The Penguin Podcast: Urban Tales featuring Paul French, Dubliners and Greg Baxter

We've travelled across the globe to famous cities for this Urban-themed podcast, from Beijing to Dublin, with some great writers talking about some great cities

BTB #303: Educational Publishing In Russia, a BEA Global Forum

Earlier this month at BookExpo America 2012, the day-long Global Market Forum examined Russian publishing trends, including for educational publishing. A pair of Moscow-based publishers joined two Americans for a frank and lively discussion, moderated by CCC's Chris Kenneally. The panelists were Dmitry Bak, Vice Rector for Research at the Russian State University for the Humanities; Jonathan Brent, Executive Director of the Yivo Institute for Jewish Research in New York City; Alexander Kondakov, Director General, Prosveshcheniye Publishers; and Marc Mikulich, Vice President, Brand Management and International Rights, John Wiley & Sons

2012 CLPE Poetry Award shortlist

The shortlist for the 2012 CLPE Poetry Award was announced on June 14 2012. The winner of the 2012 Award will be announced at a ceremony at the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education on Tuesday July 24:

* John Agard: Goldilocks on CCTV, illustrated by Satoshi Kitamura, Frances Lincoln
* Brian Moses: Holding the Hands of Angels, Salt Publishing
* Rachel Rooney: The Language of Cat, illustrated by Ellie Jenkins, Frances Lincoln
* Fred Sedgwick: Here Comes the Poetry Man, Salt Publishing

East Sussex Children's Book Award 2012 (UK)

The winner of the 2012 book award was 'Magicalamity' by Kate Saunders

Scottish Children's Book Awards 2012 shortlists

The shortlists for the Scottish Children's Book Awards 2012 have been announced:

Bookbug Readers (0-7 years)

- Jack and the Flum Flum Tree by Julia Donaldson, Illustrated by David Roberts (Macmillan)

-The Day Louis Got Eaten by John Fardell (Andersen Press)

-Solomon Crocodile by Catherine Rayner (Macmillan)

Younger Readers (8-11 years)

-Out of the Depths by Cathy MacPhail (Bloomsbury)

-Soldier's Game by James Killgore (Floris Books)

-The World of Norm: May Contain Nuts by Jonathan Meres (Orchard)

Older Readers (12-16 years)

-The 13th Horseman by Barry Hutchison (Harper Collins)

-Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein (Electric Monkey)

-The Prince Who Walked With Lions by Elizabeth Laird (Macmillan)

Open City: London, 1500-1700

Over the course of two centuries, London changed from the capital of England, secure within its medieval walls, to a metropolitan seat of empire. Its population grew tenfold. Some urban developments were spurred by the dissolution of the monasteries, a royal decree that was both politically and religiously motivated. Also reshaping the city were natural tragedies, like repeated bouts of the plague or the Great Fire of 1666 that destroyed more than 13,000 homes, 86 churches, and over 400 acres in the heart of the city. Such events had a significant impact on the built environment, opening up spaces for repurposing. Open City explores activities and pressures that altered Londoners' sense of community, focusing especially on three types of institutions that touched everyday lives: church, theater, and market. Drawing on materials as disparate as deeds, diaries, engravings, and maps, Open City illustrates the impact of new ideas, new products, and new people in this rapidly growing capital city

Grace McCleen wins the Desmond Elliott Prize

Grace McCleen has been named the winner of the fifth Desmond Elliott Prize for her novel The Land of Decoration, published by Chatto & Windus. She carried off this most prestigious £10,000 prize for debut fiction against an exceptionally strong shortlist, which included Patrick McGuinness's The Last Hundred Days (Seren) and Rachel Joyce's The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry (Doubleday). The judges described The Land of Decoration as 'unlike anything you have ever read' and praised McCleen's original language and ideas, and the novel's vivid and life-affirming evocation of the real and surreal life of a young girl in a Christian sect who believes the Last Days have come. On the surface a domestic tale, this novel is apocalyptic in its scope

An announcement about The Word magazine

We regret to announce that the August issue of The Word, which will be published in the second week of July, will be the last. In the nine years since the magazine launched there have been dramatic changes in the media and the music business. These changes have made it more difficult for a small independent magazine to survive and provide its staff with a living. This hasn't been made any easier by the economic climate of the wider world

Book video: City of Ravens by Boria Sax

Boria Sax, author of City of Ravens, introduces his new book on the extraordinary history of London's famous Tower Ravens

2012 Sunburst Award shortlists (Canada)

The shortlists for the 2012 Sunburst Award for Excellence in Canadian Literature of the Fantastic have been announced