London Book Fair 2013

Special link: London Book Fair 2013

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Susan Cooper: a life in writing

'I remember writing about the snow in The Dark Is Rising with a lizard on my typewriter'

Mark Coker Predicts: 'More money will be made in author services than in book sales'

In his 2013 Book Publishing Industry Predictions, Smashwords founder Mark Coker included this warning for aspiring writers: "In the self-publishing gold rush, more money will be made in author services than in book sales"

Bookshop numbers halve in just seven years (UK)

The number of high street bookshops in Britain has more than halved in just seven years due to the rise of e-books and the consumer downturn, research for The Daily Telegraph has found

Friday, December 21, 2012

Her Majesty’s Gold Medal Award for Poetry winner (UK)

The Queen has approved the award of Her Majesty's Gold Medal for Poetry for the year 2012 to John Agard

Bord Gáis Energy Book of the Year winner

Donal Ryan's brilliant debut novel The Spinning Heart has been voted the Bord Gáis Energy Book of the Year from a shortlist comprising the winners of the individual generic categories announced at the Irish Book Awards gala dinner on November 22nd. Despite competition from major writers such as John Banville, Edna O'Brien and the highly-acclaimed Atlas of the Great Irish Famine, Ryan's expansive and ambitious novel emerged as the overall winner in what was commonly regarded as a wonderful year for Irish writing

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

London book and poetry events: 12-19 December

Book, poetry and spoken word events in London 12-19 December, 2012

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

2012 Man Asian Literary Prize longlist has been announced

The 2012 Man Asian Literary Prize longlist:

Goat Days by Benyamin (India)
Between Clay and Dust by Musharraf Ali Farooqi (Pakistan)
Another Country by Anjali Joseph (India)
The Briefcase by Hiromi Kawakami (Japan)
Thinner Than Skin by Uzma Aslam Khan (Pakistan)
Ru by Kim Thúy (Vietnam/Canada)
Black Flower by Young-Ha Kim (South Korea)
Island of a Thousand Mirrors by Nayomi Munaweera (Sri Lanka)
Silent House by Orhan Pamuk (Turkey)
Honour by Elif Shafak (Turkey)
Northern Girls by Sheng Keyi (China)
The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng (Malaysia)
The Road to Urbino by Roma Tearne (Sri Lanka/U.K.)
Narcopolis by Jeet Thayil (India)
The Bathing Women by Tie Ning (China)

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Hall and Sprackland are £10k Portico Prize winners

Sarah Hall and Jean Sprackland have been named the 2012 winners of the north's leading book award, the Portico Prize for Literature at a Gala Dinner in Manchester Town Hall

Guardian first book award 2012 goes to Kevin Powers

Kevin Powers, whose novel The Yellow Birds takes its title from a US army marching song and has drawn comparisons with Cormac McCarthy and Ernest Hemingway, has won this year's Guardian first book award

International Prize for Arabic Fiction 2013 longlist

The longlist of 16 novels for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction 2013 has been announced

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Cervantes Prize winner

The 86-year-old Spanish poet, novelist and essayist Jose Manuel Caballero Bonald has won the Cervantes Prize, the most prestigious literary award in the Spanish-speaking world, for helping to "enrich the Hispanic literary legacy," the Spanish-language news agency EFE reported

Mystery Writers of America announces Ken Follett & Margaret Maron as their 2013 Grand Masters plus Raven and Ellery Queen Awards

Ken Follett and Margaret Maron have been chosen as this year's Grand Masters 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. Mr. Follett and Ms. Maron will be presented with their awards at the Edgar Awards Banquet, which will be held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City on Thursday, May 2, 2013

Golden Pen Award winner

The Golden PEN Award for a Lifetime's Distinguished Service to Literature is presented annually to a British Writer. The winner is chosen by the Board of English PEN. In 2012 the prize was awarded to Linton Kwesi Johnson

Specsavers National Book Awards winners (UK)

The winners of this year's Specsavers National Book Awards, a "celebration of the best of British publishing," were named this week. The public will vote online for the Specsavers Book of the Year, with the winner announced December 26. The 2012 category honorees are:

Autobiography/biography: My Animals and Other Family by Clare Balding
Popular fiction: Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James
Crime book: A Wanted Man by Lee Child
Outstanding achievement: Ian Rankin
Food & drink: The Hairy Dieters by Si King & Dave Myers
International author: The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
Nonfiction: Is It Just Me by Miranda Hart
Author of the year: Bring Up The Bodies by Hilary Mantel
Children's book: Ratburger by David Walliams
Audiobook: The Woman Who Went to Bed for a Year by Sue Townsend, read by Caroline Quentin
New writer: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce

London book and poetry events: 5-11 December

Book, poetry and spoken word events in London 5-11 December, 2012

Sunday, December 2, 2012

Publishers brace for authors to reclaim book rights in 2013

A copyright law that lets authors break contracts after 35 years will start taking effect in January. The law, which is meant to give authors like Stephen King and Judy Blume a "second bite at the apple," could provide yet another disruption for traditional publishers

Thursday, November 29, 2012

London book and poetry events: 28 November-4 December

Book, poetry and spoken word events in London 28 November - 4 December, 2012

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

The Tony Lothian Prize 2012 winner

The winner of the £2,000 Tony Lothian Prize is Jane Willis for Marguerite, Byron and the Literary Factory

The HW Fisher Best First Biography Prize 2012 winner

The winner of this year's £5,000 HW Fisher Best First Biography Prize is Thomas Penn for Winter King, published by Penguin

2013 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature finalists

Finalists have been announced for the 2013 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature, which honors "an international author (or shared with their translator) who has written the best novel thematically linked to the South Asian region." The winner will be named January 25 at the DSC Jaipur Literature Festival:

The Wandering Falcon by Jamil Ahmad
The Good Muslim by Tahmima Anam
River of Smoke by Amitav Ghosh
Our Lady of Alice Bhatti by Mohammed Hanif
The Walls of Delhi by Uday Prakash, translated by Jason Grunebaum
Narcopolis by Jeet Thayil

Bord Gáis Energy Irish Book Awards 2012 winners

The winners of the Bord Gáis Energy Irish Book Awards 2012 have been announced

2012 Canadian Children's Literature Awards winner

The 2012 Canadian Children's Literature Awards winner is Tribly Kent for Stones for My Father (Tundra Books)

2012 Royal Society Winton Prize for Science Books winner

James Gleick's The Information is the winner of the 2012 Royal Society Winton Prize for Science Books. Published by Fourth Estate, it tells the story of information and how humanity uses, transmits and stores it

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Dickens: A Writers’ Contemporary (UK)

Dickens: A Writers’ Contemporary (UK)Dickens: A Writers' Contemporary - 4 December 2012 - Liverpool, UK

Celebrate the season of Dickens and the last month of his bicentenary year at this event presented by the Writers' Guild of Great Britain in association with The Reader Organisation, which will consider exactly how influential his work is to contemporary writers. A guest panel of leading and emerging writers ranging from novelists to screenwriters working in theatre, film, television and radio will be discussing the relevance of Dickens to their own work, as well as thinking about why his writing remains so relevant and appealing to today's readers. Chaired by The Reader Organisation's Criminal Justice Projects Manager Amanda Brown, the panel includes award-winning author and patron of The Reader Organisation Frank Cottrell Boyce, playwright David Edgar, scriptwriters Gwyneth Hughes and Ayeesha Menon and local novelist Deborah Morgan

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Tolkien estate files copyright infringement suit against Warner Bros

Mere weeks before the release of the first film in the long-anticipated big-screen adaptation of The Hobbit, the estate of author J.R.R. Tolkien has sued the film's producers, claiming they are overstepping their rights when it comes to merchandising the property and The Lord of the Rings

Robert Macfarlane to chair the 2013 Man Booker Prize for Fiction

Robert Macfarlane is named as chair of the judges for the 2013 Man Booker Prize for Fiction

Cambridge University Press notches 10th successive year of growth

Cambridge University Press has achieved a 10th successive year of growth, despite challenging market conditions. The Press's total sales for the year were £245 million, which is an increase of 3.8 per cent on last year, with an operating surplus of £3.4 million

Chinese publishing sector gets financial boost

China's Bank of Communications will pump 50 billion yuan ($8 billion) into the country's publishing industry, according to a cooperative agreement signed on Tuesday

Book publisher earnings roundup: Hachette, Random House

Hachette and Random House's parent companies Lagardère and Bertelsmann reported earnings Tuesday

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

London book and poetry events: 21-27 November

Book, poetry and spoken word events in London 21-27 November, 2012

Costa Book Awards 2012 shortlists

Costa has announced the shortlists for the 2012 Costa Book Awards. The Costa Book Awards recognise the most enjoyable books in five categories - First Novel, Novel, Biography, Poetry and Children's Book - published in the last year by writers based in the UK and Ireland. This year's Costa Book Awards attracted 550 entries

2012 New Mexico & Arizona Book Awards winners

The winners of the 2012 New Mexico & Arizona Book Awards have been announced

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Saturday, November 17, 2012

The Specsavers National Book Awards (UK)

Dubbed the 'Oscars of the publishing industry,' The Specsavers National Book Awards showcases the best of British writing & publishing, whilst celebrating books with wide popular appeal, critical acclaim and commercial success. For the second year, the Awards event will be a star-studded party hosted at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, London. This year's ceremony will be held on the evening of 4th December 2012. It will be an invite-only event for shortlisted authors and publishers

Michael Cart talks about the 2012 Nobel Prize for Literature

In his latest podcast, Michael Cart talks about the winner of the 2012 Nobel Prize for Literature, Chinese author Mo Yan. He also discusses the 2012 National Book Award nominees and takes a look at what's happening with Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling

Friday, November 16, 2012

2013 BC National Award for Canadian Non-Fiction longlist

The jury for the BC National Award for Canadian Non-Fiction, one of Canada's largest literary non-fiction prizes, has released its longlist of finalists for 2013. One hundred and forty-three books were nominated for the $40,000 prize by 45 publishers from across the country. From that entry, the prize jury has selected the following longlist of ten books

A Geography of Blood: Unearthing Memory from a Prairie Landscape Candace Savage
A Season in Hell: My 130 Days in the Sahara with Al Qaeda Robert Fowler
A Thousand Farewells: A Reporter's Journey from Refugee Camp to the Arab Spring Nahlah Ayed
here we are among the living: a memoir in emails Samantha Bernstein
Pinboy: A Memoir George Bowering
Solar Dance: Genius, Forgery, and the Crisis of Truth in the Modern Age Modris Eksteins
Straphanger: Saving Our Cities and Ourselves from the Automobile Taras Grescoe
Sword of the Spirit, Shield of Faith: Religion in American War and Diplomacy Andrew Preston
The Last Viking: The Life of Roald Amundsen Stephen R. Bown
Walls: Travels Along the Barricades Marcello Di Cintio

The Canada Council for the Arts announces the 2012 Governor General’s Literary Award winners

The Canada Council for the Arts announced the 2012 Governor General's Literary Award winners on November 13, 2012

Thursday, November 15, 2012

2012 National Outdoor Book Awards winners

The winners of the 2012 National Outdoor Book Awards, sponsored by the National Outdoor Book Awards Foundation, Idaho State University and the Association of Outdoor Recreation and Education:

Outdoor Literature winners:
Almost Somewhere: Twenty-Eight Days on the John Muir Trail by Suzanne Roberts (University of Nebraska Press)
The Ledge: An Adventure Story of Friendship and Survival on Mount Rainier by Jim Davidson and Kevin Vaughan (Ballantine)

Outdoor Literature honorable mention: Before They're Gone: A Family's Year-Long Quest to Explore America's Most Endangered National Parks by Michael Lanza (Beacon Press)

Natural History Literature winner: The Forest Unseen: A Year's Watch in Nature by David George Haskell (Viking)

History/Biography winners:
Buried in the Sky: The Extraordinary Story of the Sherpa Climbers on K2's Deadliest Day by Peter Zuckerman and Amanda Padoan (Norton)
Anything Worth Doing: A True Story of Friendship and Tragedy on the Last of the West's Great Rivers by Jo Deurbrouck (Sundog Book Publishing)

Design and Artistic Merit winner: Beneath the Cold Seas: The Underwater Wilderness of the Pacific Northwest by David Hall (University of Washington Press)

Children's winner: For the Birds: The Life of Roger Tory Peterson by Peggy Thomas, illustrated by Laura Jacques (Calkins Creek).

Nature and the Environment winner: The Melting Edge: Alaska at the Frontier of Climate Change by Michael Collier (Alaska Geographic Association)

Nature and the Environment honorable mentions:

Spring Wildflowers of the Northeast: A Natural History by Carol Gracie (Princeton University Press)
Polar Bears: A Complete Guide to Their Biology and Behavior by Andrew E. Derocher. photographs by Wayne Lynch (John Hopkins University Press)

Instructional/How-to winners:

AMC Guide to Outdoor Digital Photography: Creating Great Nature and Adventure Photos by Jerry Monkman (Appalachian Mountain Club)
Backpacker Magazine's Complete Guide to Outdoor Gear Maintenance and Repair: Step by Step Techniques to Maximize Performance and Save Money by Kristin Hostetter (Falcon Guides)

Outdoor Adventure Guidebooks winner: Grand Canyoneering: Exploring the Rugged Gorges and Secret Slots of the Grand Canyon by Todd Martin (Todd's Desert Hiking Guide)

Nature Guidebooks winner: A Field Guide to the Southeast Coast & Gulf of Mexico by Noble S. Proctor and Patrick J. Lynch (Yale University Press)

Twitter Fiction Festival

Twitter Blog: "Twitter is a place to tell stories. Often those stories are about news, or politics, or perhaps sports or music, but it turns out Twitter is a great place for telling fictional stories, too. As one professor from Michigan State University says, "Tweeting can be thought of as a new literary practice." We want to celebrate that. At the end of November, we'll host a five-day Twitter Fiction Festival - a virtual storytelling celebration held entirely on Twitter. The Twitter Fiction Festival (#twitterfiction) will feature creative experiments in storytelling from authors around the world"

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Pan Zador interview

Hard-headed and cynical writer of literary fiction, Frances Kay, interviews that elusive goddess of theatre, Pan Zador

Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association 2013 Book Awards shortlist

The shortlist for the Pacific Northwest Independent Booksellers Association's 2013 Book Awards, all written by Pacific Northwest authors, is:

Blasphemy by Sherman Alexie (Grove Press)
The Art of Urban Sketching by Gabriel Campanario (Quarry Books)
The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin (Harper)
Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher by Timothy Egan (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving by Jonathan Evison (Algonquin)
Plume by Kathleen Flenniken (University of Washington Press)
The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey (Reagan Arthur Books)
On the Spectrum of Possible Deaths by Lucia Perillo (Copper Canyon Press)
Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple (Little, Brown)
Glaciers by Alexis M. Smith (Tin House Books)
Wild by Cheryl Strayed (Knopf)
Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson (Grove Press)

University of Wales Dylan Thomas Prize 2012 winner

Maggie Shipstead has won the £30,000 University of Wales Dylan Thomas Prize. The 28 year old Californian author won the prize for her debut novel Seating Arrangements

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

2012 Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction winner (Canada)

Candace Savage - A Geography of Blood: Unearthing Memory from a Prairie Landscape, has won the 2012 Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction



News about Candace Savage

Amazon.com Best Books of the Year: 2012 Editors' Picks

Amazon.com Best Books of the Year: 2012 Editors' Picks:

1. The Round House by Louise Erdrich
2. The Yellow Birds: A Novel by Kevin Powers
3. Gone Girl: A Novel by Gillian Flynn
4. The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe
5. Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk: A Novel by Ben Fountain
6. Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity by Katherine Boo
7. A Hologram for the King by Dave Eggers
8. The Middlesteins: A Novel by Jami Attenberg
9. Mortality by Christopher Hitchens
10. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

International Impac Dublin Literary Award longlist

A 154-book longlist has been announced for the €100,000 International Impac Dublin Literary Award, which is organized by Dublin City Public Libraries to honor a single work of fiction published in English. The books, nominated by libraries in 120 cities, 44 countries and in 19 languages, include 43 American, 22 British and 12 Canadian novels, as well as 42 books translated into English. The shortlist for the Impac award will be released April 9, 2013, with the winner named June 6

Piracy forces Zimbabwean publisher to reconsider strategy

An overwhelming book piracy culture in Zimbabwe is forcing publisher Edmund Masundire to reconsider releasing new titles under a series of well-received children's books. As the AFP reports, publishers and writers in the African nation are struggling as cash-strapped consumers turn to photocopied publications and textbooks sold at half the price by street vendors - London Book Fair

2012 Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction winner

National Geographic Society Explorer-in-Residence Wade Davis was named winner of the £20,000 Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction for his book Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory and the Conquest of Everest, published by The Bodley Head

Monday, November 12, 2012

Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize winner

Tamas Dobozy won the $25,000 Rogers Writers' Trust of Canada Fiction Prize, which "recognizes Canadian writers of exceptional talent for the year's best novel or short-story collection," for his Siege 13

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Calibre 0.9.6 free e-book manager and reader

Calibre is an open source e-book library management application that enables you to manage your e-book collection, convert e-books between different formats, synchronize with popular e-book reader devices, and read your e-books with the include viewer. You can sort you books by author, title, date and other details, download meta information and book covers, add personal tags and comments, and view your image in a cover flow display

Houghton acquires Webster's New World Dictionary, CliffsNotes, and big name cookbooks from Wiley

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt said that it had acquired the culinary portfolio of John Wiley & Sons, as well as its reference books, including the classic Webster’'s New World Dictionary and CliffsNotes. The cost of the transaction was not disclosed. Wiley's cooking portfolio includes the all-American Betty Crocker cookbook series and Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything" franchise, which produces apps for other high-profile cookbook authors like Rose Levy Beranbaum, Marcus Samuelsson and Ellie Krieger

Second World War: The Secret Listeners by Sinclair McKay: review

Brian McArthur enjoys an account of the people who listened to German Morse code in the war, The Secret Listeners by Sinclair McKay

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Better World Books has over 300,000 e-book titles

Better World Books has over 300,000 e-book titles available now for purchase and download on its website

Jérôme Ferrari wins France's Prix Goncourt

A novel that's been described as a poetic Corsican epic has won France's top literary prize, the Prix Goncourt. French writer and teacher Jérôme Ferrari was named winner of the venerable literary honour on Wednesday for his book Le Sermon sur la Chute de Rome (The Sermon on the Fall of Rome)

Book Review: Shakespeare's Local by Pete Brown

There's a good chance that you've been to the George Inn, on Borough High Street. It's one of those pubs that people tend to visit even if they don't realise that it's London's last remaining galleried coaching inn, it's got so much of that indefinable thing - character. So if you've ever sat in the bar nearest the street on a cold and wet night and complained for the umpteenth time about why you have to go outside to get a sodding beer, this book is for you

Friday, November 9, 2012

Wellcome Trust Book Prize 2012 winner

Thomas Wright has been announced as the winner of the £25,000 Wellcome Trust Book Prize for 'Circulation', his biography of William Harvey

Roald Dahl Funny Prize 2012 winners

The winners of the 2012 Roald Dahl Funny Prize are My Big Shouting Day by Rebecca Patterson (six-and-under category) and Dark Lord: Teenage Years by Jamie Thomson (seven-to-fourteen category)

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Guardian First Book award 2012 shortlist (UK)

The shortlist for the Guardian First Book award 2012 has been announced

The Penny Readings 2012 (UK)

Taking place on 9 December in the magnificent surroundings of the Small Concert Room, St. George's Hall, the all-singing, all-dancing festive bash returns for a ninth year, welcoming Liverpool born actor Cathy Tyson, award-winning local author Frank Cottrell Boyce and the author of Captain Corelli's Mandolin Louis De Bernieres as this year's special star readers. The Penny Readings have become a staple of the festive season in Liverpool, with a spectacular show of reading, music and entertainment, all for the price of a penny. This follows in the footsteps of Charles Dickens - a man who knew a lot about festivity - who toured across the North West giving public readings for the same price back in the 1840s, filling the venues he visited

Registration for the 2013 Stan Lee Excelsior Award is now open (UK)

The Stan Lee Excelsior Award is the only nationwide book award for graphic novels and manga - where kids aged 11-16 choose the winner by rating each book as they read it

Widen your literary horizons (UK)

Now covering more writers than ever before, the latest edition of Who else writes like...?, a guide designed to help lovers of fiction discover new authors, has been published by LISU at Loughborough University. Under a new editor, Ian Baillie, the seventh edition of this established reference book and reading promotion tool points readers in the direction of writers they might like to try

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

CILIP Carnegie & Kate Greenaway longlists

The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals has released longlists for the 2013 Carnegie Medal (author of a book for children and young people) and the Kate Greenaway Medal (illustrator of a book for children and young people). The shortlist will be announced March 19 and winners named June 19 in London:

The CILIP Carnegie Medal longlist in full:

Goldilocks on CCTV by John Agard (Frances Lincoln Children's Books)
The True Tale of the Monster Billy Dean by David Almond (Puffin Books)
Soldier Dog by Sam Angus (Macmillan Children's Books)
The No. 1 Car Spotter and the Firebird by Atinuke (Walker Books)
The Traitors by Tom Becker (Scholastic)
The Terrible Thing That Happened to Barnaby Brocket by John Boyne (Doubleday Children's Books)
Jasmine Skies by Sita Brahmachari (Macmillan Children's Books)
Spy For The Queen of Scots by Theresa Breslin (Doubleday Children's Books)
Naked by Kevin Brooks (Puffin Books)
Kill All Enemies by Melvin Burgess (Puffin Books)
Dead Time by Anne Cassidy (Bloomsbury)
VIII by H.M. Castor (Templar Publishing)
Dying To Know You by Aidan Chambers (Bodley Head)
The Broken Road by B.R. Collins (Bloomsbury)
The Unforgotten Coat by Frank Cottrell Boyce (Walker Books)
15 Days Without a Head by Dave Cousins (Oxford University Press)
After the Snow by S.D. Crockett (Macmillan Children's Books)
The Weight of Water by Sarah Crossan (Bloomsbury)
Scramasax by Kevin Crossley-Holland (Quercus Publishing)
Mortal Chaos by Matt Dickinson (Oxford University Press)
Sektion 20 by Paul Dowswell (Bloomsbury)
A Greyhound of a Girl by Roddy Doyle (Marion Lloyd Books)
Saving Daisy by Phil Earle (Puffin Books)
Buzzing! by Anneliese Emmans Dean (Brambleby Books)
The Things We Did For Love by Natasha Farrant (Faber and Faber)
Trouble in Toadpool by Anne Fine (Doubleday Children's Books)
Call Down Thunder by Daniel Finn (Macmillan Children's Books)
Far Rockaway by Charlie Fletcher (Hodder Children's Books)
The Double Shadow by Sally Gardner (Indigo)
Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner (Hot Key Books)
After by Morris Gleitzman (Puffin Books)
To Be A Cat by Matt Haig (Bodley Head)
A Face Like Glass by Frances Hardinge (Macmillan Children's Books)
Unrest by Michelle Harrison (Simon & Schuster Children's Books)
Seraphina by Rachel Hartman (Doubleday Children's Books)
The Seeing by Diana Hendry (Bodley Head)
Daylight Saving by Edward Hogan (Walker Books)
Hero on a Bicycle by Shirley Hughes (Walker Books)
The Abominables by Eva Ibbotson (Marion Lloyd Books)
The Girl in the Mask by Marie-Louise Jensen (Oxford University Press)
The Prince Who Walked With Lions by Elizabeth Laird (Macmillan Children's Books)
In Darkness by Nick Lake (Bloomsbury)
The Brides of Rollrock Island by Margo Lanagan (David Fickling Books)
Skulduggery Pleasant: Death Bringer by Derek Landy (HarperCollins Children's Books)
Itch by Simon Mayo    (Corgi Children's Books)
At Yellow Lake by Jane McLoughlin (Frances Lincoln Children's Books)
The Apothecary by Maile Meloy (Andersen Press)
The Treasure House by Linda Newbery (Orion Children's Books)
All Fall Down by Sally Nicholls (Marion Lloyd Books)
This Dark Endeavour by Kenneth Oppel (Random House David Fickling Books)
Hitler's Angel by William Osborne (Chicken House)
Wonder by R.J. Palacio (Bodley Head)
Gods and Warriors by Michelle Paver (Puffin Books)
Burn Mark by Laura Powell (Bloomsbury)
Black Arts: The Books of Pandemonium by Andrew Prentice and Jonathan Weil (David Fickling Books)
Mister Creecher by Chris Priestley (Bloomsbury)
This is Not Forgiveness by Celia Rees (Bloomsbury)
Goblins by Philip Reeve (Marion Lloyd Books)
Black Heart Blue by Louisa Reid (Puffin Books)
Pendragon Legacy: Sword of Light by Katherine Roberts (Templar Publishing)
Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick (Indigo)
A Boy and a Bear in a Boat by Dave Shelton (David Fickling Books)
The Sleeping Army by Francesca Simon (Profile Books)
The Flask by Nicky Singer (HarperCollins Children's Books)
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater (Scholastic)
A Skull in Shadows Lane by Robert Swindells (Corgi Children's Books)
A Waste of Good Paper by Sean Taylor (Frances Lincoln Children's Books)
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein (Electric Monkey)

The CILIP Kate Greenaway Longlist in full:

The Big Snuggle-Up by Nicola Bayley (illustrator) and Brian Patten (Andersen Press)
North: The Greatest Animal Journey on Earth by Patrick Benson (illustrator) and Nick Dowson (Walker Books)
How Do You Feel? by Anthony Browne (Walker Books)
The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse by Eric Carle (Puffin Books)
Have You Ever Ever Ever? by Emma Chichester Clark (illustrator) and Colin McNaughton (Walker Books)
The Pied Piper of Hamelin by Emma Chichester Clark (illustrator) and Michael Morpurgo (Walker Books)
Lunchtime by Rebecca Cobb (Macmillan Children's Books)
The Goggle-Eyed Goats by Christopher Corr (illustrator) and Stephen Davies (Andersen Press)
Croc and Bird by Alexis Deacon (Hutchinson)
Soonchild by Alexis Deacon (illustrator) and Russell Hoban (Walker Books)
The Pirates Next Door by Jonny Duddle (Templar Publishing)
Arthur's Dream Boat by Polly Dunbar (Walker Books)
Rabbityness by Jo Empson (Child's Play International)
Friends by Michael Foreman (Andersen Press)
Wild Child by Lorna Freytag (illustrator) and Jeanne Willis (Walker Books)
Azzi in Between by Sarah Garland (Frances Lincoln Children's Books)
Robin Hood by Anne Yvonne Gilbert (illustrator) and Nicky Raven (Templar Publishing)
A Bus Called Heaven by Bob Graham (Walker Books)
Again! by Emily Gravett (Macmillan Children's Books)
Matilda's Cat by Emily Gravett (Macmillan Children's Books)
Toys in Space by Mini Grey (Jonathan Cape)
Oh No, George! by Chris Haughton (Walker Books)
A First Book of Nature by Mark Hearld (illustrator) and Nicola Davies (Walker Books)
The Great Snortle Hunt by Kate Hindley (illustrator) and Claire Freedman (Simon & Schuster)
Goldilocks and Just the One Bear by Leigh Hodgkinson (Nosy Crow)
Children's Books)
Jonathan & Martha by Petr Horáček (Phaidon)
The Hueys in The New Jumper by Oliver Jeffers (HarperCollins Children's Books)
Stuck by Oliver Jeffers (HarperCollins Children's Books)
This Moose Belongs to Me by Oliver Jeffers (HarperCollins Children's Books)
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore by W.E. Joyce (co-illustrator and writer) and Joe Bluhm (illustrator) (Simon & Schuster Children's Books)
Goldilocks on CCTV by Satoshi Kitamura (illustrator) and John Agard (Frances Lincoln Children's Books)
I Want my Hat Back by Jon Klassen (Walker Books)
An Illustrated Treasury of Scottish Folk and Fairy Tales by Kate Leiper (illustrator) and Theresa Breslin (Floris Books)
Demolition by Brian Lovelock (illustrator) and Sally Sutton (Walker Books)
The Skeleton Pirate by David Lucas (Walker Books)
The Frank Show by David Mackintosh (HarperCollins Children's Books)
The Cat and the Fiddle: A Treasury of Nursery Rhymes by Jackie Morris (Frances Lincoln Children's Books)
Pirates ‘n' Pistols by Chris Mould (Hodder Children's Books)
The Worst Princess by Sara Ogilvie (illustrator) and Anna Kemp (Simon & Schuster Children's Books)
King Jack and the Dragon by Helen Oxenbury (illustrator) and Peter Bently (Puffin Books)
My Big Shouting Day by Rebecca Patterson (Jonathan Cape)
Black Dog by Levi Pinfold (Templar Publishing)
Where is Fred? by Ali Pye (illustrator) and Edward Hardy (Egmont Books)
The Twelve Days of Christmas by Jane Ray (Orchard Books)
The Yoga Ogre by Simon Rickerty (illustrator) and Peter Bently (Simon & Schuster Children's Books)
One Cool Cat by David Roberts (illustrator) and Susannah Corbett (Egmont Children's Books)
Who Am I? by Tony Ross (illustrator) and Gervase Phinn (Andersen Press)
Fly, Chick, Fly! by Tony Ross (illustrator) and Jeanne Willis (Andersen Press)
Just Ducks! by Salvatore Rubbino (illustrator) and Nicola Davies (Walker Books)
Just Imagine by Nick Sharratt (illustrator) and Pippa Goodhart (Doubleday Children's Books)
A Boy and a Bear in a Boat by Dave Shelton (David Fickling Books)
ABC London by Kate Slater (illustrator) and James Dunn (Frances Lincoln Children's Books)
Claude at the Circus by Alex T. Smith (Hodder Children's Books)
Ella by Alex T. Smith (Scholastic)
Red Car, Red Bus by Susan Steggall (Frances Lincoln Children's Books)
How to Hide a Lion by Helen Stephens (Alison Green Books)
Jack and the Baked Beanstalk by Colin Stimpson (Templar Publishing)
Naughty Kitty by Adam Stower (Templar Publishing)
The Town Mouse and The Country Mouse by Helen Ward (Templar Publishing)
Leave Me Alone by Lee Wildish (illustrator) and Kes Gray (Hodder Children's Books)
The Duckling Gets a Cookie!? by Mo Willems (Walker Books)
Eric! by Christopher Wormell (Jonathan Cape)
Dog Loves Drawing by Louise Yates (Jonathan Cape)
Hans and Matilda by Yokococo (Templar Publishing)

Publishers Association calls for detailed research in e-lending review (UK)

In its response to the Sieghart Review of e-lending, The PA welcomes the Review as bringing renewed focus to the on-going discussions between publishers and librarians. It notes that publishers recognise the immense value of libraries and The PA's member companies are keen to identify a range of sustainable solutions to support e-lending. The PA calls for further evidence on the demand for e-lending and its impact on the sustainability of the marketplace, for publishers, authors and booksellers. The PA notes the likely development of a mixed economy of e-lending services, with purely commercial services operating alongside public library services. The widespread experimentation with a range of models attests to the keenness of publishers to work with libraries and others in the supply chain to arrive at a sustainable model

31st International Istanbul Book Fair

Organized by TÜYAP Fair and Exhibition Organization, Inc. in association with the Publishers Association of Turkey, the 31st International Istanbul Book Fair will be held between November 17 and 25, 2012, at the TÜYAP Fair and Convention Center, Büyükçekmece

PA Bulletin 5 November 2012

PA Bulletin 5 November 2012, from The Publishers Association, UK, is now available online #publisher #publishing

Independent Booksellers' Book Prize 2012 winner

Members of the public have voted Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? by Jeanette Winterson (Vintage) as the winner of the Independent Booksellers' Book Prize 2012. The children's winner meanwhile was One Dog and His Boy (Marion Lloyd Books) by the late Eva Ibbotson

2012 World Fantasy Award Winners & Nominees

The World Fantasy Awards winners have been announced:

Life Achievement: Alan Garner and George R.R. Martin
Novel: Osama by Lavie Tidhar (PS Publishing)
Novella: "A Small Price to Pay for Birdsong" by K.J. Parker (Subterranean, Winter 2011)
Short Story: "The Paper Menagerie" by Ken Liu (F&SF, 3-4/11)
Anthology: The Weird edited by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer (Tor)
Collection: The Bible Repairman and Other Stories by Tim Powers (Tachyon and Subterranean Press)
Artist: John Coulthart
Special Award, Professional: Eric Lane, for publishing in translation, Dedalus books
Special Award, Non-professional: Raymond Russell and Rosalie Parker, for Tartarus Press

Four literary London maps

These four maps of literary London were drawn by Martin Rowson for the rather wonderful 1999 London issue of Granta magazine

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Librarian Gerri Judkins wins 2012 Storylines Betty Gilderdale Award

Hamilton children's literature specialist and Southwell School librarian Gerri Judkins is the winner of the 2012 Storylines Betty Gilderdale Award for a distinguished contribution to children's literature in New Zealand. Her activities to promote books for children over twenty years have included a key role in organising the 2011 World Final of the Kids Lit Quiz held in Hamilton and coaching local teams for the popular annual quiz

Monday, November 5, 2012

Palgrave Pivot launches

Publishing across the Humanities, the Social Sciences and Business, Palgrave Pivot introduces an innovative new format for scholarly research. Liberating scholarship from the straitjacket of traditional formats and business models, Palgrave Pivot offers authors the flexibility of publishing at lengths between the journal article and the conventional monograph. Palgrave Pivot emphasizes speed of delivery as well as innovation. Titles are published within 12 weeks of acceptance with a complete peer-review process. Palgrave Pivot publications are available as digital collections for libraries, including via Palgrave Connect, individual ebooks for personal use, and as digitally-produced print editions

2012 The London Storytelling Festival (UK)

2012 The London Storytelling Festival - 9-18 November, 2012 - London, UK

Sunday, November 4, 2012

RISE (Reading in Secure Environments) (UK)

RISE is funded by Arts Council England and will bring high-quality, challenging contemporary writers to readers in secure criminal justice and mental health care settings in partnership with an exciting range of literature festivals around the UK. RISE begins with the Durham Book Festival and Manchester Literature Festival in October 2012

2012 Folkestone Book Festival (UK)

The 2012 Folkestone Book Festival (UK) takes place November 2-10, 2012 in Folkestone, Kent, UK

Writeidea Reading Festival 2012 (UK)

The Writeidea Reading Festival 2012 is the fourth edition of East London's unique, free reading festival. Writeidea is going from strength to strength, continuing to attract excellent authors and ever growing audiences - this year we start in style with Jonathan Coe, one of the most loved contemporary British authors, and end with Wilko Johnson, the legendary Dr Feelgood guitarist. In between, we have great events covering fiction, history, politics, poetry, identity and much more. We also continue to offer an opportunity for authors with a local connection to the East End to share the stage with best-selling names such as Owen Jones and Patrick Gale. For the first time, we also bring a live theatre performance to Writeidea Festival: 'One Georgie Orwell'. An original production that premiered at Greenwich Theatre earlier this year, combines Orwell's own words with original music, performed by a group of talented actors and musicians

FiveBooks Interviews: Jessica Pressman on Electronic Literature

The literature and reading scholar tells us about the profound effect that the rise of electronic literature has had on authors, the publishing industry and the nature of the book. Jessica Pressman is a Professor at Yale University

Friday, November 2, 2012

2013 eBook Award finalists

Winners of the 2013 eBook Award will be announced at EPICon-2013 in Vancouver, Washington, in March 2013

2012 William Hill Sports Book of the Year shortlist (UK)

Finalists for the 2012 William Hill Sports Book of the Year have been named. The winner, which will be announced November 26 in London at Waterstones Piccadilly bookstore, receives a £24,000 (US$38,710) cash prize, as well as a £2,000 William Hill bet, a specially-commissioned hand-bound copy of their book and a day at the races. This year's shortlisted titles are:

That Near-Death Thing: Inside the TT--the World's Most Dangerous Race by Rick Broadbent
Running with the Kenyans: Discovering The Secrets of the Fastest People on Earth by Adharanand Finn
The Secret Race: Inside the Hidden World of the Tour de France--Doping, Cover-ups, and Winning at All Costs by Tyler Hamilton and Daniel Coyle
Be Careful What You Wish For by Simon Jordan
Fibber in the Heat by Miles Jupp
A Life Without Limits: A World Champion's Journey by Chrissie Wellington, with Michael Aylwin
Shot and a Ghost: A Year in the Brutal World of Professional Squash by James Willstrop with Rod Gilmour

Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award (UK)

Steve Coll has won the Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award for Private Empire: ExxonMobil and American Power, which the judges called "a hard-hitting investigation of the notoriously secretive ExxonMobil Corporation, beginning with the Exxon Valdez accident in 1989 and closing with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010." The prize carries an award of £30,000 (about $48,600). The runners up, each of whom receives £10,000 ($16,200), are:

Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity and Poverty by Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson (Crown Business)
The Hour Between Dog and Wolf: Risk-taking, Gut Feelings and the Biology of Boom and Bust by John Coates (Penguin Press)
Steve Jobs: The Exclusive Biography by Walter Isaacson (Simon & Schuster)
What Money Can't Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets by Michael J. Sandel (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
Volcker: The Triumph of Persistence by William L. Silber (Bloomsbury Press)

The IPG Conference 2013 (UK)

The Independent Publishers Guild has announced the dates and venue for its 51st Annual Conference in early 2013. The Conference will run from 6-8 March at the Heythrop Park hotel and conference venue near Chipping Norton in Oxfordshire, UK

Thursday, November 1, 2012

FutureBook Innovation Awards shortlist

The shortlist for the FutureBook Innovation Awards has been announced:

Adult App

Random House (Cornerstone Digital) / PopLeaf - A Clockwork Orange for iPad

Profile Books / Sheiland / Inkle - Frankenstein app by Dave Morris

Faber and Faber / Touch Press - The Sonnets by William Shakespeare

Naomi Alderman / Six to Start - Zombies, Run!

HarperCollins - Wonders of the Universe



Best children's apps

Mindshapes - Magic Town

Khoya - Khoya

Barefoot Books / Touch Press - Barefoot World Atlas

Penguin - Ladybird: I'm Ready for Phonics

Nosy Crow - Rounds: Franklin Frog

StoryToys - Farm123

DK/Cogapp - Dr Frankenstein's Body Lab



Reference Book Apps

HarperCollins - Atlas by Collins

The History Press - Titanic: Her Journey

CUP - Romeo and Juliet: Explore Shakespeare and Macbeth: Explore Shakespeare

Royal Collection / Touch Press - Leonardo Da Vinci: Anatomy

Natural History Museum / Authored Apps - NHM Evolution

Heuristic Media - London: A City through time



Best technology innovation

Kobo App

Thomson Reuters ProView

Firsty Group

CourseSmart

Harlequin – ebook subs system

Impelsys



Best integrated digital marketing campaign

Macmillan Children's Books - Tony Robinson's Weird world of Wonders

Macmillan Children's Books - Dear Zoo 30th anniversary

Macmillan Children's Books - Dreamless by Josephine Angelini

Penguin Books - Penguin English Library

Random House - A Possible Life, Sebastian Faulks

OUP - The Everybody Up Global Sing-along

The History Press - Titanic Campaign

Hachette Children's - Metawars



Best Website

Bloomsbury - Churchill Archive

Constable & Robinson - Honest John

OUP - Oxford Owl

HarperCollins - Collins Dictionary

Random House - World of Stories

Biteback Publshing - BiteBackPublishing & Politicos

Sourcebooks - CollegeCountdown



Best startup

Readmill

Ilovebooks.com

Bardowl

Jellybooks

Flooved

The awards will be announced at the FutureBook conference on 3rd December

Waterstones Book of the Year shortlist

Finalists for the inaugural Waterstones Book of the Year award have been named. The winning title will be chosen by a Waterstones panel headed by James Daunt, the company's managing director, and will be announced at the Waterstones King's Road bookshop in Chelsea November 29. The shortlisted titles are:

HHhH by Laurent Binet
Patrick Leigh Fermor by Artemis Cooper
On the Map by Simon Garfield
The Old Ways by Robert Macfarlane
Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel
Polpo: A Venetian Cookbook (of Sorts) by Russell Norman

2012 Wellcome Trust Book Prize shortlist (UK)

The 2012 Wellcome Trust Book Prize shortlist has been announced:

Fiction:
Mohammed Hanif - 'Our Lady of Alice Bhatti' (Jonathan Cape)
Peter James - 'Perfect People' (Macmillan)
Rose Tremain - 'Merivel: A man of his time' (Chatto & Windus)

Non-fiction:
John Coates - 'The Hour Between Dog and Wolf' (Fourth Estate)
Nick Coleman - 'The Train in the Night' (Jonathan Cape)
Thomas Wright - 'Circulation' (Chatto & Windus)

Ambit 210 launched today

David Gaffney, Jehane Markham and Gina Wisker all read to launch Ambit 210 at the Owl Bookshop in Kentish Town, London, UK

Ali Smith launches her new book today

Ali Smith launches her new book, Artful, at Keats House, London, UK

London book and poetry events: 31 October-6 November

Book, poetry and spoken word events in London 31 October - 6 November, 2012

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

2012 Information Book Award winners

The 2012 Information Book Award winners have been announced

2013 Red House Children's Book Award finalists

Finalists have been named for the 2013 Red House Children's Book Award, a British prize that is entirely voted for by children. The shortlist is drawn from children's nominations for three categories - Younger Children, Younger Readers and Older Readers - and the book garnering the most votes will be crowned overall winner February 23 in London

2012 Scotiabank Giller Prize winner

Travel writer and novelist Will Ferguson has won the $50,000 Scotiabank Giller Prize, which honors the best Canadian novel or short story collection published in English, for his book 419

2012 The Goodreads Choice Awards

Choose the best books of the year with three rounds of voting. The Goodreads Choice Awards are the only major book awards decided by readers

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

2012 Guardian children's fiction prize

Frank Cottrell Boyce has won the 2012 Guardian children's fiction prize for The Unforgotten Coat

Santa's pipe put out in new edition of children's classic

A new version of Clement C Moore's classic festive poem A Vist from St Nicholas, better known by its first line, 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, has removed all mentions of Santa Claus's pipe in a bid to limit children's exposure to images of smoking. Canadian publisher Pamela McColl released her edition of the 1823 poem, which is attributed to Moore, last month, drawing widespread criticism from anti-censorship groups. Her version cuts two lines from the poem - the description of St Nicholas which runs "The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth, / And the smoke, it encircled his head like a wreath" - as well as redrawing the illustration to remove the pipe and smoke from around the character

Monday, October 29, 2012

Penguin and Random House agree merger

Bertelsmann, the German media company, and Pearson, its UK rival, are merging Random House and Penguin, their respective publishing units, in order to respond to the rapidly developing challenges of the ebook revolution

Friday, October 26, 2012

About the Author launches in the UK

Amazon writes: When readers find a book interesting, they look for more information about the author. We've developed a new feature, About the Author, for Kindle Paperwhite and Kindle Fire HD to help those readers. We are excited to bring this feature to the UK.

About the Author gives readers easy access to your photo, biography, and bibliography so they can learn more about you and your books, which are only 60 seconds away. Readers can tap on any of your Kindle Books to go to the Kindle Store, and any time you update your bio or claim a new book through Author Central, we will update About the Author on Kindle so your readers have access to the most recent information about you.

Be sure to take advantage of this new feature by following each of these steps:

- Claim all your books in Author Central. In the Author Central Books tab, make sure your bibliography is complete so that your About the Author profile is available in every one of your books.
- Make sure you're happy with your profile page. All About the Author pages will use the image that you have designated as primary in Author Central. We encourage you to feature yourself in the photo.
- Update your biography in Author Central. Readers are going to your profile because they want to know more about you and your books.

About the Author is now available on the new Kindle devices. Log into Author Central today and make sure your About the Author profile is up to date

2012 T S Eliot Prize shortlist

Judges Carol Ann Duffy (Chair), Michael Longley and David Morley have chosen six collections from the 131 books submitted by publishers, which join the four PBS Choices to make up the ten collections on the 2012 T S Eliot Prize shortlist:

Simon Armitage The Death of King Arthur (Faber)
Sean Borodale Bee Journal (Jonathan Cape)
Gillian Clarke Ice (Carcanet)
Julia Copus The World's Two Smallest Humans (Faber)
Paul Farley The Dark Film (Picador)
Jorie Graham P L A C E (Carcanet)
Kathleen Jamie The Overhaul (Picador)
Sharon Olds Stag's Leap (Jonathan Cape)
Jacob Polley The Havocs (Picador)
Deryn Rees-Jones Burying the Wren (Seren)

Thursday, October 25, 2012

2012 Asia Society Bernard Schwartz Book Award

Water: Asia's New Battleground by Brahma Chellaney has won the 2012 Asia Society Bernard Schwartz Book Award, which recognizes "nonfiction books for their outstanding contributions to the understanding of contemporary Asia or U.S.-Asia relations, as well as potential policy impacts relating to the region." The award carries a $20,000 prize; Dr. Chellaney will be honored at the Asia Society's headquarters in New York City on January 23

2012 T. Jefferson Parker Award for Mystery

The winner of the 2012 T. Jefferson Parker Award for Mystery is Kings of Cool by Don Winslow (Simon & Schuster)

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

London book and poetry events: 24-30 October

Book, poetry and spoken word events in London 24-30 October, 2012

Michael Cart on the Booker Prize and other lit news

In his latest podcast, Infopeople's resident book reviewer, reports on the 2012 Man Booker Prize shortlist as well as other recent events in the world of books and publishing

Open Access Ahoy: An Interview with Ubiquity Press

This interview is with Brian Hole of Ubiquity Press, a small new London-based digital publisher of peer reviewed, open-access academic journals

2012 Eleanor Farjeon Award nominees

Nominees have been announced for the Children's Book Circle's Eleanor Farjeon Award in the U.K., which honors "distinguished service to the world of children's books, and will be given to a person or an organization whose commitment and contribution is deemed to be outstanding." The winner will be named November 15. This year's nominees are

Quentin Blake
Discover Children's Story Centre
Nicolette Jones
Michael Morpurgo
Tales on Moon Lane Children's Bookshop

2012 Whiting Writers' Awards winners

Mrs. Giles Whiting Foundation has announced the 10 recipients of the Whiting Writers' Awards, given annually since 1985 to writers of exceptional talent and promise in their early careers. Each writer receives $50,000. The 2012 winners are four playwrights, three fiction writers, two poets and a nonfiction writer:

Ciaran Berry, poetry
Danai Gurira, plays
Alan Heathcock, fiction
Samuel D. Hunter, plays
Mona Mansour, plays
Anthony Marra, fiction
Meg Miroshnik, plays
Hanna Pylväinen, fiction
Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts, nonfiction
Atsuro Riley, poetry

PA Bulletin 23 October 2012

PA Bulletin 23 October 2012, from The Publishers Association, UK, is now available online #publisher #publishing

Best of the Best of the James Tait Black Prizes finalists

To help celebrate the 250th anniversary of English literature study at the University of Edinburgh, finalists have been named for the Best of the Best of the James Tait Black Prizes, honoring the best novel to have won the prize since it was first awarded in 1919. The six books on the shortlist are:

Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter
The Heart of the Matter by Graham Greene
A Disaffection by James Kelman
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Crossing the River by Caryl Phillips
The Mandlebaum Gate by Muriel Spark

The shortlist was selected by scholars and students of literature at the University, and its "eclectic nature reflects a selection process that involved passionate debates by students," the Telegraph reported. A winner will be announced in December

IPG launches multi-platform app

The Independent Publishers Guild have just launched their first ever app, using YUDU technology. The brand new app will give independent publishers a great new way to stay in touch with IPG activities and goings-on across the industry. It is available to download completely free of charge to members and non-members alike, on both Apple and Android platforms, making it ideal for those using smartphones and tablets

Saturday, October 20, 2012

2013 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature longlist

The 2013 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature longlist has been announced:

Jamil Ahmad: The Wandering Falcon (Hamish Hamilton/Penguin India)

Alice Albinia: Leela's Book (Harvill Secker, London)

Tahmima Anam: The Good Muslim (Penguin Books)

Rahul Bhattacharya: The Sly Company of People Who Care (Picador, London / Farrar Strauss and Giroux, New York)

Roopa Farooki: The Flying Man (Headline Review/ Hachette, London

Musharraf Ali Farooqi: Between Clay and Dust (Aleph Book Company, India)

Amitav Ghosh: River of Smoke (Hamish Hamilton/Penguin India)

Niven Govinden: Black Bread White Beer (Fourth Estate/ Harper Collins India)

Sunetra Gupta: So Good in Black (Clockroot Books, Massachusetts)

Mohammed Hanif, Our Lady of Alice Bhatti (Random House India)

Jerry Pinto: Em and the Big Hoom (Aleph Book Company, India)

Uday Prakash: The Walls of Delhi (Translated by Jason Grunebaum; UWA Publishing, W. Australia)

Anuradha Roy: The Folded Earth (Hachette India)

Saswati Sengupta: The Song Seekers (Zubaan, India)

Geetanjali Shree: The Empty Space (Translated by Nivedita Menon; Harper Perennial/ Harper Collins India)

Jeet Thayil: Narcopolis ( Faber and Faber, London)

2012 Dylan Thomas Prize shortlist

21 year old Nigerian novelist is the youngest of five rising literary stars shortlisted for the 2012 University of Wales' Dylan Thomas Prize. Open to any published author in the English language under the age of 30, the annual international prize is one of the largest of its kind in the world for young writers. 21 year old Chibundu Onuzo's book The Spider King's Daughter is a modern-day Romeo and Juliet set against the backdrop of a changing Lagos. Also from Africa is Zimbabwe-raised Andrea Eames' The White Shadow, set in 1970's Rhodesia, where a young boy struggles to do the right thing in an unpredictable world. Californian Maggie Shipstead's debut novel Seating Arrangements, which lays bare the pretentions of New England society, also makes the cut, along with Tom Benn's crime fiction debut The Doll Princess, which explores the criminal underworld of 90's Manchester. Canadian D.W. Wilson's collection of short stories Once You Break a Knuckle, about good people who make bad choices, completes a list of powerful and exciting books with a truly international reach, in which violence, repression and the difficulty of escaping pre-determined roles are themes which prevail throughout. The five young writers were chosen by a panel of judges including Hay Festival founder Peter Florence, novelist Allison Pearson, author, singer and BBC 6 music presenter Cerys Matthews, and Guardian Review journalist Nicholas Wroe

Friday, October 19, 2012

Winners of the Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards 2012 (UK)

Now in their fifth successful year in partnership with ITV3 and Specsavers, the Crime Thriller Awards (in association with the Crime Writers' Association) took place on the 18th October. Watch the awards on Tuesday 23rd October at 9pm on ITV3.

The winners of the Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards 2012 were as follows:

The CWA Gold Dagger – sponsored by Constable & Robinson
The Rage by Gene Kerrigan (Harvill Secker)

The John Creasey New Blood Dagger – sponsored by Goldsboro Books
A Land More Kind than Home by Wiley Cash (Bantam)

The Ian Fleming Steel Dagger – sponsored by Ian Fleming Publications
A Foreign Country by Charles Cumming (HarperCollins)

The Specsaver's Bestseller Dagger 2012:
Kathy Reichs

The Film Dagger
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (Studio Canal)

The TV Dagger
Sherlock: Series 2 (Hartswood Films/BBC1)

The International TV Dagger
The Bridge (Danmarks Radio, Sveriges Television/BBC4)

The Best Actress Dagger
Claire Danes for Homeland (Teakwood Lane Productions, Showtime Productions, Cherry Pie Productions, Keshet Media Group, Fox 21/Channel 4)

The Best Actor Dagger
Benedict Cumberbatch for Sherlock (Hartswood Films/BBC1)

The Best Supporting Actress Dagger
Kelly Macdonald for Boardwalk Empire (HBO/Sky Atlantic)

The Best Supporting Actor Dagger
Martin Freeman for Sherlock (Hartswood Films/BBC1)

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Javier Moro wins $833,800 Planeta Prize

Javier Moro has won Spain's 601,000 euro ($833,800) Planeta Prize for the novel El Imperio Eres Tú, a book about a 19th Century Brazilian emperor

2012 Bloomsbury Festival (UK)

Bloomsbury is a fascinating place, with an extraordinarily rich history as well as a contemporary and diverse cultural community. Over one extraordinary weekend, the Festival offers a taster of the amazing cultural life of this beautiful area of central London. The Festival is run on the principle that places are at their best when people work together, and culture is shared by all. It brings together the diverse range of people who live and work here and shares their creative ethos with all who visit - October 20-21 2012

Black History Month: The Rose Petal Beach by Dorothy Koomson

Author Dorothy Koomson discusses her book at Balham Library, Balham, London on October 19

London book and poetry events: 17-23 October

Book, poetry and spoken word events in London 17-23 October, 2012

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Hilary Mantel wins 2012 Man Booker Prize

Hilary Mantel has won the £50,000 Man Booker Prize for her novel Bring up the Bodies, the sequel to Wolf Hall, which won the prize in 2009

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Marketing Interview: Evan Munday of Coach House Books

In the second part of our marketing series, we sat down with publicity guru Evan Munday of famed alternative press, Coach House Books. We picked his marketing brain and gained some insight into ebook promotion, Evan's history of Nickelback-based marketing, and, naturally, Fifty Shades of Grey

Emma Darwin interview

Emma Darwin was born in London and studied Drama at university. After various jobs including publishing social work books, driving a sandwich van and selling musical instruments, her first novel The Mathematics of Love was published in 2006, and her bestselling second novel, A Secret Alchemy, was part of a PhD in Creative Writing at Goldsmiths. She's now writing her third, and teaching Creative Writing for the Open University and elsewhere

If you go down to Walker Books today...

Some of the fantastic novelty and picture books we've published this autumn seem to have a life of their own in this video at the Walker offices, as they dance around the building... Find them now at a bookshop near you!

2012 Vancouver Writers Fest (Canada)

The Vancouver Writers Fest turns reading into a community experience, bringing people together to share thoughts, explore ideas, and witness brilliant conversations. For the past 25 years, the Writers Fest has enriched our imaginations and the culture of our city and has touched and inspired thousands of lives by creating a forum for authors to connect with readers and by offering a vibrant exchange of ideas and conversation. The Festival is a celebration of story, told by authors, poets, spoken word performers, and graphic novelists. For six days in October, this celebration takes place in the cultural oasis of Granville Island, and continues throughout the year with the Incite reading series at the VPL, special events with leading writers and the Spreading the Word education programs at Lower Mainland schools and in small BC communities - 16-21 October, 2012

Monday, October 15, 2012

The Google Books Litigation Family Tree

The Google Books Litigation Family Tree was developed by Jonathan Band, Library Copyright Alliance, and designed by Tricia Donovan, Association of Research Libraries

Sunday, October 14, 2012

2013 UKLA Book Award longlists

The UK Literacy Association has announced the long lists for the 2013 UKLA Book Award, which is the only national award to be judged by classroom teachers. Shortlisting and then the final judging will be carried out by teachers from schools located in the region of the next UKLA International Conference, which will be held at Liverpool Hope University in 2013. The awards will then be presented to the worthy winners on July 5th at a gala reception during the Conference thus showcasing the best of British publishing to an international audience

Workman Publishing expands relationship with Ingram

To meet the expectations of readers in a print and digital world, Workman Publishing is expanding its relationship with Ingram, selecting CoreSource® services for the management and distribution of digital content

Friday, October 12, 2012

The first ever female detective in British fiction will appear on book shelves once again

Next week the British Library will publish Andrew Forrester's The Female Detective, the first novel to feature a professional female detective in British fiction. This new publication will be the first trade edition of the novel since its original publication in 1864

Thursday, October 11, 2012

New global subject codes standard launches at Frankfurt Book Fair

Book industry representatives from 14 countries have announced the formation of a new, global standard to categorize and classify book content by subject. The project, initially known as "Thema," was first announced during the Tools of Change Supply Chain Conference taking place during the Frankfurt International Book Fair

Academic publishing giant Springer for sale

Springer, the world's second-biggest publisher of scientific research journals is being groomed for a sale that is likely to value it among Europe's largest private equity transactions since the credit crisis - Sky

London book and poetry events: 10-16 October

Book, poetry and spoken word events in London 10-16 October, 2012

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Duotrope (UK)

Duotrope is an established, award-winning writers' resource, and we're here to help you spend less time submitting so you can focus on writing. Whether you're an experienced writer or just getting started... whether your creative leanings are literary or genre, factual or poetic... our listings cover the entire spectrum

15 scathing early reviews of classic novels

There are some literary classics that are near unimpeachable. We're thinking Lolita, Ulysses, The Great Gatsby: the best of the best. Except that they're decidedly not unimpeachable - or at least they weren't when they first hit bookshelves. These books and many others that are now considered masterpieces got their fair share of scathing reviews when they first came out, and in reputable publications no less. Sure, hindsight is 20/20, but we can't help having this to say to these brutal reviewers: ha, ha - flavorpill

2012 BMA Medical Book Awards winners (UK)

The 2012 British Medical Association Medical Book Awards winners have been announced

Drawing the Global Map of Publishing Markets 2012

The International Publishers Association has launched the 2012 Global Map of Publishing Markets to visualize how publishing markets outside of Europe and North America are, literally, bulging

The Book Cover Archive

The Book Cover Archive - for the appreciation and categorization of excellence in book cover design

2012 Governor General's Literary Awards finalists (Canada)

The Canada Council for the Arts has named the finalists for this year's Governor General's Literary Awards, which honor "works that tell readers compelling stories about themselves and the world around them."

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Syrian author shares PEN/Pinter prize with Carol Ann Duffy

An exiled Syrian author and journalist whose inside account of the revolution drew such ire from Syria's government that she was forced to flee the country has won a literary award from PEN for her courage. Samar Yazbek was named by poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy on Monday as the international writer of courage with whom she will share the PEN/Pinter prize. The award goes to a writer who, in Pinter's own words, shows a "fierce intellectual determination … to define the real truth of our lives and our societies" today. Duffy was picked as winner by judges including Pinter's widow Antonia Fraser in July, and then worked with English PEN's Writers at Risk Committee to select Yazbek, in recognition of her book A Woman in the Crossfire. The title, published in the UK by Haus, details Yazbek's opposition to the Assad regime, interspersing her own observations of the recent bloody conflict with the stories of the people at the heart of the revolution. On publication, she was denounced by her clan and harassed by the country's security forces, according to English PEN, until she was forced into exile with her young daughter

Monday, October 8, 2012

2012 Anthony Awards winners

The 2012 Anthony Awards winners are:

Best Novel Anthony: "A Trick of the Light" by Louise Penny ("Chief Inspector Gamache" series, book 8)
Best First Novel Anthony: "Learning to Swim" by Sara J. Henry
Best Paperback Original Anthony: "Buffalo West Wing" by Julie Hyzy ("White House Chef Mystery," book 5)
Best Short Story Anthony: "Disarming" by Dana Cameron ("Anna Hoyt" series) in "Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine," June 2011
Best Non-Fiction Anthony: "The Sookie Stackhouse Companion" by Charlaine Harris, editor

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Shamus Awards 2012 winners

Shamus Awards 2012 winners:

Best Hardcover P.I. Novel:
A Bad Night's Sleep, by Michael Wiley (Minotaur)

Best First P.I. Novel:
The Shortcut Man, by P.G. Sturges (Scribner)

Best Paperback Original P.I. Novel:
Fun & Games, by Duane Swierczynski (Mulholland)

Best P.I. Short Story:
"Who I Am," by Michael Z. Lewin (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, December 2011)

The Hammer - a commendation celebrating a memorable private-eye character or series, and named after Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer - was presented to Nate Heller the character created by Max Allan Collins

The Barry Awards 2012 winners

The Barry Award is an annual award presented by the editorial staff of Deadly Pleasures for the best works published in the field of crime fiction:

Best Novel: The Keeper of Lost Causes by Jussi Adler-Olsen (Dutton)Review of The Keeper of Lost Causes by Jussi Adler-Olsen
Best First Novel: The Informationist by Taylor Stevens (Crown)
Best British Novel: Dead Man's Grip by Peter James (Macmillan)
Best Paperback Original: Death of the Mantis by Michael Stanley (Harper)
Best Thriller: The Informant by Thomas Perry (Atlantic Monthly)Review of The Informant by Thomas Perry
Best Short Story: "The Gun Also Rises" (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, January-February 2011) by Jeffrey Cohen

Friday, October 5, 2012

Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction 2012 shortlist

Finalists have been named for the £20,000 (US$32,383) Samuel Johnson prize for nonfiction. The winner will be announced on November 12. This year's shortlisted titles are:

* Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death and Hope in a Mumbai Slum by Katherine Boo
* Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory and the Conquest of Everest by Wade Davis
* The Old Ways: A Journey on Foot by Robert Macfarlane
* The Better Angels of our Nature: A History of Violence and Humanity by Steven Pinker
* The Spanish Holocaust: Inquisition and Extermination in Twentieth-Century Spain by Paul Preston
* Strindberg: A Life by Sue Prideaux

Google and U.S. publishers reach settlement over book scanning

Google and major book publishers have settled a lengthy legal battle over digital copyrights, but a bigger dispute still looms with thousands of authors who allege that Google is illegally profiting from their works. The truce announced Thursday ends a federal lawsuit filed in 2005 by several members of the Association of American Publishers after Google Inc. began stockpiling its Internet search index with digital duplicates of books scanned from libraries

Frankfurt Book Fair 2012 (Germany)

Frankfurt Book Fair 2012 - 10-14 October 2012 - Germany

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Michael Cart plays catch up with the world of books

In his latest podcast, Michael Cart offers a podcast potpourri of book and publishing news and features. Mentioned in this podcast: Merriam Webster's new words for 2012, Publishers Weekly's list of the most difficult books to read, the top 100 teen books as compiled by NPR (Michael only covers the first 10, otherwise this would be a mighty long podcast!). he also mentions a neat online magazine called The Millions

Lavie Tidhar talks about his alternate reality post-9/11 novel Osama at Foyles (UK)

Lavie Tidhar talks about his alternate reality post-9/11 novel Osama at Foyles (6.30pm, free) - 4th October 2012

London book and poetry events: 3-9 October

Book, poetry and spoken word events in London 3-9 October, 2012

David Jason's autobiography to be released in 2014

David Jason will be marking 50 years in showbiz by publishing his autobiography. BBC News have reported that the Only Fools and Horses actor will be publishing his memoirs via Random House in the autumn of 2014. Jason said that writing the book would allow him to "share the journey" of his life with the British public

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Austin Clarke wins $10,000 Harbourfront Festival Prize

Toronto's International Festival of Authors has named Austin Clarke this year's recipient of the $10,000 Harbourfront Festival Prize

"What To Do Before Your Book Launch" Book Trailer (M.J. Rose & Randy Susan Meyers)

"What To Do Before Your Book Launch" Book Trailer (M.J. Rose & Randy Susan Meyers)

An Evening with Iain M. Banks (UK)

An Evening with Iain M. Banks - 3 October 2012, 7:00PM - Waterstone's Piccadilly, London

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

2012 Scotiabank Giller Prize shortlist

The 2012 Scotiabank Giller Prize jury has announced its shortlist of books in the running for this year's award:

Will Ferguson for his novel 419, published by Viking Canada
Alix Ohlin for her novel Inside, published by House of Anansi Press
Nancy Richler for her novel The Imposter Bride, published by HarperCollins Canada
Kim Thúy for her novel Ru, translated by Sheila Fischman, published by Random House Canada
Russell Wangersky for his short story collection Whirl Away, published by Thomas Allen Publishers

2012 Thurber Prize for American Humor winner

New Yorker writer Calvin Trillin, who grew up in Kansas City, has won this year's Thurber Prize for American Humor for "Quite Enough of Calvin Trillin: Forty Years of Funny Stuff."

Jorie Graham takes 2012 Forward prize

The first American woman ever to win the award, Jorie Graham wins the 2012 Forward prize for poetry with her 12th collection

Jorie Graham at The Web Directory

2012 Dayton Literary Peace Prize winners

The winners of this year's Dayton Literary Peace Prize are Andrew Krivak's The Sojourn (Bellevue Literary Press) in the fiction category and Adam Hochschild's To End All Wars (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) for nonfiction, the New York Times reported. Each author receives $10,000 prize and will be honored November 11 in Dayton, Ohio. The runners-up are Ha Jin for Nanjing Requiem (Pantheon) and Annia Ciezadlo for Day of Honey (Free Press)

Isabel Allende wins 2012 Hans Christian Andersen Literature Prize

Chilean author Isabel Allende won the 500,000 kroner (US$86,505) Hans Christian Andersen Literature Prize, which is given to a writer "whose works compare with those of the legendary Andersen, who was born in 1805 and wrote about 160 fairytales and poems before his death in 1875," the Associated Press reported. Allende was praised for her "mixture of various ages, cultures, forms of knowledge and myths" that have given her storytelling "wingspan and height."

Isabel Allende at The Web Directory

Monday, October 1, 2012

Guadalajara International Book Fair 2012

The Guadalajara International Book Fair is the most important publishing gathering in Ibero-America. It is also an amazing cultural festival. Created 26 years ago by the University of Guadalajara, the Fair is aimed at professionals and the general public alike, a characteristic that sets it apart from other book fairs around the globe. With business as one of its main goals, it is also a cultural festival in which literature plays a major role including a program where authors from all continents and languages participate, and a forum for the academic discussion of the major issues of our time. For nine days, people willingly stand in long lines to listen to their favorite authors, the book industry makes Guadalajara its beating heart and the whole city is filled with the music, arts, cinema and theatre from the featured Guest of Honor which this year is Chile - November 24-28, 2012

Bath Festival of Children's Literature 2012

Bath Festival of Children's Literature 2012 - 28 September to 7 October, 2012 - Bath, UK

Sir Terry Pratchett launches indie

Sir Terry Pratchett has joined forces with former Prime Focus Productions boss Rod Brown to launch a television and film production company. The author has established Narrativia to exploit the TV, film and digital rights of his prolific canon of work. The indie will take control of existing Pratchett projects, previously being produced by Prime Focus, as well as develop new ideas

Terry Pratchett at The Web Directory

Sunday, September 30, 2012

2012 Tweens Read Book Festival (USA)

The goal of the Tweens Read Book Festival is to celebrate and promote reading by connecting tweens with authors. The target audience for the event is students in grades 5-8 October 20, 2012 - Texas, USA

Calibre 0.9 released

New in calibre 0.9. Lots has changed in calibre-land in the last year and a half. A beefed up e-book viewer. Support for Android phones and tablets. A new modern look for the calibre user interface. A portable version of calibre that you can carry around on a USB stick

Saturday, September 29, 2012

2012 New England Book Festival (USA)

The 2012 New England Book Festival will hold its annual program honoring the best books of the holiday season on January 19, 2013 at the Omni Hotel in Boston, USA

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Google Play - Books

Discovering your favourite books and authors has never been easier. With Google Play, you can shop through the world's largest selection of eBooks and read them anywhere you like - on a tablet, phone, eReader or the web

Famous family trees: Colin Dexter

Experienced family historian, Roy Stockdill, takes us on a journey through time as he investigates the family history of the famous, both living and dead. This month, Roy digs out his magnifying glass to explore Inspector Morse creator Colin Dexter's family history

2012 Royal Society Winton Prize for Science Books shortlist

Finalists have been named for the £10,000 (US$16,226) Royal Society Winton Prize for Science Books. The winner will be announced November 26. The shortlisted titles are:

Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer
My Beautiful Genome by Lone Frank
The Information by James Gleick
The Hidden Reality by Brian Greene
The Better Angels of Our Nature by Steven Pinker
The Viral Storm by Nathan Wolfe

London book and poetry events: 26 September-2 October

Book, poetry and spoken word events in London 26 September - 2 October, 2012

Monday, September 24, 2012

Ulysses unlocked: introducing and exploring Joyce’s Ulysses (Ireland)

Ulysses unlocked: introducing and exploring Joyce's Ulysses - Friday, 28th September 9.15am – 5.30pm - One-day immersion course - This course will introduce, contextualize and explore Joyce’'s Ulysses, one of the most important novels in the English language. Beginning with an overview of Joyce's life and times, the course will discuss the Modernist period before introducing Joyce's famous novel and then examining in detail several passages from the text. The course will be delivered as an extended lecture and will be illustrated by a number of clips from the main film adaptations of the novel. Participants will be encouraged to share their own opinions whenever possible during the day. This course will appeal to those who have read the novel, as well as those who are simply curious about its contents and it will be designed to suit those who attended Dr Dineen’s immersion course on Joyce earlier this summer, as well as those approaching Joyce for the first time.

Booking and payment:
To book a place, call (01) 603 0259 or email learning@nli.ie
Cost: €30. Places are limited, so booking is essential

James Joyce in The Web Directory

2012 Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize finalists

Finalists have been named for the $25,000 Rogers Writers' Trust of Canada Fiction Prize during a ceremony at Ben McNally Books in Toronto. Winners will be announced November 7. This year's shortlisted titles are:

The Tinsmith by Tim Bowling
Siege 13 by Tamas Dobozy
Carnival by Rawi Hage
Inside by Alix Ohlin
The Purchase by Linda Spalding

Sunday, September 23, 2012

1888 - London Murders in the Year of the Ripper - presented by Peter Stubley

In 1888 Jack the Ripper made headlines with a series of horrific murders that remain unsolved to this day. But most killers are not shadowy figures stalking the streets with a lust for blood, many are ordinary citizens driven to the ultimate crime by circumstance, a fit of anger or a desire for revenge. Their crimes, overshadowed by the few sensational cases, are ignored, forgotten or written off. 1888: London Murders in the Year of the Ripper examines all the known murders of this notorious year in London’s history, helping to build a picture of society and bringing to light the many forgotten murders that were overshadowed by The Ripper’s killing spree. (Peter will also be signing his book '1888 - London Murders in the Year of the Ripper' at this meeting). December 1st 2012 - London, UK

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Bloomsbury Publishing launches Bloomsbury India

Bloomsbury was founded in 1986 on the principle of publishing books of the highest quality. In India it will continue this tradition for fiction, non-fiction, academic, business, and education with both Indian and international authors. In November 2012, Bloomsbury India will publish the first Wisden India Cricketers Almanac 2012, followed in December by the spectacular Return of a King: The Battle for Afghanistan by William Dalrymple, whose previous books have been No. 1 bestsellers in India. On the fiction list, ManilSuri's bold and controversial new novel The City of Devi will be published in January 2013. Bloomsbury has an exceptional list of South Asian writers including Kamila Shamsie, Romesh Gunesekera, Rajesh Parameswaran, Roshi Fernando, Jaspreet Singh, and Tishani Doshi

Salman Rushdie remembers Havel in his latest book

British-Indian writer Salman Rushdie remembers how former Czechoslovak and Czech President Vaclav Havel wanted to help him in the early 1990s in his latest book Joseph Anton: A Memoir whose autograph session was held on Tuesday evening

Joseph Anton - Salman Rushdie

Salman Rushdie in The Web Directory

Friday, September 21, 2012

Pietro Grossi UK tour

Pietro Grossi, the acclaimed author of Fists and The Break, will be touring the UK in October

2012 Roald Dahl Funny Prize shortlists

The shortlists for the 2012 Roald Dahl Funny Prize have been announced:

The Funniest Book for Children Aged Six and Under

The Baby that Roared by Simon Puttock, illustrated by Nadia Shireen (Nosy Crow)
My Big Shouting Day by Rebecca Patterson (Random House Children’s Books, Jonathan Cape)
Oh No, George! by Chris Haughton (Walker Books)
The Pirates Next Door by Jonny Duddle (Templar)
Stuck by Oliver Jeffers (HarperCollins Children's Books)
The Worst Princess by Anna Kemp, illustrated by Sara Ogilvie (Simon & Schuster)

The Funniest Book for Children Aged Seven to Fourteen

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Flies Again by Frank Cottrell Boyce, illustrated by Joe Berger (Macmillan Children's Books)
Dark Lord: Teenage Years by Jamie Thomson, illustrated by Freya Hartas (Hachette Children's Books, Orchard Books)
The Dragonsitter by Josh Lacey, illustrated by Garry Parsons (Andersen Press)
Gangsta Granny by David Walliams, illustrated by Tony Ross (HarperCollins Children's Books)
Goblins by Philip Reeve, illustrated by Dave Semple (Marion Lloyd Books)
Socks are Not Enough by Mark Lowery (Scholastic Children's Books)

All will compete to be the winner of their category to receive £2,500, which will be presented at an awards ceremony at the Unicorn Theatre in London on Tuesday 6 November

Joshua Knelman's Hot Art wins Edna Staebler Award

Toronto writer Joshua Knelman has won this year's Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-fiction for Hot Art: Chasing Thieves and Detectives Through the Secret World of Stolen Art (Douglas & McIntyre). The $10,000 award, administered by Wilfrid Laurier University, will be presented on November 13 in Waterloo, Ontario

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Lovereading latest book news for September

Lovereading has announced its Mid-September 2012 update

Fifty Shades of Grey author E.L. James writing another erotic tale

E.L. James, author of the best-selling trilogy Fifty Shades, said on Monday that she hasn't ruled out writing a fourth book, but is focused on composing another erotic tale and also plans to write a paranormal romance - The Star

2012 Library of Congress National Book Festival (USA)

2012 Library of Congress National Book Festival - September 22-23, 2012 on the National Mall, Washington, DC, USA

Soon you'll be able to go to CVS and print a book

On Demand Books, the company behind the Espresso Book Machine, and Kodak are partnering to add print-on-demand technology to Kodak Picture Kiosks. That means consumers will be able to print paperback photo books, self-published books and the seven million backlist and public domain titles in On Demand's catalog from retail chains such as CVS. On Demand also announced a partnership with ReaderLink, which distributes books to grocery stores, drugstores, mass market and club stores, to make more titles available through the Kodak Picture Kiosks

London book and poetry events: 19-25 September

Book, poetry and spoken word events in London 19-25 September, 2012

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction 2012 longlist

The longlist for the Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction 2012 was announced on Tuesday 18 September, the birthday of Samuel Johnson. The 14 titles on this year's longlist take readers around the world to countries including India, Russia and Spain, and span subjects as diverse as economics, feathers and nuclear power. The winner of the prize, the UK's leading non-fiction prize, will receive £20,000:

Behind the Beautiful Forevers, by Katherine Boo (Portobello Books)
One on One, by Craig Brown (Fourth Estate)
Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory and the Conquest of Everest, by Wade Davis (The Bodley Head)
The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin, by Masha Gessen (Granta Books)
Feathers, by Thor Hansen (Basic Books)
Thinking, Fast and Slow, by Daniel Kahneman (Allen Lane)
The Old Ways, by Robert MacFarlane (Hamish Hamilton) Inside the Centre: The Life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, by Ray Monk (Jonathan Cape)
Grand Pursuit: The Story of Economic Genuis, by Sylvia Nasar (Fourth Estate)
Winter King, by Thomas Penn (Allen Lane)
The Better Angels of our Nature, by Steven Pinker (Allen Lane)
The Spanish Holocaust, by Paul Preston (HarperPress)
Strindberg A Life, by Sue Prideaux (Yale University Press)
Joseph Anton, by Salman Rushdie (Jonathan Cape)

Monday, September 17, 2012

Harvest Con: Gathering the field of Saskatchewan fantasy writers

Tired of hearing about fantasy conventions in faraway places you just can’t get to? Then check out Harvest Con where we will be gathering up the field of Saskatchewan fantasy writers, just in time for Halloween. Get up close and personal with a celebrity panel of local authors for readings, contests, games, discussions and general fantasy fun. Authors confirmed so far include Arthur Slade, Jefferson Smith, Edward Willett, Joanne Brothwell and Derryl Murphy. Admission is free and there will be prizes. Fantasy fans of all ages welcome. You won't want to miss it, because after this, winter is coming

2012 Wallace Stegner Prize

Make Straight in the Desert a Highway: Conflict in the Canyon Country by Jedediah S. Rogers has won the 2012 Wallace Stegner Prize, sponsored by the University of Utah Press and honoring the best book manuscript in environmental or Western history. The prize consists of $10,000 and publication of the book by the press

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Downpour

Downpour - Offers audio books in different formats on various topics in the U.S.

John Moores Painting Prize won by Sarah Pickstone (UK)

Artist Sarah Pickstone has won the £25,000 John Moores Painting Prize for a work inspired by poet Stevie Smith

Elsewhere

Elsewhere is a 4 book collaboration between Cargo, of Scotland, McSweeney's, of the USA, and the Edinburgh International Book Festival featuring brand new work from 50 of the world's leading authors. With the support of the Scottish Government's Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund, the Book Festival commissioned fifty authors to write short stories, poems or essays, all on the theme of 'Elsewhere'

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Video: The London Book Fair: 2013 Market FocusTurkey

The London Book Fair featured China as its market focus in 2012. Turkey will be the 2013 London Book Fair Market Focus, exhibiting turkish publishers and literature dominantly. This video shows Turkey stand in 2012 London Book Fair, which is expected to significantly expand next year

Video: There's No Place Like Here: Brazenhead Books

Tucked high above the bustle of the street, Michael's secret secondhand bookshop is a mecca for those who savor the story behind the volume

Read it, hear it, watch it: a new app brings poetry alive (UK)

The Wire star Dominic West is backing a free new app designed to bring poetry to a mass audience. West is one of more than 30 British actors from Dan Stevens to the late Harold Pinter who read dozens of poems on The Poetry App whose development was begun by the writer Josephine Hart before her death from cancer. It aims to emulate the success of her long-running Poetry Hours in which she would introduce poems that would then be read aloud by a star cast

Moby-Dick captures stars for reading voyage (UK)

Magnificent yet daunting, Moby-Dick stands as one of the great classics of American literature, much admired but - sprawling and intimidating - seldom read. Now an unlikely combination of fans including David Cameron, Tilda Swinton, Stephen Fry and Simon Callow are set to change that after joining the cast of an ambitious project to record the novel in its entirety

Friday, September 14, 2012

London book and poetry events: 12-18 September, 2012

Book, poetry and spoken word events in London 12-18 September, 2012

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Michael Cart offers a tribute to Gore Vidal

In his latest podcast, Infopeople's Michael Cart offers a fond tribute to the late, great man of letters, Gore Vidal, who passed away on July 31 at 86

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

This is your brain on Jane Austen, and Stanford researchers are taking notes

Researchers observe the brain patterns of literary PhD candidates while they're reading a Jane Austen novel. The fMRI images suggest that literary reading provides "a truly valuable exercise of people's brains."

2012 Guernsey Literary Festival

2012 Guernsey Literary Festival - 13-16 September, 2012