Major publishers, authors sue over Florida book ban laws
Tuesday, 3 September 2024
In the US, six major publishers, together with the Authors Guild and several bestselling authors, have filed a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of two provisions of Florida’s recently enacted...
Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize 2024 shortlist announced
Monday, 2 September 2024
In the UK, the shortlist for the 2024 Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize, which celebrates ‘the best popular science writing from across the globe’, has been announced, reports BookBrunch....
PRH global sales, earnings up in first half of the year
Thursday, 29 August 2024
Penguin Random House (PRH) parent company Bertelsmann reported that the publisher’s sales grew 8.5% in the first half of 2024, while operating EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation)...
SoA demands AI firms seek consent, provide ‘appropriate remuneration’ for use of copyright work
Tuesday, 27 August 2024
In the UK, the Society of Authors (SoA) has written to tech companies, demanding they have the consent of authors before using their work in the development of artificial intelligence...
Croucher wins 2024 YA Book Prize
Monday, 26 August 2024
In the UK, Lex Croucher has won the 2024 YA Book Prize for Gwen & Art Are Not in Love (Bloomsbury YA), reports the Bookseller. Described as a ‘masterclass in teen...
German bookselling chain, trade publication to close
Monday, 19 August 2024
In Germany, Weltbild, once one of the country’s largest bookselling operations, is closing down on 31 August, while the German book trade paper BuchMarkt will close on 31 December after...
Booksellers report dramatic sales drop during Olympic Games
Thursday, 15 August 2024
In Paris, booksellers have reported significant sales drops during the 2024 Olympic Games, reports the Bookseller. English-language Abbey Bookshop in the city’s Latin Quarter reported sales on the Monday before...
Hugo Awards 2024 winners announced
Tuesday, 13 August 2024
The winners of this year’s Hugo Awards, presented annually by the World Science Fiction Convention, have been announced. Among the winners are: Best novel Some Desperate Glory (Emily Tesh, Orbit)...
HarperCollins audio sales up 18%, overall sales up 6%
Monday, 12 August 2024
HarperCollins parent company News Corp has announced its fourth quarter and annual results. The company reported that its book publishing division saw sales rise 6% for the 2024 fiscal year...
Orbit UK launches horror imprint
Thursday, 8 August 2024
Orbit UK has launched a new horror imprint, Run For It, reports the Bookseller. The imprint is Hachette UK’s first dedicated horror list and shares its name with a new...
United Independent Distributors enters administration
Tuesday, 6 August 2024
In the UK, the United Independent Distributors (UID) group, which comprises Marston Book Services, Orca Book Services and Eurospan, and which was acquired by the US-based Independent Publishers Group (IPG)...
Wiley, OUP confirm AI partnerships
Monday, 5 August 2024
In the UK, the Bookseller reports that academic publishers Wiley and Oxford University Press (OUP) have confirmed artificial intelligence (AI) partnerships, following the recent news that Taylor & Francis has...
Middle-grade sales fall 5% in US
Thursday, 1 August 2024
In the US, a new report from Circana BookScan shows print sales of middle-grade books fell 5% in the first half of 2024 from the comparable period in 2023, with...
Ingram titles added to Spotify
Tuesday, 30 July 2024
In the US, distributor Ingram Content Group has announced a ‘collaboration with streaming giant Spotify to bring audiobooks of independent publishers to the subscribers of Spotify Premium’. The company said...
Lennon wins 2024 Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize
Monday, 29 July 2024
In the UK, Ferdia Lennon has won the £5000 (A$9816) Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize for Glorious Exploits (Fig Tree), reports the Bookseller. Chosen from a shortlist of six, the winning...
UK report: Half of adults not reading regularly
Thursday, 25 July 2024
In the UK, new research suggests that half of UK adults are not reading regularly and almost a quarter of young people (aged 16 to 24 years) have never been...
Academic authors ‘shocked’ at Microsoft AI agreement
Tuesday, 23 July 2024
In the UK, the Bookseller reports that academic publisher Taylor & Francis has sold access to its authors’ research as part of an artificial intelligence (AI) partnership with Microsoft worth...
Scholastic reports 7% drop in revenue
Monday, 22 July 2024
Scholastic has reported a 7% decrease in revenue for the year ending 31 May 2024, reports Publishers Weekly. For the full year, revenue dropped to US$1.6 billion (A$2.4b), from $US...
Independent Alliance records best-ever first half
Tuesday, 16 July 2024
In the UK, the Independent Alliance (IA) sales collective has, for the first time, placed above one of the ‘big four’ publishers for sales for the year to date, reports...
UK market down in 2024 without ‘Spare’
Monday, 15 July 2024
In the UK, book sales are down 1% on the first half of 2023, according to Nielsen BookScan Total Consumer Market data, a drop that can be attributed to the...
RBmedia to acquire Dreamscape Media
Thursday, 11 July 2024
In the US, audiobook publisher RBmedia has agreed to acquire independent audiobook publisher Dreamscape Media, reports Publishers Weekly (PW). In a statement, RBmedia CEO Michael Paull said Dreamscape would become...
Romantasy surge puts second-quarter US print sales up
Tuesday, 9 July 2024
In the US, a huge increase in print book sales in the adult fantasy category has contributed to overall unit sales of print books increasing 1.1% in the second quarter...
CWA Dagger 2024 winners announced
Monday, 8 July 2024
In the UK, the winners of the Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) Dagger Awards have been announced, reports the Bookseller. Among the winners across 13 categories was Tell Me What I...
Indian writer Thakur wins 2024 Commonwealth Short Story Prize
Tuesday, 2 July 2024
Indian writer Sanjana Thakur has won the 2024 Commonwealth Short Story Prize for her story ‘Aishwarya Rai’, reports the Bookseller. Thakur was named the overall winner of the prize after...
Orwell Prize 2024 winners announced
Monday, 1 July 2024
In the UK, Hisham Matar and Matthew Longo have won the 2024 Orwell Prizes, reports the Bookseller. Matar won the Orwell prize for political fiction for his novel My Friends (Viking),...
Creators establish ‘Authors Against Book Bans’ in the US
Thursday, 27 June 2024
In the US, a group of writers, illustrators and creators in both the children's and adult sectors has officially launched the Authors Against Book Bans (AABB) organisation, reports Publishers Weekly....
New ‘Basic’ US Spotify plan drops audiobooks
Tuesday, 25 June 2024
In the US, Spotify has increased the price of its Premium subscription offer to US$11.99 (A$18) a month and introduced a new ‘Basic’ plan that costs US $10.99 (A$16.50) and...
Coelho, Becker win Yoto Carnegie medals
Monday, 24 June 2024
In the UK, the winners of the Yoto Carnegie medals for writing and illustration for children and young people have been announced. Joseph Coelho, the UK’s current Children’s Laureate, won...
Hammad wins 2024 RSL Encore Award
Thursday, 20 June 2024
In the UK, Isabella Hammad has won the 2024 RSL Encore Award for her second novel, Enter Ghost (Vintage), reports the Bookseller. The value of the prize (which celebrates second...
Ganeshananthan, Klein win Women’s Prizes
Monday, 17 June 2024
In the UK, Brotherless Night by US author V V Ganeshananthan (Viking) has won the 2024 Women’s Prize for Fiction, and Doppelganger: A trip into the mirror world by Canadian...
