E-book pioneer Michael Hart dies

Michael Hart, who laid the foundation for today's e-book industry by launching Project Gutenberg 40 years ago, died Tuesday at age 64, the project announced

2011 Scotiabank Giller Prize longlist (Canada)

The longlist for the 2011 Scotiabank Giller Prize has been announced:

* David Bezmozgis, The Free World (HarperCollins Canada)
* Clarke Blaise, The Meagre Tarmac (Biblioasis)
* Lynn Coady, The Antagonist (House of Anansi Press)
* Michael Christie, The Beggar's Garden (HarperCollins Canada)
* Patrick DeWitt, The Sisters Brothers (House of Anansi Press)
* Esi Edugyan, Half-Blood Blues (Thomas Allen Publishers)
* Marina Endicott, The Little Shadows (Doubleday Canada)
* Zsuzsi Gartner, Better Living Through Plastic Explosives (Hamish Hamilton Canada)
* Genni Gunn, Solitaria (Signature Editions)
* Pauline Holdstock, Into the Heart of the Country (HarperCollins Canada)
* Wayne Johnston, A World Elsewhere (Knopf Canada)
* Dany Laferrière, The Return (David Homel, trans.) (Douglas & McIntyre)
* Suzette Mayr, Monoceros (Coach House Books)
* Michael Ondaatje, The Cat's Table (McClelland & Stewart)
* Guy Vanderhaeghe, A Good Man (McClelland & Stewart)
* Alexi Zentner, Touch (Knopf Canada)
* CBC Books Readers' Choice selection: Myrna Dey, Extensions (NeWest Press)

2011 Toronto Book Awards finalists

The five finalists for the 2011 Toronto Book Awards were announced September 6. The winner will be announced on October 13:

* James FitzGerald: What Disturbs Our Blood, published by Random House Canada

* James King: Etienne's Alphabet, published by Cormorant Books Inc.

* Rabindranath Maharaj: The Amazing Absorbing Boy, published by Knopf Canada

* Nicholas Ruddock: The Parabolist, published by Doubleday Canada

* Alissa York: Fauna, published by Random House Canada

Bath Festival of Children's Literature 2011 (UK)

Bath Festival of Children's Literature 2011 - 23 September to 2 October, 2011 - Bath, UK

2011 Scottish Children's Book Awards shortlists announced

The shortlists for the 2011 Scottish Children's Book Awards have been announced:

Bookbug Readers (0-7 years)

- Dear Vampa by Ross Collins (Hodder)
- The Loon on the Moon by Chae Strathie and Emily Golden (Scholastic)
- Apple Pie ABC by Alison Murray (Orchard)

Younger Readers (8-11 years)

- Zac and the Dream Pirates by Ross MacKenzie (Chicken House)
- There's a Hamster in my Pocket by Franzeska G Ewart (Frances Lincoln)
- Slightly Jones and the Case of the London Dragonfish by Joan Lennon (Catnip)

Older Readers (12-16 years)

- Wasted by Nicola Morgan (Walker)
- The Blackhope Enigma by Teresa Flavin (Templar)
- Prisoner of the Inquisition by Theresa Breslin (Corgi - RHCB)

Novels read monthly by 'less than one in two children'

Fewer than 50% of UK children aged eight to 17 read a novel outside class every month, research suggests. The National Literacy Trust survey of about 18,000 school children suggests youngsters are more likely to read text messages and emails than fiction. Most children (28.9%) estimated they had between 11 and 50 books in their homes. But one in six said they rarely read outside the classroom

The Dundee International Book Prize 2011 shortlist announced

The shortlist for The Dundee International Book Prize 2011 has been announced:

* As it Was in the Beginning by Rachel Newsome (London)
* 14 Variations from White by Emma Hooper (Bath)
* Sympathy for the Doc by Simon Ashe-Browne (Dublin)
* No Place to Fall by Alissa Jones Nelson (Dundee)
* The Broken Glass Collector by Elizabeth Switaj (Belfast)
* Pixelated by Lane Palmer (London)
* Touching Cloth by Adrian Wiszniewski (Lochwinnoch)
* Granmere's Piano by Jay Weber (Arlington, USA)
* The Scared Combe by Thomas Maloney (Henley-on-Themes)
* The Flax Flower by Amanda MacLean (London)

Galaxy National Book Awards coverage shake-up

The Galaxy National Book Awards ceremony will not be broadcast in full this year, instead being showcased in a six-part series on More4, with submissions for the awards closing on 16th September - The Bookseller

British Retail Consortium says August book sales "tough"

Book sales throughout the UK in August have remained "tough" according to the British Retail Consortium, as it reported general retail sales were down by 0.6% on the month compared to last year on a like-for-like basis. The Bookseller reported that spending on print books had slumped by 4% in August, a seven-year low for the month, according to Nielsen BookScan data

Quercus signs 50 Cent's bullying novel

Quercus has bought a children's book by US rapper 50 Cent. Playground, for the 12-plus age group, is a semi-autobiographical novel on the subject of schoolyard bullying - The Bookseller