Stephen King signs for new novel with Hard Case Crime

Titan Books' line of pulp novels, Hard Case Crime, will be releasing a new Stephen King novel called Joyland in June 2013. The book is set in a North Carolina amusement park in 1973. The title will mark King's second book with Hard Case, after the bestseller, The Colorado Kid. Joyland will not be published digitally, and will appear in paperback only

Authors demand protection from royalty-cutting book chains (Israel)

Over 270 writers, translators and editors signed a letter to Culture and Sports Minister Limor Livnat, urging her to continue pressing for protection of Israeli authors' royalties

Winging it?

Young Bookseller of the Year Katie Clapham tells us the story of setting up an independent children's bookshop, Storytellers Inc.

The Orange Prize for Fiction 2012 winner

American author Madeline Miller has won the 2012 Orange Prize for Fiction with her debut novel The Song of Achilles (Bloomsbury). 2012 marks the seventeenth year of the Orange Prize, which celebrates excellence, originality and accessibility in women's writing from throughout the world. At an awards ceremony at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London - hosted by Orange Prize for Fiction Co-Founder and Honorary Director, Kate Mosse - the 2012 Chair of Judges, Joanna Trollope, presented the author with the £30,000 prize and the 'Bessie', a limited edition bronze figurine. Both are anonymously endowed

Kim Scott Walwyn Prize 2012 winner

Rukhsana Yasmin, a physicist turned publisher, was named the winner of the Kim Scott Walwyn Prize 2012 after just five years in the trade

Podcast: 2012: Global Market Forum at BEA to Celebrate Publishing in Russia

At this year's BookExpo America, the annual Global Market Forum will shine a spotlight on Publishing in Russia. Rich in literary tradition and known for being one of the most well read societies, Russia has a robust publishing industry and a growing digital audience! In this podcast interview we catch up with Steven Rosato, BEA Event Director, who shares his excitement over the one-day Read Russia conference

Podcast: 2012: BEA Education Evolves with Publishing Industry

With the explosion of ebooks, self-publishing, and social media, the publishing world is nearly unrecognizable from just a few years ago. And as our industry evolves, BEA Education is here to keep you up on tomorrow's trends today. In this podcast interview we speak with Sally Dedecker, BEA Education Director, about what her team has in store for BEA 2012 attendees

"Google" – The first Google image for every word in the dictionary

If a picture says more than a thousand words - and current internet dynamics tend to agree - what would a visual guide to the English vocabulary, contemporary and 'webresentative', look like? Ben West and Felix Heyes, two artists and designers from London (UK), found out when they replaced the 21,000 words found in your everyday dictionary with whatever shows up first for each word in Google's image search. Behold Google - a 1240 page behemoth of JPGs, GIFs and PNGs in alphabetical order

London book and poetry events: 30 May - 5 June (UK)

Book, poetry and spoken word events in London this week

The Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize 2012 winner

Rahul Bhattacharya has won the £10,000 RSL Ondaatje Prize, for his debut novel The Sly Company of People Who Care (Picador)

BMS shortlists for Best Marketing Campaign

The Book Marketing Society has announced the shortlists for its inaugural Best Marketing Campaign of the Year awards, to take place on 21st June at the British Library. The awards will come in the evening of The Bookseller Creativity Day, to include two half-day Marketing and Design conferences

Fiction Uncovered (UK)

Fiction Uncovered is a promotion which celebrates our best British fiction writers. The promotion is supported by Arts Council England and funded by the National Lottery. In 2012, retailers including Waterstone's, Foyles, iBookstore, Amazon and The Book Depository will support the promotion. We also work in partnership with The Reading Agency to reach libraries and reading groups, and with Lovereading UK to reach dedicated readers

CBA announces Libris Award nominees (Canada)

The Canadian Booksellers Association has revealed the shortlists for this year's Libris Awards, which recognize literary achievement as well as behind-the-scenes contributions in the book industry, as voted on by independent booksellers. This year's awards ceremony takes place on Sunday, June 3, at the Toronto Congress Centre. The event kicks off the CBA's annual conference, which is being held in conjunction with the Retail Council of Canada’s Store 2012 conference. Bookseller-oriented programming includes presentations and panels devoted to sidelines and ebooks, and a "moderated member forum." Margaret Atwood will be on hand to accept a lifetime achievement award. The nominees are:

Author:
Patrick deWitt
Esi Edugyan
Michael Ondaatje

Fiction:
The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt (House of Anansi Press)
Half-Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan (Thomas Allen Publishers)
The Virgin Cure by Ami McKay (Knopf Canada)

Non-fiction:
Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory and the Conquest of Everest by Wade Davis (Knopf Canada)
Eating Dirt: Deep Forests, Big Timber and Life with the Tree-Planting Tribe by Charlotte Gill (Greystone Books)
The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary: A Canadian Story of Resilience and Recovery by Andrew Westoll (HarperCollins Canada)

Young reader:
I Am Canada: Deadly Voyage by Hugh Brewster (Scholastic Canada)
This Dark Endeavour by Kenneth Oppel (HarperCollins Canada)
The Dragon Turn by Shane Peacock (Tundra Books)

Picture books:
I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen (Candlewick/Random House)
Picture a Tree by Barbara Reid (Scholastic Canada)
Ten Birds by Cybèle Young (Kids Can Press)

Bookseller:
Blue Heron Books (Uxbridge, ON)
Bryan Prince Bookseller (Hamilton, ON)
Mabel's Fables (Toronto, ON)

Campus bookstore:
Queen's University Campus Bookstore (Kingston, ON)
King's Bookstore Co-operative (Halifax, NS)
York University Bookstore (Toronto, ON)

Editor:
Louise Dennys, Knopf Random House Canada
Jim Gifford, HarperCollins Canada
Lynne Missen, Penguin Canada

Sales rep:
Penny Mason, Penguin Canada
Dot Middlemass, Ampersand Inc.
Michael Reynolds, Michael Reynolds & Associates

Distributor:
HarperCollins Canada
North 49 Books
Raincoast

Small press:
Arsenal Pulp Press
Coach House Books
Nimbus Publishing

Publisher:
Dundurn Press
HarperCollins Canada
Penguin Canada
Scholastic Canada

Publishing Technology drives digital strategies for 10 more scholarly publishers

Publishing Technology has announced agreements with 10 new scholarly publishers. In a series of recent signings, content from six academic publishers is now open to the ingentaconnect network of over 25,000 libraries, including James Nicholas Publishers, Paris Legal Publishers, the Institute of Noise Control Engineering, Science International Corporation, the Association for Perioperative Practice and Rosenberg & Sellier Editori

Hay Festival 2012 (UK)

Hay Festival - 31 May to 10 Junes, 2012 - For 25 years Hay Festival has brought together writers from around the world to debate and share stories at its festival in the staggering beauty of the Welsh Borders. Hay celebrates great writing from poets and scientists, lyricists and comedians, novelists and environmentalists, and the power of great ideas to transform our way of thinking. We believe the exchange of views and meeting of minds that our festivals create inspire revelations personal, political and educational

BookExpo America 2012

BookExpo America combines the largest selection of English language titles on the planet with special industry and author events along with unparalleled educational content delivering a dynamic environment for networking, sourcing, and relationship building. BEA offers three event-packed days, more than 500 authors, hundreds of new titles, 1,300+ exhibitors, and multiple Author Stages, along with the Digital Discovery Zone brought to you by IDPF. The BEA Education Program features content that addresses critical industry issues and offers you insights and information about conducting and expanding your business.

BEA is a totally unique book fair! It is a trade only event that delivers the largest gathering of booksellers, librarians, retailers, and industry professionals anywhere in North America. It is where the latest technology trends are discovered, explained and on display. BEA is a content event as the leading rights fair in North and South America for agents, scouts, sub-rights as well as movie/television production and development personnel. It is the media event for publishing with more than 2,000 credentialed media personnel

Newbery winner Jean Craighead George dies at 92

Newbery-winning author and naturalist Jean Craighead George, who inspired many children to pursue careers in the natural sciences, died May 15 at the Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, NY from complications related to a stroke. She was 92

New Zealand Post Book of the Year

The chance discovery of diaries depicting the horrors of war through the eyes of a boy soldier inspired the book that has won this year's highest honour for children's literature. Matt Elliott, a comedian and author, wrote Nice Day for a War after finding his grandfather Cyril's diaries from World War I. The book, part graphic novel, part historical novel, was illustrated by Chris Slane, and won the New Zealand Post Book of the Year at a ceremony held in Wellington

CBI Book of the Year Award 2012 winners (Ireland)

The winners of the Children's Books Ireland Book of the Year Award 2012 have been announced

Uncover A Classic with Hesperus Press

Hesperus Press is asking readers to help us uncover a classic by submitting to us the name of one out-of-print book they would like to see back in print. Entrants must write an introduction to the book in no more than 500 words, explaining why they love their chosen book and why it deserves to be republished. The winner, chosen by the Hesperus Press editorial team, will see the chosen book published by Hesperus in September 2012, containing their 500 word introduction. Get your entries in now! The deadline is 1st June 2012

Every book begins with an idea...

Author Celia Rees tells about the inspiration for her latest book This is Not Forgiveness - and how research helped to bring the story to life

The Man Booker Prizes Weekly Roundup - 28 May 2012

The latest news about Man Booker Prize writers and judges - 28 May 2012

Book video: Chris Hedges on Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt

Journalist Chris Hedges and graphic artist Joe Sacco traveled to the most depressed pockets of the United States to combine narrative nonfiction with graphic art in their book Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt

In Memoriam: Paul Fussell

Scholar Paul Fussell has passed away at the age of 88. He was Donald T. Regan Professor Emeritus of English Literature at the University of Pennsylvania and the author of several works, including three with Oxford University Press: The Great War and Modern Memory, Wartime: Understanding and Behavior in the Second World War, and Abroad: British Literary Traveling between the Wars. Named one of the twentieth century's 100 Best Non-Fiction Books by the Modern Library, The Great War and Modern Memory was the winner of the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award

Publishers should be proud of their legacy

The word 'legacy' is becoming a term of abuse in the publishing revolution, but a long history of bringing great writing to committed readers is nothing to be ashamed of - Guardian

2012 Raiziss/de Palchi Translation Awards

Jennifer Scappettone, a University of Chicago assistant professor, has won the Academy of American Poets' 2012 Raiziss/de Palchi Book Prize for her translations of poet Amelia Rosselli in Locomotrix: Selected Poetry and Prose of Amelia Rosselli (University of Chicago Press). The $10,000 award is given every other year for "the translation into English of a significant work of modern Italian poetry."

Orwell Prize 2012 winners

The Orwell Prize 2012 winners have been announced:

* Christopher Hitchens memorialised
* Toby Harnden wins Book Prize for Dead Men Risen
* Amelia Gentleman wins Journalism Prize for her work in The Guardian
* Rangers Tax-Case wins the Blog Prize

The winners of the Orwell Prize 2012, Britain's most prestigious prize for political writing, were announced 23 May 2012 in London, UK

Book video: What Dies in Summer: A Novel by Tom Wright

"A magnificent novel, not so much about loss of innocence as innocence put through the masher. The story pulsates with a deep dread that would be unbearable if the novel weren't so sweet, funny, sexy, and ultimately moving." - NICK CAVE, author of The Death of Bunny Munro

Book video: Dark Jenny by Alex Bledsoe

For twenty-five gold pieces a day, plus expenses, Eddie LaCrosse will take on almost any case. But the unexpected delivery of a coffin in the dead of winter forces LaCrosse to look at a bygone chapter of his life - and the premeditated murder of a dream

Festival of Asian Literature 2012 (UK)

The Asia House Festival of Asian Literature - 15-31 May, 2012 - The first and only festival in the UK dedicated to writing about Asia and Asians

London book and poetry events: 23-29 May (UK)

Book, poetry and spoken word events in London, UK May 23-29

2012 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award finalists

Finalists for the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award, sponsored by Amazon, Penguin Group and Amazon-owned CreateSpace, have been named. The two grand prize winners, who will receive a publishing contract from Penguin Group that includes a $15,000 advance, will be announced June 16. This year's shortlisted titles are:

General fiction
The Beautiful Land by Alan Averill
Grace Humiston and the Vanishing by Charles Kelly
A Chant of Love and Lamentation by Brian Reeves

Young adult fiction
Dreamcatchers by Cassandra Griffin
Out of Nowhere by Rebecca Phillips
On Little Wings by Regina Sirois

Book video: The Case of the Deadly Butter Chicken by Tarquin Hall

Long-held secrets, deadly lies, a sports scandal, and a poisoned helping of butter chicken -- all in a day's work for the head of Delhi's Most Private Investigators, in this latest book in the delightful Vish Puri detective series

Book video: Everybody Has Everything by Katrina Onstad

Combining a pitch-perfect, whip-smart dissection of contemporary urban life with a fresh and perceptive examination of our individual and collective ambivalence towards parenthood, Katrina Onstad's Everbody Has Everything balances tragedy and comedy with verve and flair, and is destined to be one of Canada's most talked-about novels of 2012

Book video: The Emperor of Paris by C.S. Richardson

Like his father before him, Octavio runs the Notre-Dame bakery, and knows the secret recipe for the perfect Parisian baguette. But, also like his father, Octavio has never mastered the art of reading and his only knowledge of the world beyond the bakery door comes from his own imagination

Orange to cease sponsorship of Fiction Prize

Orange will not renew its title sponsorship of The Women's Prize for Fiction after this year's award, to be made on 30th May

2012 British Sports Book Awards winners

The winners of the 10th Anniversary British Sports Book Awards were announced at a glittering awards ceremony at The Savoy Hotel in London on the 21st May 2012

New Book, We Can Do, by Moshe Kai Cavalin

In March of 2012, 14-year old author Moshe Kai Cavalin’s "We Can Do" (ISBN: 978-1618630452; paperback), published by Bookstand Publishing, made Amazon’s Top 100 list, showing how successful an author with a dream can be

New Book, The Gospel of Ashes, by Lloyd R. Prentice

Writers Glen Publications has announced the release of "The Gospel of Ashes" (ISBN: 978-0982589229), a fiction thriller, by author Lloyd R. Prentice. Plot: While searching for Phan’s missing daughter, Boston residents Mei Li Phan and Landry Carmichael stumble into a massive conspiracy. Their search threatens powerful forces seeking radical change. So now - they must die. The conspiracy: nuke a major American city

2012 London International Antiquarian Book Fair (UK)

The 2012 London International Antiquarian Book Fair takes place in London from May 24-26, 2012

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing files for bankruptcy

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Co., the publisher of authors from Mark Twain to J.R.R. Tolkien, sought bankruptcy protection to eliminate more than $3 billion in debt

Independent Booksellers' Week Book Awards shortlists

The Booksellers Association of the U.K. and Ireland has announced its adult and children's book shortlists for the Independent Booksellers' Week Book Awards. The winners will be named in early September

2011 Nebula Awards winners

The winners of this year's Nebula Awards, sponsored by the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America, are:

Novel: Among Others by Jo Walton (Tor)
Novella: "The Man Who Bridged the Mist" by Kij Johnson
Novellette: "What We Found" by Geoff Ryman
Short Story: "The Paper Menagerie" by Ken Liu
Bradbury: Doctor Who--"The Doctor’s Wife" by Neil Gaiman, directed by Richard Clark
Norton YA: The Freedom Maze by Delia Sherman (Big Mouth House)

Ruth Warburton - author of Winter Trilogy

Ruth Warburton writes: "I'm the author of the young adult Winter Trilogy. The series tells the story of Anna, whose life changes forever when she moves to the small town of Winter. In Winter Anna meets Seth Waters and unleashes a chain of events that leads them from love, to heartbreak, to mortal danger. The first book, A Witch in Winter, came out with Hodder on 5th January 2012, and the sequel, A Witch in Love comes out on 5th July 2012"

Peter Benson: Two Cows and a Vanful of Smoke : A review

Two Cows and a Vanful of Smoke is a charming, funny coming of age story and full of West Country allure with bent cops, a superstitious Mother, hippies in hospital and a vanful of weed. I galloped through this book and I really enjoyed the sharp, direct writing - Reviewed by Jessica Patient

2012 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction shortlist

The shortlist for the 2012 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction has been announced:

* The Fifth Witness by Michael Connelly
* Murder One by Robert Dugoni
* Breach of Trust by David Ellis

The winner of the 2012 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction will be announced in August 2012

Esi Edugyan wins the 2012 Ethel Wilson Fiction Award (Canada)

Victoria writer Esi Edugyan has won yet another award - the Ethel Wilson Fiction Award. Edugyan's win for her novel, Half Blood Blues, was announced Saturday night in Vancouver at the B.C. Book Prizes awards ceremony. The book has received international critical acclaim and notice on the literary award circuit. Esi Edugyan is also a finalist for Britain's prestigious Orange Prize for women's fiction, to be announced May 30. Half Blood Blues, the story of a black trumpet player who vanishes after being arrested in a Paris cafe, won the 2011 Scotiabank Giller Prize and was a finalist for the Man Booker Prize as well the Governor General's Literary Award for Fiction

The Man Booker Prizes Weekly Roundup - 18 May 2012

The latest news about Man Booker Prize writers and judges - 18 May 2012

Bestselling author Philippa Gregory - live streamed event

International bestselling author Philippa Gregory will be taking part in a live-streamed event at 1pm on Wednesday 30th May. The event will be streamed from a venue in north London, where Philippa will be talking to a live school audience of 13-14 year olds from South Hampstead High School about the first book - Changeling - in her new series for teenagers, Order of Darkness. Other schools, book groups and individuals across the globe will be invited to register to watch the live online event and submit their own questions by visiting www.philippagregorylive.com. The event will also be made available to watch on demand for one month

2012 Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award longlist

2012 marks the eighth year of the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award. The award, run in partnership with Asda and in association with the Daily Mirror, was created to celebrate the very best in crime writing and is open to British and Irish authors whose novels were published in paperback over the previous twelve months. Crime writing's most wanted accolade, the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award, returns to highlight the cream of the crop of crime novels published by British and Irish authors over the last year.The winning author receives a cash prize of £3000 an a handmade, engraved beer barrel provided by Theakstons Old Peculier. 2012 longlist:

Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch (Gollancz)
Darkside by Belinda Bauer (Corgi)
Now You See Me by SJ Bolton (Corgi)
Where the Bodies Are Buried by Chris Brookmyre (Abacus)
The Burning Soul by John Connolly (Hodder Paperback)
The Calling by Neil Cross (Simon & Schuster)
The Hanging Shed by Gordon Ferris (Corvus)
Bryant and May and the Memory of Blood by Christopher Fowler (Bantam)
Blue Monday by Nicci French (Michael Joseph)
The Fear Index by Robert Harris (Arrow)
The Retribution by Val McDermid (Sphere)
The End of the Wasp Season by Denise Mina (Orion)
Black Flowers by Steve Mosby (Orion)
Collusion by Stuart Neville (Vintage)
The Impossible Dead by Ian Rankin (Orion)
Mice by Gordon Reece (Pan Books)
Agent 6 by Tom Rob Smith (Simon & Schuster)
Before I Go To Sleep by SJ Watson (Black Swan)

2012 Shortlist Announcement and Readers’ Online Vote
The names of the six shortlisted titles will be announced on Thursday 5 July 2012 and YOU – the readers – will be able to help decide which of the six short-listed authors will take home the most coveted title in crime fiction, by casting your vote online at www.theakstons.co.uk. The result of the online vote will be counted alongside the votes of the expert judging panel in order to determine the 2012 winner

James Tait Black shortlist announced

Finalists for the University of Edinburgh's £10,000 James Tait Black Prizes have been named. Winners will be announced August 25 during the Edinburgh International Book Festival. This year's shortlisted titles are:

Biography
Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention by Manning Marable
Ben Jonson: A Life by Ian Donaldson
The Last Pre-Raphaelite: Edward Burne-Jones and the Victorian Imagination by Fiona MacCarthy
Nikolaus Pevsner: The Life by Susie Harries

Fiction
Snowdrops by A.D. Miller
Solace by Belinda McKeon
You and I by Padgett Powell
There But For The by Ali Smith

Harper & Foyles triumph at Bookseller Awards

HarperCollins claimed this year's prestigious Publisher of the Year accolade at the Bookseller Industry Awards on 14th May as mini-chain Foyles triumphed in the bookselling corner by scooping double retail titles with National and Children's Bookseller of the Year

Book Review: The Secret History Of Our Streets - London

It's pretty much impossible to get a thorough handle on the vast social history of London. Unless you're Roy Porter. And you're not, because he's sadly no longer with us. It's much easier, however, to grasp the ups and downs of an individual street. Such is the hunch of this new book, to accompany a forthcoming BBC2 series. Authors Joseph Bullman, Neil Hegarty and Brian Hill investigate six London roads: Reverdy Road in Bermondsey, Deptford High Street, Arnold Circus in Shoreditch, Caledonian Road in Islington, Portland Road near Notting Hill and Camberwell Grove

Jonathan Falla interview

Jonathan Falla was born in Jamaica. He has a degree in English and Art History, but trained as a tropical diseases nurse and worked for aid agencies in tropical lands. He has had BBC film and stage drama productions but now focuses on fiction. His fourth novel, "Dafne & the Dove" will be published by Aurora Metro this autumn

Springer and the Beijing Normal University Press sign agreement on new book series

STM publisher Springer and Beijing Normal University Press will co-publish a new book series IHDP-Integrated Risk Governance Project Series. The agreements for the first seven titles of this series were signed by Derk Haank, CEO Springer Science+Business Media, and Prof. Geng Yang, CEO of BNUP, at this year’s London Book Fair

"Pinch" Pulitzer Award for Fiction contest winner

The winner of the first "Pinch" Pulitzer Award for Fiction contest, held by Longfellow Books, Portland, Maine, and voted on by customers, is The Pale King by David Foster Wallace. Runners up were The Sweet Relief of Missing Children by Sarah Braunstein, Train Dreams by Denis Johnson and State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

May 2012 Fiction lab (UK)

Jennifer Rohn of Lablit.com hosts the monthly book club dedicated to great fiction books with a science theme. If you're an interested reader who has something to say, then come along. The format of Fiction lab is simple. All you need to do is check this webpage for May's book choice, read the book beforehand and then drop into the Ri to discuss it with other fiction lovers. Admission is free and there is no need to book tickets in advance. The book selected for May is When The Killing's Done by T. Coraghessan Boyle

The Wales Book of the Year Award 2012 short list

The short list for The Wales Book of the Year Award 2012 has been announced

29th Congress of the International Publishers Association (South Africa)

Registration is now open for the 29th Congress of the International Publishers Association - 12-14 June, 2012 - Cape Town, South Africa

Hilary Mantel introduces Bring up the Bodies

Hilary Mantel talks about her new book Bring up the Bodies, the sequel to the Man Booker prize-winning Wolf Hall. The story of Thomas Cromwell continues. In the final days of Anne Boleyn, no one is left unscathed ...Bring up the Bodies will be published May 10th 2012 by Fourth Estate

The Man Booker Prizes Weekly Roundup - 11 May 2012

The latest news about Man Booker Prize writers and judges - 11 May 2012

Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize finalists

Finalists have been named for the £10,000 (US$16,160) Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize, which recognizes "for a distinguished work of fiction, non-fiction or poetry, evoking the spirit of a place," the Bookseller reported. The winner will be announced May 28 in London. This year's shortlisted titles are:

* Thin Paths by Julia Blackburn
* Edgelands by Paul Farley and Michael Symmons Roberts
* The Sly Company of People Who Care by Rahul Bhattacharya
* Open City by Teju Cole
* To the River by Olivia Laing
* Connemara by Tim Robinson

Wolfson History Prize (2011) winners

The winners of the Wolfson History Prizes in 2011, awarded at a reception and dinner on 8 May 2012, were:

Mrs Susie Harries for Nikolaus Pevsner: The Life (Chatto & Windus)

Professor Alexandra Walsham for The Reformation of the Landscape (Oxford University Press)

The winners received £25,000 each. The judges were Sir Keith Thomas FBA (Chairman), Professor Sir David Cannadine FBA FSA FRSL, Professor Richard Evans FBA, and Professor Julia Smith FRSE. The Wolfson History Prize, established in 1972, is awarded annually to promote and encourage standards of excellence in the writing of history for the general reading public

2012 English 4-11 Awards for the Best Picture Books of 2011 winners

The winners of the 2012 English 4-11 Awards for the Best Picture Books of 2011 have been announced

Macmillan Prize 2012

This award was established by Macmillan Children's Books in order to stimulate new work from young illustrators in art schools and to help them start their professional lives. This year, alongside the picture book category (incorporating The Lara Jones Award) we are introducing a separate digital category

Bloomsbury acquires urban fantasy series by Oxford undergraduate Samantha Shannon

Bloomsbury has pre-empted world English rights in The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon in a major three book deal and will publish the first of the seven book series in print and ebook globally on 12th September 2013, after the author graduates from Oxford University. Bloomsbury Editor-in-chief Alexandra Pringle moved swiftly to acquire the series from David Godwin at DGA the week of the London Book Fair, ahead of meetings with other publishers

Azrieli Foundation to launch film series companion to Holocaust memoirs

The Azrieli Foundation, a Canadian philanthropic organization has produced a number of film shorts to complement its series of memoirs by Holocaust survivors

Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize shortlist

The shortlist for the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize has been announced

Benjamin Franklin Award™ finalists 2012

Finalists for the Benjamin Franklin Awards, honoring "excellence in publishing" and sponsored by the Independent Book Publishers Association, have been announced, with three finalists in each of 54 categories. Winners will be celebrated at the Benjamin Franklin Awards dinner on Monday, June 4, at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City

2012 Elizabeth Longford Prize for Historical Biography winner

The 2012 Elizabeth Longford Prize for Historical Biography is awarded to Frances Wilson for How to Survive the Titanic or The Sinking of J Bruce Ismay. The £5,000 Prize will be presented by Flora Fraser on Thursday 14 June, at the Society of Authors' annual awards party at The Army and Navy Club in Pall Mall. Other prizes administered by the Society will be introduced by Lindsey Davis and presented by Claire Tomalin. The prize is generously sponsored by Flora Fraser and Peter Soros in affectionate memory of Elizabeth Longford, the acclaimed biographer

The Man Booker Prizes Weekly Roundup - 4 May 2012

The latest news about Man Booker Prize writers and judges - 4 May 2012

We want to buy your books! Internet Archive Letter to Publishers

Thank you for your willingness to invest in the future of publishing and readership. Libraries and publishers have a lot in common: we connect writers with readers which promotes literacy, scholarship, and citizenship. We want to buy more digital books from you.....

Wild Things author Maurice Sendak dies at 83

Maurice Sendak, the US author of the best-selling children's book Where the Wild Things Are, has died aged 83

2012 Caine Prize for African Writing shortlist

The shortlist for the 2012 Caine Prize for African Writing has been announced by Ben Okri OBE, the new Vice President of the Prize. The Chair of judges, author and Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature Bernardine Evaristo MBE, has described the shortlist as "truly diverse fiction from a truly diverse continent." The Caine Prize, Africa's leading literary award, is now in its thirteenth year. Involved from the beginning, Ben Okri, the internationally acclaimed Nigerian writer was announced as the Vice President of the Prize last week (26 April 2012). Ellah Allfrey OBE, deputy Editor of Granta magazine is the new Deputy Chair. The 2012 shortlist comprises:

Rotimi Babatunde (Nigeria) 'Bombay's Republic' from 'Mirabilia Review' Vol. 3.9 (Lagos, 2011)

Billy Kahora (Kenya) 'Urban Zoning' from 'McSweeney's' Vol. 37 (San Francisco, 2011)

Stanley Kenani (Malawi) 'Love on Trial' from 'For Honour and Other Stories' published by eKhaya/Random House Struik (Cape Town, 2011)

Melissa Tandiwe Myambo (Zimbabwe) 'La Salle de Départ' from 'Prick of the Spindle' Vol. 4.2 (New Orleans, June, 2010)

Constance Myburgh (South Africa) 'Hunter Emmanuel' from 'Jungle Jim' Issue 6, (Cape Town, 2011)

Occupy by Noam Chomsky

"Easy to read, affordable, loaded with photos and practical advice for activists, "Occupy" is another vital contribution from Chomsky to the literature of defiance and protest, and a red-hot rallying call to forge a better, more egalitarian future....[an] excellent read." - Alternet

Google Lit Trips

Google Lit Trips are free downloadable files that mark the journeys of characters from famous literature on the surface of Google Earth. At each location along the journey there are placemarks with pop-up windows containing a variety of resources including relevant media, thought provoking discussion starters, and links to supplementary information about "real world" references made in that particular portion of the story

2012 James Beard Foundation Book Awards winners

Winners of the 2012 James Beard Foundation Book Awards include:

Cookbook of the Year: Modernist Cuisine by Nathan Myhrvold with Chris Young & Maxime Bilet (The Cooking Lab)

American Cooking: A New Turn in the South: Southern Flavors Reinvented for Your Kitchen by Hugh Acheson (Clarkson Potter)

Baking and Dessert: Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home by Jeni Britton Bauer (Artisan)

Beverage: Bitters: A Spirited History of a Classic Cure-All, with Cocktails, Recipes, & Formulas by Brad Thomas Parsons (Ten Speed)

Cooking from a professional point of view: Modernist Cuisine by Nathan Myhrvold with Chris Young and Maxime Bilet (The Cooking Lab)

General cooking: Ruhlman's Twenty by Michael Ruhlman (Chronicle)

Focus on health: Super Natural Every Day: Well-Loved Recipes from My Natural Foods Kitchen by Heidi Swanson (Ten Speed)

International: The Food of Morocco by Paula Wolfert (Ecco)

Photography: Notes from a Kitchen: A Journey Inside Culinary Obsession by Jeff Scott and Blake Beshore (Tatroux)

Reference & scholarship: Turning the Tables: Restaurants and the Rise of the American Middle Class, 1880-1920 by Andrew P. Haley (University of North Carolina Press)

Single subject: All About Roasting by Molly Stevens (Norton)

Writing and literature: Blood, Bones & Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef by Gabrielle Hamilton (Random House)

Cookbook hall of fame: Home Cooking and More Home Cooking by Laurie Colwin

2012 Miles Franklin Literary Award shortlist

Finalists have been named for the $50,000 Miles Franklin Literary Award, which honors a novel of the highest literary merit and "must present Australian life in any of its phases." This year the judges were authorized "to use their discretion to modernize the interpretation of Australian life beyond geographical boundaries to include mindset, language, history and values." A winner will be announced June 20 in Brisbane. This year's shortlisted titles are:

* Blood by Tony Birch
* All That I Am by Anna Funder
* Foal's Bread by Gillian Mears
* Cold Light by Frank Moorhouse
* Past the Shallows by Favel Parrett

2012 Arthur C. Clarke Award winner

The Testament of Jessie Lamb by Jane Rogers has been declared the best science fiction novel of the year and the 26th winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award. Published by Sandstone Press, the novel is set in a near-future world living in the aftermath of biological terrorism and the release of the MDS (maternal death syndrome) virus. Narrated by 16-year old Jessie Lamb, the novel follows her decision to volunteer for an experimental programme to carry an immune embryo to term, a choice she can’t hope to survive

2012 Orion Book Award winner

Author and biologist Carl Safina's The View from Lazy Point: A Natural Year in an Unnatural World won the Orion Book Award, which is given "in recognition of the book's success in addressing the human relationship with the natural world in a fresh, thought-provoking, and engaging manner."

2012 Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for humour writing winner

Admired for its offbeat combination of neurotic humour, shocking violence and traditional Western storytelling, one of this year's most-talked-about books, Patrick deWitt's The Sisters Brothers, has earned the 2012 Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for humour writing and TD Bank Group's $15,000 cash prize. The announcement was made at the Leacock Luncheon at the Mariposa Inn in Orillia, Ontario. Michael Hill, President of the Stephen Leacock Associates, pronounced the winner before a standing-room-only audience that included nominated authors, representatives from Canada’s publishing industry, honoured guests, sponsors and media

2012 Crystal Kite Winners

The Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators announced winners of the 2012 Crystal Kite Member Choice Awards for 15 regional divisions. The prizes are a regional complement to SCBWI's annual Golden Kite Awards, which are given in four children’s literature categories:

Africa: Finding Aunt Joan by Jenny Hatton, illustrated by Joan Rankin (Jacana Media)

Australia/New Zealand: The Last Viking by Norman Jorgensen (Fremantle Press)

California/Hawaii: Won Ton: A Cat Tale Told in Haiku by Lee Wardlaw, illustrated by Eugene Yelchin (Henry Holt)

Southeast: Cleopatra's Moon by Vicky Alvear Shecter (Arthur A. Levine Books)

Mid-South: Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys (Philomel Books)

Mid-East/India/Asia: Orchards by Holly Thompson (Delacorte Dell)

Midwest: Bluefish by Pat Schmatz (Candlewick)

Southwest: Black & White: The Confrontation Between Reverend Fred L. Shuttlesworth and Eugene "Bull" Connor by Larry Brimner (Boyds Mills Press)

New England: Pearl by Jo Knowles (Henry Holt Books for Young Readers)

New York: Thelonius Mouse by Orel Protopopescu (FSG)

Atlantic: The Absolute Value of Mike by Kathryn Erskine (Philomel Books)

Texas/Oklahoma: Mine! by Patrice Barton (Random House Children’s Books)

Americas: Witchlanders by Lena Coakley (Atheneum Books for Young Readers)

U.K./Europe: Dark Parties by Sara Grant (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)

West: The Friendship Doll by Kirby Larson (Delacorte Dell)

Palgrave Pivot

Launching globally in Autumn 2012 and 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

Barnes & Noble deal gives Microsoft Door to E-Books

Barnes & Noble Inc. and Microsoft Corp. are teaming up to create a new Barnes & Noble subsidiary that will house the digital and college businesses of the bookseller and include a Nook application for Windows 8. The companies said Monday that they are exploring separating those businesses entirely. That could mean a stock offering, sale, or other deal could happen