with series like The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins) and authors such as Maggie Stiefvater. Now we want to do the same for younger readers. "We have been acquiring younger fiction books all summer to underpin this part of our list," she added

UK gets ball rolling on digital copyright exchange

UK business secretary Vince Cable has appointed former Ofcom deputy chairman Richard Hooper to lead a feasibility study on establishing a Digital Copyright Exchange. Cable recently agreed with Professor Ian Hargreaves' suggestion, in his Review Of Intellectual Property And Growth, that a body be created that lists copyrighted works

William Hill award won by Ronald Reng's biography of Robert Enke

Ronald Reng has won the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award 2011 for A Life Too Short: The Tragedy of Robert Enke. Reng's biography of Robert Enke, the German national goalkeeper who suffered from depression and took his own life two years ago, was praised by the judging panel for its powerful and insightful nature as well as its sensitivity and sincerity. A Life Too Short tells of Enke's struggles against his own demons and brings into sharp relief the demands and fears faced by those who play top-level sport

Monday, November 28, 2011

2011 New Mexico Book Awards winners

The winners of the 2011 New Mexico Book Awards, sponsored by the New Mexico Book Co-op, were celebrated last week. The two top awards were both ties. The Best New Mexico Book was won by Out of This World by Loretta Hall and Turquoise by Joe and Dan Lowry. The Best Book was a tie between A Good, Goodbye: Funeral Planning for Those Who Don't Plan to Die by Gail Rubin and The World Comes to Albuquerque: The Dream Takes Flight edited by Tom McConnell, Dick Brown, Kim Vesely, and Paul Rhetts

Victorian Broadmoor revealed in free online book

A book documenting the bizarre lives of the Victorian inmates of Broadmoor has become an internet hit but why do these characters still fascinate?

Pippa Middleton in '£400,000' book deal

Pippa Middleton has signed a six-figure publishing deal to write a guide to party planning, which will be released in time for Christmas next year

BTB #262: Reading in the Key of E

Recorded live on Sunday, November 20, at 2011 Miami Book Fair International, a global look at books and reading in the digital age. Featured speakers are Ami Greko of Kobo, and Ana Maria Cabanellas, Argentine publisher and leading figure in the International Publishers Association

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Saltire literary awards shortlists announced (Scotland)

The shortlists for the Saltire literary awards have been announced:

Scottish Book of the Year

* 'A summer of drowning' by John Burnside (Jonathan Cape)
* 'A Life in pictures' by Alistair Gray (Canongate)
* 'There but for the' by Ali Smith (Hamish Hamilton)
* 'Reading Shakespeare sonnets' (Faber and Faber)
* 'Fiere' by Jackie Kay (Picador)
* 'The blue book' by A L Kennedy (Jonathan Cape)
* 'An Cuilithionn 1939 — Somhairle MacGill-Eain' edited by Christopher Whyte (Association for Scottish Literary Studies)

Scottish First Book of the Year

* 'Island of wings' by Karin Altenberg (Quercus)
* 'This road is red' by Alison Irvine (Luath Press)
* 'Let not the waves of the sea' by Simon Stephenson (John Murray)
* 'The echo chamber' by Luke Williams (Hamish Hamilton)

Saltire Society and National Library of Scotland Scottish Research Book of the Year

* 'Noble power in Scotland from the Reformation to the Revolution' by Keith M Brown (Edinburgh University Press)
* 'The history of the Scottish Parliament' by Keith Brown and Alan MacDonald (Edinburgh University Press)
* 'Scottish ethnicity and the making of New Zealand society, 1850-1930' by Tanya Bueltmann (Edinburgh University Press)
* 'To the ends of the Earth' by T M Devine (Penguin)
* 'George Mackay Brown: The wound and the gift' by Ron Ferguson (St Andrew Press)
* 'Beyond the last dragon' by James McGonigal (Sandstone Press)
* 'Domination and lordship: Scotland 1070-1230' by Richard Oram (Edinburgh University Press)

Scottish History Book of the Year

* 'Scottish ethnicity and the making of New Zealand society, 1850-1930' by Tanya Bueltmann (Edinburgh University Press)
* 'To the ends of the Earth' by T M Devine (Penguin)
* 'Elite women and polite society in 18th century Scotland' by Katharine Glover, (Boydell & Brewer Ltd)
* 'Andrew Melville and humanism in Renaissance Scotland 1545-1622' by Ernest R Holloway III (Brill)
* 'Men of spirit and enterprise' by Suzanne Rigg (John Donald)
* 'The inner life of empires' by Emma Rothschild (Princeton University Press)
* 'Reading the Scottish Enlightenment: Books and their readers in provincial Scotland, 1750-1820' by Mark Towsey (Brill)
* 'Enlightened evangelicalism' by Jonathan M Yeagher (Oxford University Press)

Book Country

Book Country - an online space for genre fiction writers and readers to share and read fiction, give feedback, and discover new books, has now added a suite of economically priced, easy-to-use self-publishing tools for its members

Friday, November 25, 2011

Publishers Australia CEO steps down

The CEO of Publishers Australia, Claudia Sagripanti, has left the association after a year in the role, to pursue work in the mobile media space. A replacement has not yet been announced

Ruth Stone dies aged 96

US poet Ruth Stone, whose career flourished in her 80s and 90s, has died in Vermont at the age of 96. Her 1959 debut, In an Iridescent Time, was followed by 1971's Topography and Other Poems, and 1986's American Milk. Her best-known work, including The Solution and Simplicity, came after she turned 70. In 2002, she won the National Book Award for Poetry, for In the Next Galaxy. She received acclaim for her insights into love, death and nature

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Kerouac's 'lost' book published

American author Jack Kerouac's first ever novel, which was thought to be lost, has been published 40 years after his death. The American writer, who was hailed the king of the Beat generation and a hero to many young men, penned The Sea Is My Brother aged 20, based on his years as a merchant seaman

Apple starts publishing weekly iPhone and iPad apps charts in the UK

Apple has started publishing weekly charts for paid and free apps on iPhone and iPad in the UK, through a partnership with the Press Association

Anne McCaffrey, Author of ‘Dragonriders’ Fantasies, dies at 85

Anne McCaffrey, a science-fiction writer widely known as the Dragon Lady for her best-selling series of young-adult novels, "Dragonriders of Pern," died on Monday in County Wicklow, Ireland. She was 85

Free Julia Donaldson book for all P1s (Scotland)

During their first year at primary school, all children in Scotland will receive a free book with a message from Bookbug. This year's chosen book, What the Ladybird Heard by Julia Donaldson, won in the 0-7 age category of the 2011 Royal Mail Awards for Scottish Children's Books

Daunt to speak at IPG's 50th conference

Waterstone's m.d. James Daunt will be the keynote speaker at next year's Independent Publishers Guild annual conference, the organisation's 50th

Orbit signs WWII fantasy trilogy

Orbit has acquired a fantasy retelling of the events of the Second World War by American author Ian Tregillis

Amazon rumored to be inviting self-publishing authors to Kindle Prime lending program

According to an anonymous source, Amazon is inviting self-published authors to make their works available in Amazon’s Kindle Prime lending library, for checkout to owners of Kindle devices who subscribe to Kindle Prime. The invitations are going out to individual authors now, but Amazon will reportedly go public with the offer on December 1

Ediciones B and Planeta launch new E-book imprints

On November 15, Spanish publisher Ediciones B launched a new digital imprint, B de Books. The publisher says it will keep prices competitive, with e-books ranging from 1.99 to 9.99 Euros. Some 300 titles will be available to start and B de Books has signed agreements with several major digital distribution platforms, including Amazon, Libranda and Apple

Punk publishing - a clarion call from noir-est Yorkshire (UK)

Getting out tales of darkest Leeds isn't easy, but guest blogger Mick McCann is determined to carry on. He's outsold Booker shortlisters, mind

Wiley’s Peter Balis on the future of publishing

Wiley's Peter Balis on the future of publishing and why he's not on Twitter

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

American sci-fi author Anne McCaffrey dies in Ireland at age 85

American sci-fi and fantasy writer Anne McCaffrey has died at her home in Ireland, her publisher Random House announced

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

PA Bulletin 21st November 2011 (UK)

PA Bulletin 21st November 2011, from The Publishers Association, UK, is now available online #publisher #publishing

Arne Dahl winsBest Swedish Crime Novel 2011

Arne Dahl has won the award for Best Swedish Crime Novel 2011 with Viskelen [Chinese Whispers]. Viskelen is the first part in a new quartet of books about international crime and the controversial Europol unit formed to combat it. Translated by Tiina Nunnally

Gavin Pretor-Pinney wins Royal Society Winton Prize for Science Books

Gavin Pretor-Pinney has won the £10,000 (US$15,805) Royal Society Winton Prize for Science Books for The Wavewatcher's Companion, which the judges called "a book of old-fashioned charm and wit.... A brilliant almost poetic book that really opened our eyes. We were amazed to find that we now see waves everywhere we look, making the world around us a more absorbing and enchanting place, thanks to modern science."

Mystery Writers of America announces Martha Grimes as 2012 Grand Master Plus Ellery Queen and Raven Awards

Martha Grimes has been chosen as this year's Grand Master by Mystery Writers of America. MWA's Grand Master Award represents the pinnacle of achievement in mystery writing and was established to acknowledge important contributions to this genre, as well as a body of work that is both significant and of consistent high quality. Ms. Grimes will be presented with her award at The Edgar Awards Banquet, which will be held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City on Thursday, April 26, 2012. When told of being named Grand Master, Grimes said, "I was, for once, speechless. Thank you very much for making me a Grand Master."

Thursday, November 17, 2011

2011 National Outdoor Book Awards winners

The winners of the 2011 National Outdoor Book Awards have been announced

2011 Tony Hillerman Prize winner

City of Saints, by Andrew Hunt, has been named the winner of the 2011 Tony Hillerman Prize for best first mystery novel. Hunt is a Utah native and a professor of history at the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The announcement was made during last weekend’s Tony Hillerman Writers Conference in Santa Fe, New Mexico

The 2011 National Book Award winners:

The winners of The 2011 National Book Award are:

* Fiction: Jesmyn Ward, Salvage the Bones

* Non-fiction: Stephen Greenblatt, The Swerve: How the World Became Modern

* Poetry: Nikky Finney, Head Off & Split

* Young People's Literature: Thanhha Lai, Inside Out & Back Again

Costa Book Awards 2011 shortlists

The shortlists for the Costa Book Awards 2011 have been announced

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Emma Donoghue's "Room" wins Evergreen Award (Canada)

Emma Donoghue's novel Room (HarperCollins Canada) has won the 2011 Evergreen Award, to be presented on February 3, 2012, in Toronto. The Evergreen Award is administered by the Ontario Library Association as part of the Forest of Reading program, designed to expose adult library users to Canadian fiction and non-fiction. Library patrons are invited to vote for their favourite of 10 nominated titles

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

75th Governor General's Literary Awards winners (Canada)

The winners of the 75th Governor Generals Literary Awards have been announced

Fourth Estate buys next Hilary Mantel novel

Hilary Mantel will turn her attention to the downfall of Anne Boleyn, after Fourth Estate bought the follow-up to her Man Booker prizewinning Wolf Hall. Publishing director Nicholas Pearson bought UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada, to Bring Up the Bodies from Bill Hamilton at AM Heath. The book will be published in May 2012 - The Bookseller

US Authors Guild attacks Amazon over Kindle Lending

The US Authors Guild has accused Amazon.com of "boldly breaching its contracts" with publishers by signing them up to its new Kindle Lending programme without permission. It claimed it is doing this to drive sales of its Kindle Fire, which is up against the Apple iPad and Barnes & Noble Nook in the US' increasingly fraught e-reader wars - The Bookseller

FutureBook awards shortlist announcement

The shortlist for the FutureBook awards has been announced

Peckham Literary Festival 2011 (UK)

Peckham Literary Festival 2011 - 21-27 November, 2011 - Peckham, UK

Guardian First Book Shortlist

Finalists have been named for the £10,000 (US$15,905) Guardian First Book award, which recognizes the best new author in any genre published in English during the past year. The shortlisted titles are:

* Pigeon English by Stephen Kelman
* The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee
* Down the Rabbit Hole by Juan Pablo Villalobos
* The Collaborator by Mirza Waheed
* The Submission by Amy Waldman

Easons now has twenty-five EStores

The trial phase of Eason's new eStore feature is now finished and the company now has 25 in-store ebook and ereader sections. Several of the stores are in Northern Ireland and the rest in the Republic

Jane Austen 'died from arsenic poisoning'

Crime writer Lindsay Ashford bases claim on reading of author's letters and claims murder cannot be ruled out

Derbyshire Literature Festival 2012 (UK)

Derbyshire Literature Festival 2012 - 11-20 May, 2012 - Derbyshire, UK

Monday, November 14, 2011

Majo Ramírez wins Aura Estrada Prize

Majo Ramírez, a short story writer living in Mexico City, has won the second Aura Estrada Prize, given to a woman under 35 writing creative prose in Spanish who is a resident of the U.S. or Mexico

Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association's 2012 Book Awards shortlist

The shortlist for the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association's 2012 Book Awards, selected by PNBA bookseller members, consists of the following 12 titles:

* The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt (Ecco)
* Feathers: The Evolution of a Natural Miracle by Thor Hanson (Basic Books)
* Habibi by Craig Thompson (Pantheon)
* The Chronology of Water by Lidia Yuknavitch (Hawthorne Books)
* Putting Makeup on Dead People by Jen Violi (Hyperion)
* The Bled: Poems by Frances McCue (Factory Hollow Press)
* West of Here by Jonathan Evison (Algonquin)
* Reamde by Neal Stephenson (Morrow)
* Birds of Paradise by Diana Abu-Jaber (Norton)
* Ed King by David Guterson (Knopf)
* Maphead: Charting the Wide, Weird World of Geography Wonks by Ken Jennings (Scribner)
* Shards by Ismet Prcic (Black Cat/Grove)

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Essential JSP: Critical Insights into the World of Scholarly Publishing

Essential JSP: Critical Insights into the World of Scholarly Publishing, brings together the essential articles from the Journal of Scholarly Publishing with new introductions, additional bibliographies, statistics tables and analysis of the state of scholarly publishing today

Friday, November 11, 2011

2011 Wellcome Trust Book Prize winner

The third Wellcome Trust Book Prize has been awarded to Alice LaPlante for her debut novel "Turn of Mind", a tale of a family's secrets exposed by murder and a brilliant mind in terminal decline. It is the first work of fiction to win the Prize, triumphing ahead of Philip Roth's study of a polio epidemic in wartime Newark, "Nemesis", and Siddhartha Mukherjee's Pulitzer Prize-winning history of cancer, "The Emperor of All Maladies"

2011 Dylan Thomas Prize won by Lucy Caldwell

Lucy Caldwell has been announced as the winner of the 2011 University of Wales Dylan Thomas Prize for young writers at a ceremony in Swansea, South Wales

Author sues reviewer over comments on Amazon

Chris McGrath, a self-published author, is suing a reviewer alongside Amazon and Richard Dawkins after unfavourable comments were posted about his book

Andy Mulligan wins 2011 Guardian children's fiction prize

Andy Mulligan wins 2011 Guardian children's fiction prize for "Return to Ribblestrop"

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Springer to acquire Pharma Marketing and Publishing Services from Wolters Kluwer

Springer Science+Business Media has reached an agreement with Wolters Kluwer to acquire the Pharma Marketing and Publishing Services division for its Springer Healthcare unit. MPS is one of the five largest global providers of strategic marketing, publishing and business intelligence products and services to the pharmaceutical industry, as well as to medical libraries and academic and research institutions

Interview with Susan Orlean, author of Rin Tin Tin: the Life and the Legend

In this exclusive interview for Digital Book World, Rich Fahle of Astral Road Media interviews Susan Orlean, staff writer at The New Yorker and author of the just published Rin Tin Tin: the Life and the Legend, who discusses Twitter, interacting with readers, and the role of social media in creating an ambient intimacy between author and reader

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Rakuten buys Kobo ebook business

Japan's biggest internet retailer is taking over the ebook firm Kobo. Rakuten already sells another digital reader in Japan: the Raboo, which is made by Panasonic. The $315m (£198m) acquisition is designed to help it become one of the biggest players in the ebook industry

The Roald Dahl Funny Prize 2011 winners

A rhyming picture book about pirate cats has seized the bounty for the funniest book for children aged six and under in this year's Roald Dahl Funny Prize. Cats Ahoy! is written by Peter Bently (who was also shortlisted in 2009 for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize), and illustrated by Jim Field. It is joined on the podium by The Brilliant World of Tom Gates, the winner of the seven to fourteen category, and the first in a series of books about Tom, an expert doodler and master of excuses, written and illustrated by Liz Pichon

Esi Edugyan wins the Giller Prize (Canada)

Esi Edugyan of Victoria has won the 2011 Scotiabank Giller Prize for her novel, Half-Blood Blues. The winner of the $50,000 award for the best English-language novel was named Tuesday evening at a gala in Toronto

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Interview with Maureen Johnson, author of The Name of the Star

In this exclusive interview for Digital Book World, Rich Fahle of Astral Road Media interviews Maureen Johnson, bestselling author of the just published The Name of the Star, who discusses researching her novels, Twitter, and author branding.

Australian Google eBookstore opens

Google has opened the Australian Google eBookstore

Barnes & Noble debuts $249 Nook Tablet

Barnes & Noble will release the Nook Tablet, a new 7-inch multimedia reading and media device, priced at $249, on November 17. In addition, B&N is upgrading the NookColor and the Nook Simple Touch, and lowering their prices to $199 and $99, respectively

ALPSP endorses new British Library INCD Licensing Framework

ALPSP endorses the soon-to-be launched British Library INCD Service for the supply of copies of articles to non-commercial end users via not-for-profit libraries outside the UK. The INCD Service is underpinned by agreements with publishers, for which a framework licence agreement, to be entered into directly between individual publishers and the British Library, has been agreed with the British Library by the International Association of Scientific, Technical & Medical Publishers (STM) in consultation with the Publishers Association (PA)

2012 Children's Book Calendar, proceeds to Kids with Arthritis (UK)

Children's Book Calendar featuring the work of 12 different illustrators

Elpub 2012: 16th International Conference on Electronic Publishing

16th International Conference on Electronic Publishing: Social Shaping of Digital Publishing: Exploring the interplay between Culture and Technology - June 14-15, 2012 - Portugal

Impac Dublin Literary Award 2012 longlist

The longlist for the Impac Dublin Literary Award 2012 has been announced

PA Bulletin 9th November 2011 (UK)

PA Bulletin 9th November 2011, from The Publishers Association, UK, is now available online #publisher #publishing

Monday, November 7, 2011

The Green Carnation Prize Shortlist 2011

The Green Carnation Prize Shortlist 2011 has been announced:

* The Strange Case of the Composer and his Judge – Patricia Duncker (Bloomsbury)
* The Proof of Love – Catherine Hall (Portobello)
* Red Dust Road – Jackie Kay (Picador)
* Remembrance of Things I Forgot – Bob Smith (Terrace Books)
* Ever Fallen in Love – Zoe Strachan (Sandstone Press)
* The Empty Family – Colm Toibin (Penguin Books)

Peter Stothard to chair the 2012 Man Booker Prize for Fiction

Sir Peter Stothard is announced as the chair of the judges for the 2012 Man Booker Prize for Fiction, the leading literary prize in the English language. He will lead a panel of five judges in choosing the best book of the year

Sunday, November 6, 2011

The Galaxy National Book Awards 2011 winners

The Galaxy National Book Awards 2011 winners:

Audible.co.uk Audiobook of the year
My Dear I Wanted to Tell You Louisa Young (HCAudio)

Specsavers Popular Fiction Book of the Year
A Tiny Bit Marvellous Dawn French (Penguin)

Crime & Thriller of the Year
Before I Go To sleep S J Watson (Doubleday)

More4 popular Non-Fiction Book of the Year
How To Be a Woman Caitlin Moran (Ebury)

Galaxy New Writer of the Year
When God was a Rabbit Sarah Winman (Headline)

National Book tokens Children's Book of the Year
A Monster Calls Patrick Ness (Walker)

Food & Drink Book of the Year
The Good Cook Simon Hopkinson (BBC Books)

The Telegraph Biography of the Year
Charles Dickens Claire Tomalin (Viking)

International Author of the Year
A Visit From the Goon Squad Jennifer Egan (Corsair)

Waterstone's UK Author of the Year
The Stranger's Child Alan Hollinghurst (Picador)

WHSmith Paperback of the Year
Room Emma Donoghue (Picador)

Outstanding Achievement Award
Jackie Collins (Simon & Schuster)

Saturday, November 5, 2011

The 2011 Best Illustrated Children's Books

The New York Times Book Review has announced its list of the 10 Best Illustrated Children's Books of 2011. Artwork from this year's winners will appear in the special Children's Book section of the Book Review's November 13 issue:

* Along a Long Road by Frank Viva (Little, Brown)
* A Ball for Daisy by Chris Raschka (Schwartz & Wade/Random House)
* Brother Sun, Sister Moon: Saint Francis of Assisi's Canticle of the Creatures by Katherine Paterson, illustrated by Pamela Dalton (Chronicle)
* Grandpa Green by Lane Smith (Roaring Brook/Macmillan)
* Ice by Arthur Geisert (Enchanted Lion Books)
* I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen (Candlewick)
* Me... Jane by Patrick McDonnell (Little, Brown)
* Migrant by Maxine Trottier, illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault (Groundwood)
* A Nation's Hope: The Story of Boxing Legend Joe Louis by Matt de la Peña, illustrated by Kadir Nelson (Dial/Penguin)
* A New Year's Reunion by Yu Li-Qiong, illustrated by Zhu Cheng-Liang (Candlewick)

Sci-fi/fantasy new frontier for publishers

Mainstream publishers can "no longer afford to ignore" science-fiction and fantasy projects, with genre tropes now perceived as an "advantage" in general fiction, as a flurry of six-figure deals and chart successes point to a rising demand for the genre - The Bookseller

Friday, November 4, 2011

Picture Book Month - November 2011

Picture Book Month is an international initiative to designate November as Picture Book Month, encouraging everyone to celebrate literacy with picture books. Founder, Dianne de Las Casas (author & storyteller) storyconnection.net, and Co-Founders, Katie Davis (author/illustrator) katiedavis.com, Elizabeth O. Dulemba (author/illustrator) www.dulemba.com, Tara Lazar (author) taralazar.wordpress.com, and Wendy Martin (author/illustrator) wendymartinillustration.com, are putting together their worldwide connections to make this happen

Princeton University Press to try e-book shorts

Princeton University Press is going to begin publishing e-book shorts on Amazon and other e-book sellers, testing the idea that an academic publisher can succeed where other e-book publishers have gone with Kindle Singles

ALPSP International Conference 2012 (UK)

ALPSP International Conference 2012 - 11-13 September 2012 - Birmingham, UK

Anthony Horowitz reopens the Sherlock Holmes casebook

Anthony Horowitz explains why he was so keen to resurrect Sherlock Holmes - 81 years after the death of his creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Interview with Kathleen Schmidt, President of KMSPR

In this exclusive interview for Digital Book World, Rich Fahle of Astral Road Media interviews Kathleen Schmidt, president of KMSPR, a Ridgewood, NJ-based public relations firm specializing in books and authors, who discusses book marketing, writing careers and Twitter

Crisis talks over Wayne Rooney's HarperCollins book deal

Wayne Rooney's record £5million five-book deal with HarperCollins is the subject of much discussion at the publishers, who are considering a revamp of the troubled contract. The second autobiography in the series has already been postponed once following England's dismal 2010 World Cup. Plans to bring out the book either before or after Euro 2012 are also on the back burner, with Rooney suspended from the group stage of the tournament

School Library Association Information Book Award 2011 Winners

The winners of the School Library Association Information Book Award 2011 are:

Under 7s
* The Great Big Book of Families by Mary Hoffman and Ros Asquith

7-12
* Animals at the Edge by Jonathan and Marilyn Baillie

12-16 and overall winner
* How To Make A Universe With 92 Ingredients by Adrian Dingle

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Prix Goncourt won by biology teacher Alexis Jenni

A biology teacher has won France's top literary prize with a novel about the country's colonial wars. Alexis Jenni received the Prix Goncourt for his debut, L'Art Francais De La Guerre (The French Art of War). As is traditional, the 10 Euro (£8.60) prize was handed out at the Drouant restaurant in Paris. The prize virtually guarantees high book sales

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

The Wapping Project Bookshop (UK)

The Wapping Project Bookshop - an independent bookshop specialising in art, photography and new fiction, in a greenhouse

John Wiley and Sons sue 27 BitTorrent users

John Wiley and Sons have sued 27 BitTorrent users at a federal court in New York. The publisher claims that the defendants have shared copies of its "For Dummies" books without permission, and demands compensation. After several movie studios started filing lawsuits against BitTorrent users last year, Wiley is the first book publisher to take this kind of action

Cambridge University Press launches University Publishing Online

University Publishing Online provides aggregated content from the Mathematical Association of America (based in Washington D.C.), Liverpool University Press, Foundation Books (based in India), and Cambridge University Press. Access to content from Edinburgh University Press and Nottingham University Press will be available from early 2012

HarperCollins acquires Thomas Nelson

HarperCollins acquires Thomas Nelson

2011 Man Asian Literary Prize longlist

The longlist for the Man Asian Literary Prize 2011 has been announced:

* The Wandering Falcon by Jamil Ahmad
* The Good Muslim by Tahmima Anam
* Rebirth by Jahnavi Barua
* The Sly Company of People Who Care by Rahul Bhattacharya
* The Colonel by Mahmoud Dowlatabadi
* River of Smoke by Amitav Ghosh
* 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami
* The Folded Earth by Anuradha Roy
* Please Look After Mom by Kyung-Sook Shin
* The Valley of Masks by Tarun J. Tejpal
* Dream of Ding Village by Yan Lianke
* The Lake by Banana Yoshimoto

Interview with Mark Allin, SVP Trade and Professional at Wiley

In this exclusive interview for Digital Book World, Rich Fahle of Astral Road Media interviews Mark Allin, Senior Vice President, Professional and Trade at John Wiley & Sons, who discusses global publishing, digital in markets outside the trade, and how to take brands into new kinds of media

National Non-Fiction Day 2011

National Non-Fiction Day is an annual celebration, initiated by the Federation of Children’s Book Groups in partnership with Scholastic Children’s Books. It aims to celebrate all that is brilliant about non fiction and show that it's not just fiction that can be read and enjoyed for pleasure - 3 November 2011

PA International Conference (UK)

The 2011 International Conference takes place on 15 December 2011 at Fishmongers' Hall, London, UK. This year's conference is titled The Changing Scene in International Markets for UK Publishers

Monday, October 31, 2011

Odyl helps authors and publishers connect with readers on Facebook

Odyl helps authors and publishers engage and grow their audiences using Facebook, transforming their passionate readers into vocal evangelists. Our audience development platform enables authors to tap into Facebook's 900 million members, and to reap the benefits of Facebook's amazing sharing capabilities

Susan Hill launches "Not World Book Night" on Twitter

The Guardian has the Not the Booker prize – now one of this year's Man Booker prize judges, Susan Hill, has come up with Not World Book Night. The novelist was not a supporter of last year's initial event, when one million books were given away, telling the Guardian at the time that she was "totally against" the free handouts because "one of my publishers has had to spend £40,000 on printing books to give away which is £40,000 he cannot now use to publish and promote new authors", and throwing her support behind novelist Nicola Morgan's alternative suggestion: to buy a book and pass it on

Red House Children's Book Award 2012 shortlist

The shortlist for the Red House Children's Book Award 2012 is as follows:

Books for Younger Children

* Rollo and Ruff and the Little Fluffy Bird by Mick Inkpen, published by Hodder
* Don't Worry Douglas! by David Melling, published by Hodder
* Peely Wally by Kali Stileman, published by Red Fox
* Scruffy Bear and the Six White Mice by Chris Wormell, published by Jonathan Cape

Books for Younger Readers

* One Dog and His Boy by Eva Ibbotson, published by Marion Lloyd Books
* Sky Hawk by Gill Lewis, published by Oxford University Press
* The Brilliant World of Tom Gates by Liz Pichon, published by Scholastic

Books for Older Readers

* Grace by Morris Gleitzman, published by Puffin
* A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness, published by Walker
* My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece by Annabel Pitcher, published by Orion

Charles Foran wins Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction

Charles Foran is the winner of the Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction

Saturday, October 29, 2011

David Annandale signing The Valedictorians in Winnipeg

McNally Robinson Booksellers & Ravenstone Books present David Annandale signing The Valedictorians on November 5

2011 William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award shortlist

The shortlist for the 2011 William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award has been announced:

* Among The Fans: From Ashes to the Arrows, a Year of Watching the Watchers by Patrick Collins (Wisden Sports Writing)

* Into The Arena: The World of the Spanish Bullfight by Alexander Fiske-Harrison (Profile Books)

* The Ghost Runner: The Tragedy of the Man They Couldn't Stop by Bill Jones (Mainstream Publishing)

* Engage : The Fall and Rise of Matt Hampson by Paul Kimmage (Simon & Schuster)

* Racing Through The Dark: The Fall and Rise of David Millar by David Millar (Orion)

* A Life Too Short: The Tragedy of Robert Enke by Ronald Reng (Yellow Jersey Press)

* 32 Programmes by Dave Roberts (Bantam Press)

The Bookseller FutureBook2011 Conference

The Bookseller FutureBook2011 Conference - 5 December 2011 - London, UK

S&S bags Lynda Bellingham in two-book fiction deal

Actress and "Loose Women" co-presenter Lynda Bellingham has signed a two-book deal with Simon & Schuster to write commercial women's fiction

Friday, October 28, 2011

The HW Fisher Best First Biography Prize winner

The winner of this year's £5,000 HW Fisher Best First Biography Prize was Matthew Hollis for Now All Roads Lead to France: The Last Years of Edward Thomas, published by Faber. Speaking on behalf of the judges, Michael Prodger said: 'Matthew Hollis's Now All Roads Lead to France is not just an account of one of the First World War's less starry poets but of two worlds. The first is the febrile poetry world of the time, full of arguments, striving and intense friendships; the second is the world of creativity inside Thomas's head and just how the poems came about and were crafted. Hollis depicts both with extraordinary insight and in prose that is in the very best sense poetic.'

Nancy Miller named E-I-C at Bloomsbury USA

Nancy Miller has been promoted from executive editor at Bloomsbury to editor-in-chief at Bloomsbury USA. Miller, who is not replacing anyone, has been at Bloomsbury since 2009. She will now be reporting to Bloomsbury USA publishing director George Gibson, and has worked for, among other houses, HarperCollins and Random House

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Occupy Wall Street: The Book

Occupy Wall Street: The BookOR Books will release a 200-page first draft of a history entitled Occupying Wall Street: The Inside Story of an Action That Changed America as soon as December 17, using volunteers from the movement's Education and Empowerment Committee, and including work by both "sympathetic writers and people who are active in the occupation," OR co-founder Colin Robinson told New York

2012 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature finalists

Finalists for the $50,000 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature, which was created to "acquaint readers to the rich diversity of South Asia's myriad language traditions," are:

* Bharathipura by U.R. Ananthamurthy
* A Street in Srinagar by Chandrakanta
* Monkey-man by Usha K.R
* Chinaman by Shehan Karunatilaka
* The Thing About Thugs by Tabish Khair
* The Story that Must Not Be Told by Kavery Nambisan

The winner will be announced January 21 at the DSC Jaipur Literature Festival

2011 ReLit Awards winners (Canada)

Winners of the 2011 ReLit Awards, which honor the best new work released by independent publishers in Canada, are:

* Novel: Blood Relatives by Craig Francis Power (Pedlar Press)
* Poetry: Sweet by Dani Couture (Pedlar Press)
* Short Story: Ravenna Gets by Tony Burgess (Anvil Press)

Kobo to become a publisher (Canada)

Canadian-based e-book seller Kobo is following in Amazon's footsteps and creating a publishing arm that will deal directly with authors

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

2011 Booker Prize Foundation University Initiative

13,000 copies of Man Booker Prize shortlisted titles have been distributed to students beginning university this autumn. The authors of the featured books will visit five universities before the end of the year to take part in a combination of workshops, lectures and reading groups. The universities taking part this autumn are: Newcastle; Hull; Stirling; Birkbeck and St Andrews

Craig Taylor - The Londoners

Craig Taylor will be talking about his new book The Londoners - the days and nights of London now. Perspectives from the people of London. From the woman who is the voice of London Underground to the director of a Bethnal Green funeral parlour, and many in between. Craig has painted a vivid, epic and wholly fresh portrait of 21st century London.

Join us at Chipping Barnet Library on Saturday 19th November at 2.30pm
Please phone 020 8359 4040 or email ruth.newman@barnet.gov.uk to book your free place.

ruth.newman@barnet.gov.uk
02083594040

HarperCollins buys Newmarket Press

HarperCollins has acquired the rights to the majority of the titles published by Newmarket Press, the independent New York City publisher started in 1981 by Esther Margolis

Macmillan Children's buys Birthright trilogy

Macmillan Children's Books has acquired a new trilogy called Birthright by Elsewhere author Gabrielle Zevin, who was previously published by Bloomsbury

Taiwanese publisher hits record with Jobs' biography

A Taiwanese publishing house has hit record results after it launched China's translation of Apple giant Steve Jobs' biography written by Walter Isaacson. Commonwealth Publishing Group released the book in Taiwan yesterday morning (October 24th), with more than 9,000 pre-orders made in just one day, equivalent to six orders per minute. In the last 19 days, more than 90,000 pre-orders of the translation were made across Asia, as its release came ahead of schedule to fall in line with its English-language launch in the UK and the US

Herman Cain spent over $100,000 of donor's money buying copies of his OWN book

Daily Mail: "Herman Cain may have based presidential bid around his 9-9-9 tax plan, but some of his other numbers may not be adding up. Financial filings show that the GOP candidate has used over $100,000 of donor's money to buy copies of booklets that his own company profits from. Mr Cain is the sole owner of a corporation called T.H.E. New Voice, Inc., which sells self-published booklets, DVDs and videos chronicling the pizza magnate's rise to fame"

World Book Night titles unveiled (UK)

Pride and Prejudice and The Alchemist are among the 25 titles that will be given away on World Book Night in 2012. One million books will be distributed at venues including hostels, pubs and hospitals in a bid to boost reading. Now in its second year, the event will move from March to 23 April, marking both Unesco's International Day Of The Book and Shakespeare's birthday. Some 20,000 members of the public will be chosen to give away copies of their favourite title from the list

Monday, October 24, 2011

Interview with Fauzia Burke, President, FSB Associates

In this exclusive interview for Digital Book World, Rich Fahle of Astral Road Media interviews Fauzia Burke, who discusses online book marketing, improving discoverability, her new program Amplify, and building better publicity relationships.

PA Bulletin 24th October 2011 (UK)

PA Bulletin 24th October 2011, from The Publishers Association, UK, is now available online #publisher #publishing

Friday, October 21, 2011

TS Eliot prize 2011 shortlist (UK)

The shortlist for the TS Eliot prize 2011 has been announced:

* Black Cat Bone by John Burnside
* The Bees by Carol Ann Duffy
* Profit and Loss by Leontia Flynn
* Night by David Harsent
* Armour by John Kinsella
* Grace by Esther Morgan
* Tippoo Sultan's Incredible White-Man-Eating Tiger Toy-Machine!!! by Daljit Nagra
* November by Sean O'Brien
* Farmer's Cross by Bernard O'Donoghue
* Memorial by Alice Oswald

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Writeidea Reading Festival 2011 (UK)

This is the third year of Writeidea - East London's free reading festival - and it is now established as a highlight in the cultural calendar in the capital. In contrast to many other literary festivals across the country, all our events are free, as we think that everyone should have the opportunity to meet and engage with our best writers and hear them talking about their work - 11 - 19 November - London, UK

Galaxy National Book Awards 2011 shortlist categories

The shortlist categories for the Galaxy National Book Awards 2011 have been announced

Piri Thomas, Latin American poet and novelist, dead at age 83

Piri Thomas, a Latin American poet and novelist who gave lyrical voice to the "gente" of New York City's barrios, has died. He was 83

POLITICO Bookshelf

POLITICO has taken its second step into the book business with the launch of an online bookstore, in partnership with Random House, of political books curated by POLITICO's editors. "POLITICO Bookshelf" will be operated by Random House featuring books on current events, politics, history and biography

Authors to get sales data online from 3 big publishers

Three major publishers, Simon & Schuster, Hachette and Random House in the US, will allow their authors to access book sales data directly online, a move that appeared to challenge Amazon and its continued efforts to woo authors

Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award 2012 nominees

184 candidates from 66 countries are nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award 2012. This was revealed at the Frankfurt Book Fair on October 13 2011. Over one hundred expert organisations from all over the world have nominated the candidates. The recipient or recipients of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award will be announced on March 20th 2012

Knopf back to press on Barnes's Booker winner

With the news last night that the 2011 Man Booker Prize has gone to The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes, the U.S. publisher of the title, Knopf, has gone back to press for an additional 40,000 copies, bringing total copies in print to 76,000

Interview with Kevin Smokler, Author and Consultant, Byliner

In this exclusive interview for Digital Book World, Rich Fahle of Astral Road Media interviews Kevin Smokler, former VP of Byliner, who discusses short form publishing, new reading experiences, and speed to market for ebooks

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Naomi Wolf arrested at Occupy Wall Street

It’s not just the stars who are joining the Occupy Wall Street movement: feminist author Naomi Wolf was arrested on Tuesday night when she joined protesters at an event in downtown New York that Governor Cuomo was attending. While the others were demonstrating against Cuomo's refusal to reinstate the "millionaires tax," the bestselling author of The Beauty Myth reportedly told the crowd they didn't need a permit to use a megaphone. Police had said that protesters couldn't be outside the event without a street-activities permit

The Fourth Brook Green Book Festival 2011 (UK)

The Fourth Brook Green Book Festival 2011 sponsored by Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Brook Green. The aim of the Festival is to bring together West London writers and local people - 17-21 October, 2011

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Julian Barnes wins Man Booker Prize 2011

Julian Barnes has been named the winner of this year's £50,000 Man Booker Prize for Fiction for The Sense of an Ending, published by Jonathan Cape. London-based Barnes has been the bookies' favourite to win since the shortlist announcement on 6 September. The source of the description of the prize as 'posh bingo', Barnes has been shortlisted three times in the past for Arthur and George (2005), England, England (1998) and Flaubert's Parrot (1984)

Robert Darnton on eBooks, Google Books, DPLA...

Robert Darnton, historian and director of the university library at Harvard, talks about books, ebooks, the Google Books settlement, and the promise of the Digital Public Library of America

Man Booker Prize live on BBC News Channel 9.30-10pm tonight

Tonight's Man Booker Prize ceremony will be live on the BBC News Channel, BBC World News and online from 2130 - 2200 BST tonight, Tuesday 18 October 2011

Novelist Catherine Fisher named young people's laureate (Wales)

A writer from Newport is to be named Wales' first Young People's Laureate later. Catherine Fisher, a former primary school teacher and archaeologist, is an award-winning author of fantasy novels for children. She will be asked to inspire young people to read and be involved in creative writing. Her appointment by writers' body Literature Wales will be unveiled by singer Charlotte Church later

Javier Moro wins Premio Planeta award

Spanish writer Javier Moro has received this year's Premio Planeta award, the most prestigious prize for novels in Spanish. Moro, 57, scooped the prize Saturday for "El imperio eres tu" (The Empire, it's you), which is based on the life of Brazil's first Emperor Dom Pedro I (1798-1834), who backed the nationalist cause against imperial power Portugal

Rabindranath Maharaj wins 2011 Toronto Book Awards

Rabindranath Maharaj is the recipient of the 2011 Toronto Book Award for his novel The Amazing Absorbing Boy. The announcement was made at an awards gala held on October 13 at the Toronto Reference Library. Established by Toronto City Council in 1974, the Toronto Book Awards honour authors of books of literary or artistic merit that are evocative of Toronto

Monday, October 17, 2011

The Global eBook Market: Current Conditions & Future Projections

This research report will discuss the current state of the ebook market as well as provide guidance on what the future looks like. The report is presented by country and will consist of the primary report covering Europe as well as follow-up supplements adding coverage of the rest of the world. The initial release will be in mid-October at TOC Frankfurt and the supplements will be delivered later in 2011 and early 2012

Bedford Square Books launches with six titles

Bedford Square Books, the new e-book and Print on Demand venture coming from the Ed Victor Literary Agency, has gone live with all six launch titles now available to the public. In addition, Ed Victor confirmed that the company will publish its first original work, a novel by entrepreneur Louise Fennell, wife of jewellery designer, Theo. Fennell's debut novel, Dead Rich, is a contemporary black comedy. It will be published on February 8 2012 in e-book and POD formats

John le Carré regrets the removal of resale price maintenance on books

David Cornwell, better known by his pen name John le Carré, laments the removal of retail price maintenance on books and regrets lending his support to the campaign for its abolition. He made the admission in his keynote address at German publisher Ullstein’s grand 50th birthday party in Berlin last Sunday, where he was guest of honor at the invitation of Siv Bublitz, Ullstein Publisher & CEO. The speech, delivered in impeccable German, concluded with a paean of praise for German publishing and for the respect it is accorded in Germany

Boualem Sansal scoops German book prize

Internationally acclaimed Algerian author Boualem Sansal on Sunday received the annual German Book Trade Peace Prize and said that people everywhere were rising up against dictatorship. Sansal, 62, received the award for his open criticism of the regime in Algeria and his drive for "freedom of speech, culture and religion" in his native country, said Gottfried Honnefelder, president of the organisation

Interview with Brian Murray, CEO of HarperCollins

In this exclusive interview for Digital Book World, Rich Fahle of Astral Road Media interviews Brian Murray, CEO of HarperCollins Publishing, who discusses ROI, library ebook lending, and the pace of innovation in book publishing

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Lost CS Forester book "The Pursued" to be published

The Pursued - a crime novel written in 1935 by Horatio Hornblower creator CS Forester that was thought lost - is to be published for the first time. It was lost after the English author decided not to publish it so he could concentrate on a follow-up to the first Hornblower novel, The Happy Return. But a copy of the text surfaced at an auction in London in 2003 when it was bought by enthusiasts

The 2011 CWA Ellis Peters Historical Award shortlist

The Crime Writers' Association has announced the shortlist for this year's prestigious Ellis Peters Historical Award. The six books on the shortlist are:

* Rory Clements Prince (John Murray)
* Sam Eastland The Red Coffin (Faber & Faber)
* Gordon Ferris The Hanging Shed (Corvus)
* Andrew Martin The Somme Stations (Faber & Faber)
* RN Morris The Cleansing Flames (Faber & Faber)
* Imogen Robertson Island of Bones (Headline)

CWA chair Peter James said: "Historical fiction remains as popular as ever and has seen the creation of some of crime writing’s most enduring characters. This year's books continue that fine tradition."

The winner will be announced on November 30 at the Athenaeum in London, UK

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Man Booker Prize shortlisted authors on BBC Today programme

The winner of the 2011 Man Booker Prize will be announced on Tuesday 18th October. In the run up to the award, BBC Radio 4's Today programme is previewing the six shortlisted novels

Andy Warhol's children's book illustrations

Before there were Marilyns and Campbell's cans, there were neon-colored cats and pearl-bedecked birds. Andy Warhol illustrated several children's books in the 1950s as part of Doubleday's Best In Children's Book series before leaving the publishing world behind, and lately they've been back in the public eye

Friday, October 14, 2011

ACCESS announces advanced, platform-independent eBook reader that supports the EPUB 3 standard

ACCESS CO., LTD. has announced the availability of NetFront™ BookReader v1.0 EPUB Edition, a new, platform-independent eBook reader that features support for EPUB® 3, the latest version of the distribution and interchange format for digital publications and documents developed and maintained by the International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF)

The Penguin Podcast: Rob Brydon's Small Man in a Book

In this special podcast, TV personality Rob Brydon reads an extract from his autobiography, Small Man in a Book. Before his much-loved performances in shows including The Trip, Gavin and Stacey, Human Remains and Marion and Geoff, Rob Brydon had a difficult ascent to fame. In this extract, he discusses his college years and the trials and tribulations of starting your career

WHSmith to launch e-book readers (UK)

WHSmith, the UK newsagent and bookseller, is to launch a range of e-book readers in partnership with a Canadian company called Kobo

Interview with Sarah Wendell, author and book blogger

In this exclusive interview for Digital Book World, Rich Fahle of Astral Road Media interviews Sarah Wendell, who discusses the romance reading community, DRM, the possibilities of ebooks, and library lending of ebooks

Thursday, October 13, 2011

IDW Publishing library comes to comiXology

IDW Publishing and comiXology have partnered to make the publisher's complete library available digitally across all comiXology platforms - iOS, the Android and the Web

Google Books returns to the Annual Boston Book Festival

From Inside Google Books: Bostonian bookworms curious about ebooks and the latest talented writers are in for a treat this Saturday, October 15 at the third annual Boston Book Festival – a free one-day event celebrating books and authors that's expected to attract more than 30,000 people. We'll be there hosting a Google eBooks Petting Zoo inside the main Boston Book Festival tent at Copley Square, as well as sponsoring two panel discussions

National Book Awards 2011 finalists

Winners of the National Book Awards 2011 will be announced November 16 in New York City. This year's shortlisted titles are:

Fiction:
* The Tiger's Wife by Téa Obrecht (Random House)
* The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka (Knopf)
* Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward (Bloomsbury USA)
* The Sojourn by Andrew Krivak (Bellevue Literary Press)
* Binocular Vision by Edith Pearlman (Lookout Books)

Nonfiction:
* The Convert: A Tale of Exile and Extremism by Deborah Baker (Graywolf)
* Love and Capital: Karl and Jenny Marx and the Birth of a Revolution by Mary
* Gabriel (Little, Brown)
* The Swerve: How the World Became Modern by Stephen Greenblatt (Norton)
* Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention by Manning Marable (Viking)
* Radioactive: Marie & Pierre Curie, A Tale of Love and Fallout by Lauren Redniss (It Books)

Poetry:
* Head Off & Split by Nikky Finney (TriQuarterly)
* The Chameleon Couch by Yusef Komunyakaa (FSG)
* Double Shadow by Carl Phillips (FSG)
* Tonight No Poetry Will Serve: Poems 2007-2010 by Adrienne Rich (Norton)
* Devotions by Bruce Smith (University of Chicago Press)

Young People's Literature:
* My Name Is Not Easy by Debby Dahl Edwardson (Marshall Cavendish)
* Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai (HarperCollins)
* Flesh and Blood So Cheap: The Triangle Fire and Its Legacy by Albert Marrin (Knopf Books for Young Readers)
* Chime by Franny Billingsley (Dial Books)
* Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt (Clarion Books)
* Shine by Lauren Myracle (Amulet Books)

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

75th Governor General’s Literary Awards finalists (Canada)

The Canada Council for the Arts has announced the 68 finalists for the 2011 Governor General's Literary Awards. The GGs, Canada's national book awards celebrate the excellence of Canadian writers, illustrators and translators. The English and French awards are in the categories of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama, children's literature (text and illustration) and translation

Book Review: London Unfurled By Matteo Pericoli

Have you ever held a book that is seven times your height? London Unfurled is a remarkable, accordion-style object (book is perhaps the wrong word) containing an even more remarkable panorama. Artist Matteo Pericoli has painstakingly drawn the Thames riverscape, on both north and south banks, between Hammersmith and Greenwich. It's all here; every building, bridge, pier, chimney, steeple. The Shard looms out of the page, half-built. The angles shift and warp, depending on the artist's choice of vantage point

Anne Rice is signing books at Foyles Charing Cross Road (UK)

Internationally bestselling author, creator of the vampire Lestat in Interview with the Vampire and an inspiration to current favourites such as such as Charlaine Harris and Stephanie Meyer, Anne Rice has created some of the most memorable and chilling stories in the history of horror writing. Anne returns to the UK for the first time in over a decade to sign copies of her books exclusively in London for Foyles on October 15, 2011

Jarvis Cocker to be Faber and Faber editor-at-large

Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker has been appointed editor-at-large with book publisher Faber and Faber. The singer will work in a "broad commissioning role" with Faber's publishing and editorial directors. Cocker follows in the footsteps of The Who guitarist Pete Townshend, who was appointed the role at the publisher in the 1980s

Natasha Kaplinsky joins Orange Prize jury (UK)

Natasha Kaplinsky joins Orange Prize jury (UK)Newsreader Natasha Kaplinsky and BBC Radio 5 live host Victoria Derbyshire are to join the judging panel for the 2012 Orange Prize for Fiction. The jury, chaired by bestselling author Joanna Trollope, will also include writer Lisa Appignanesi and broadcaster Natalie Haynes. The £30,000 annual prize recognises the work of fiction written in the English language by women. The winner will be announced on 30 May next year

Barnes & Noble yanks Kindle exclusive comics from its shelves

Don't share with Barnes & Noble, and you'll face the book behemoth's wrath. One week after DC Comics handed over exclusive digital rights for some of its comic books to Amazon, B&N fired back by yanking physical copies of those books off its store shelves. Barnes & Noble said it is following its usual proceedure for dealing with publishers that release digital versions of their books but withhold those e-books from B&N - CNN

Maney Publishing partners with the European Medical Writers Association

Maney Publishing has announced a new publishing arrangement with the European Medical Writers Association to relaunch its journal in 2012. EMWA has been publishing The Write Stuff since 1998. The title will change to Medical Writing from Volume 21, to reflect more clearly the interests of the journal's authors and readership. The re-launch will take place at the EMWA conference in London on 3–4 November 2011