The Man Booker Prize 2012 shortlist

The shortlist for The Man Booker Prize 2012 has been announced:

Tan Twan Eng, The Garden of Evening Mists (Myrmidon Books)
Deborah Levy, Swimming Home (And Other Stories/Faber & Faber)
Hilary Mantel, Bring up the Bodies (Fourth Estate)
Alison Moore, The Lighthouse (Salt)
Will Self, Umbrella (Bloomsbury)
Jeet Thayil, Narcopolis (Faber & Faber)

The winner of the 2012 prize will be announced at a dinner at London's Guildhall on Tuesday 16 October, in a ceremony covered by the BBC. Each of the six shortlisted writers is awarded £2,500 and a specially commissioned beautifully handbound edition of his/her book. The winner receives a further £50,000

Elizabeth Bird and Travis Jonker discuss picture books

Elizabeth Bird and Travis Jonker discuss picture books

PA Bulletin 10 September 2012

PA Bulletin 10 September 2012, from The Publishers Association, UK, is now available online #publisher #publishing

2012 Washington State Book Awards (USA)

The 2012 Washington State Book Awards have been announced, putting the spotlight on six outstanding books by the state's authors. This year's crop of prize-winning books includes a debut novel about a duplicitous young man who capitalizes on political change in South America, Seattle author Erik Larson's harrowing history of a pivotal year during Hitler's takeover of Germany, and a children's book that celebrates our state's robust farmers-market culture

Amazon to create 2,000 new UK jobs over two years

Amazon has announced it will create over 2,000 permanent jobs over the next two years with the opening of three new fulfilment centres in the UK. The internet giant said the opening of the new fulfilment centres would create up to 3,000 temporary jobs over the peak Christmas period

The Bookworms of China

The traditional publishing industry's prospects may be bleak overall, but there is a promising story to be found in an unexpected place, in a country plagued by censorship and bureaucracy: China

Guardian first book award: the longlist 2012

Guardian first book award: the longlist 2012

Fiction

The China Factory by Mary Costello (Stinging Fly Press)

Absolution by Patrick Flanery (Atlantic)

The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach (Fourth Estate)

Tony Hogan Bought Me an Ice-cream Float Before He Stole My Ma by Kerry Hudson (Chatto & Windus)

The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers (Sceptre)

The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan (Virago)

Non-fiction

Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo (Portobello)

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain (Viking)

The Origins of Sex by Faramerz Dabhoiwala (Allen Lane)

Sandstorm: Libya in the Time of Revolution by Lindsey Hilsum (Faber)

Readers' choice

Pelt by Sarah Jackson (Bloodaxe)

Judge approves U.S. settlement with publishers over e-books

A U.S. judge approved on Thursday a Justice Department settlement with three publishers accused of conspiring with Apple Inc and other publishers to push up the prices of electronic books. U.S. District Judge Denise Cote in Manhattan said comments on the settlement were "voluminous and overwhelmingly negative," but there was no excuse for price-fixing. The Justice Department had accused Apple and five publishers in April of illegally colluding on prices as part of an effort to fight internet retailer Amazon.com Inc's dominance of e-books. The publishers who agreed to settle are News Corp's HarperCollins Publishers Inc, CBS Corp's Simon & Schuster Inc and Lagardere SCA's Hachette Book Group - Reuters

The Diary of a Young Girl digital edition

On October 18, sixty-seven years after her death - just three weeks shy of her 16th birthday - from typhus and malnutrition in Bergen-Belsen, Anne Frank's diary is being published as an interactive app by Viking, Penguin, and TradeMobile. With it, readers will be able to explore Anne Frank's world, to see what it looked like, what it sounded like, and what it felt like to live in hiding. With the touch of a button, the original manuscript pages of Anne's diary will appear, giving readers access to Anne's sketches, scribblers and notes. Readers will also be able to hear Helena Bonham Carter reading Anne's diary entries, watch videos of those who secretly helped Anne and her family to survive nearly two years of hiding in the "secret annex," and listen to original radio broadcasts, enabling the reader to experience history through Anne

2012 Principal Prince Claus Award to Argentinian publishing co-operative Eloísa Cartonera

Eloísa Cartonera is a publishing co-operative of handmade books of recycled materials. The materials are collected by cartoneros, unemployed who tried to survive after Argentina's political and economic collapse in 2001. Drawn to Eloísa's social solidarity, established and emerging Latin American writers donate short stories, novels and other forms of literature. Eloísa Cartonera transformed 'the book' from an unattainable object into a widely accessible source of pleasure, knowledge and self-development. More than 60 cartonera publishers are currently operating in countries across Latin America