The TV Book Club on Channel 4 (UK)

The 10-part series of The TV Book Club is sponsored by opticians chain Specsavers and produced by Cactus TV, the team behind the Richard & Judy Book Club. It begins on digital channel More4 on Sunday 17th January, with repeats on daytime Channel 4. Chosen titles are:

17th January: The Little Stranger Sarah Waters (Little, Brown)
24th January: Blacklands Belinda Bauer (Transworld)
31st January Sacred Hearts Sarah Dunant (Little, Brown)
7th February Juliet, Naked Nick Hornby (Penguin)
14th February Cutting for Stone Abraham Verghese (Random House)
21st February The Rapture Liz Jensen (Bloomsbury)
28th February Brixton Beach Roma Tearne (HarperCollins)
7th March The Way Home George Pelecanos (Orion)
14th March Wedlock Wendy Moore (Orion)
21st March The Silver Linings Play Book Matthew Quick (Macmillan)

P.D. James, Talking And Writing 'Detective Fiction'

P.D. James, the author of the Adam Dalgliesh mystery series, has a new book, a nonfiction work called Talking About Detective Fiction. She tells Linda Wertheimer of NPR why we might be entering a second "golden age" for the detective story

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Judges for the 2010 Man Booker Prize for Fiction announced

"The judging panel for the 2010 Man Booker Prize for Fiction is announced today, Wednesday 9 December 2009. The judges are Rosie Blau, Literary Editor of the Financial Times; Deborah Bull, formerly a dancer, now Creative Director of the Royal Opera House as well as a writer and broadcaster; Tom Sutcliffe, journalist, broadcaster and author and Frances Wilson, biographer and critic. Andrew Motion, former Poet Laureate, was announced as Chair of the Judges in November"
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2009 BBC National Short Story Award winner

The winner of the 2009 BBC National Short Story Award is Kate Clanchy for The Not-Dead and the Saved
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Pan Macmillan launches Peter James app

"With a unique series design, the Peter James app features special content exclusive to the iPhone app edition of Dead Tomorrow. Dead Simple, the first of the Roy Grace series, is bundled in as a free ebook. The app will also have a coverflow feature allowing users to browse and buy the other titles in the Roy Grace series. The Peter James app provides many extra features, including:

- a situation call from DS Roy Grace himself
- Peter James's research notes and colour photographs
- an extensive author interview
- previously unseen edited (by Maria Rejt) manuscript pages from Dead Tomorrow showing how the book has evolved from first draft

Coinciding with the paperback publication of Dead Tomorrow, advertising tagging the Peter James app is running on London buses, with posters across buses in the West End, the City and central London. Produced in collaboration with Missing Ink Studios and Things Made Out of Other Things,

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John Llewellyn Rhys Prize 2009 winner - Evie Wyld

"29-year-old Evie Wyld saw off competition from an exceptional shortlist which included the Booker winner Aravind Adiga and Orange Prize winner Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie to win the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize 2009 with her book After the Fire, a Still Small Voice. The novel, which was published to rave reviews in August 2009, is set in eastern Australia and tells a story of fathers and sons, their wars and the things that they will never know about each other. Following the collapse of his marriage, Frank retreats to a small costal community in an attempt to build a new life for himself, away from the horrors of his violent past. Frank's story is set against the struggles of his own father, Leon, who forty years earlier, is forced to depart from life working in his family's suburban cake shop to face horrors of his own in the war in Vietnam. Wyld, who was named one of Granta's New Voices of 2008, received her cheque for GBP5,000 at a ceremony at the Century Club in Piccadilly" Evie Wyld's website

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Costa Book Awards 2009 Shortlists announced

The Costa Book Awards 2009 Shortlists have been announced:

Costa First Novel Award

* The Finest Type of English Womanhood by Rachel Heath
* John the Revelator by Peter Murphy
* Beauty by Raphael Selbourne
* The Girl with Glass Feet by Ali Shaw

Costa Novel Award

* Family Album by Penelope Lively
* Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
* The Elephant Keeper by Christopher Nicholson
* Brooklyn by Colm Toibin

Costa Biography Award

* The Strangest Man: The Hidden Life of Paul Dirac, Quantum Genius by Graham Farmelo
* The Music Room by William Fiennes
* Coda by Simon Gray
* Dancing to the Precipice by Caroline Moorehead

Costa Poetry Award

* Angels Over Elsinore by Clive James
* One Eye'd Leigh by Katharine Kilalea
* Darwin: A Life in Poems by Ruth Padel
* A Scattering by Christopher Reid

Costa Children's Award

* Solace of the Road by Siobhan Dowd
* Troubadour by Mary Hoffman
* The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness
* Guantanamo Boy by Anna Perera
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Wordsworth Editions is set to release Ulysses in January 2010

Helen Trayler, Managing Director of Wordsworth Editions has been quoted as saying, "This title I feel is my greatest achievement for Wordsworth, and I am really quite proud of myself." The 1932 edition of the book will be available for £1.99 with notes and introduction by Professor Cedric Watts, from 4 January 2010. Helen Trayler wrote to the Joyce Estate to ask if "there was any possibility that we could come to some arrangement" before the book goes public in 2012. Joyce, who is notoriously protective of his grandfather's work, responded by asking Trayler to "give him the right reasons" for Wordsworth to be given access. Among other reasons, Trayler said: "I told him I have always wanted to do Ulysses but felt that if I could do it before it became public domain, I would capture the market with my edition." Wordsworth is using a painting inspired by the novel, by talented Irish artist Jonathan Barry, for the book's cover image, showing Halfpenny Bridge in Dublin. There are at least 18 editions of Ulysses, although several of them - including the 1932 version, are out of print in the U.K. Both Penguin's £9.99 paperback and the £12.99 hardback produced by Everyman's Library Classics are the revised 1960's version

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Wellcome Trust Book Prize 2009 winner

"A thoughtful and moving book that takes the reader on a journey into dementia has won the first GBP25,000 Wellcome Trust Book Prize. The prize, which is in its inaugural year, is open to outstanding works of fiction and non-fiction on the theme of health and medicine. Andrea Gillies's book 'Keeper: Living with Nancy - a journey into Alzheimer's' (Short Books) - which is about the author's decision to take on the full-time care of her mother-in-law, an Alzheimer's sufferer - beat a shortlist of five other books. The diverse shortlist featured both factual accounts and gripping novels on broad subject matter from a thriller set in a US laboratory to real life accounts of living with illness. 'Keeper' is a very humane and honest exploration of living with Alzheimer's giving an illuminating account of the disease itself. Jo Brand, comedienne and former psychiatric nurse chaired the judging panel and made the announcement at an awards ceremony at the Wellcome Collection, London. She said: "Andrea Gillies's account of living with Alzheimer's is the perfect fusion of narrative with enough memorable science not to choke you. It's a fantastic book - down to earth and darkly comic in places. The judges found it compelling". Clare Matterson, Director of Medicine, Society and History at the Wellcome Trust, added: "The prize aims to examine the links between medicine, culture and society by celebrating excellent writing and bringing it to the attention of a broad and varied audience". Jo Brand' judging panel included BBC science journalist Quentin Cooper, Welsh poet and non-fiction writer Gwyneth Lewis, physician and author Raymond Tallis and Richard Barnett, expert in the history of modern medicine"

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Jeanette Winterson: 'You shouldn't grow up in public, it's a really bad idea'

"After decades of creating fiction, Jeanette Winterson found herself too depressed to write before the idea for her latest children's stories provided salvation. She talks to Nicolette Jones about her goddaughters, stern mother and making peace with the past. Interview by Nicolette Jones. The Independent

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2010 CILIP Carnegie & Kate Greenaway Children's Book Awards nominations

Nominations for the 2020 CILIP Carnegie & Kate Greenaway Children's Book Awards have been announced
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The 2010 Blue Peter Book Awards shortlist is:

Best Book With Facts:

Usborne Lift-the-flap Picture Atlas – Alex Frith & Kate Leake (Usborne)

Tail-End Charlie – Mick Manning & Brita Granstrom (Francis Lincoln Children's Books)

Why Eating Bogeys is Good for You – Mitchell Symons (Red Fox)

Book I Couldn't Put Down:

Cosmic – Frank Cottrell Boyce (Macmillan)

The Boy Who Fell Down Exit 43 – Harriet Goodwin (Stripes)

Frozen in Time – Ali Sparkes (Oxford)

Most Fun Story with Pictures:

Peter the Penguin Pioneer – Daren King (Quercus)

Spells – Emily Gravett (Macmillan)

Dinkin Dings and the Frightening Things – Guy Bass (Stripes)

The final nine books will now be judged by a selection of young Blue Peter viewers. They will decide both the winners in each category, and the overall winner of Blue Peter Book of the Year 2010. The Book Awards show will be broadcast on Blue Peter in March 2010 to coincide with World Book Day. An extract from each of the nine shortlisted titles will be dramatised for the show
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HarperCollins and Skype team up to host first 'virtual' world author tour with International bestselling author Cecelia Ahern

"This November HarperCollins and Skype have created an innovative world first event - Cecelia Ahern's Virtual World Tour - to promote the publication of her latest novels, The Book of Tomorrow and The Gift, across the globe. Cecelia, one of the UK's best selling authors, who wrote PS: I Love You which was made into a highly successful Hollywood movie, will join events around the world via Skype video. Unable to embark on her regular worldwide promotional tours this year due the arrival of her first baby this autumn, HarperCollins and Skype are bringing Cecelia together with her fans through real-time Skype video. Cecelia will join events live from her home in Dublin and will appear on screens at selected retailers in central city locations. Events will range from celebrity-hosted evenings to invite-only retailer events. Fans will be able to speak to Cecelia and buy pre-signed copies of her new books. The tour kicks off with an event at the new Liverpool Waterstones store on Friday 13th November with further events scheduled in Frankfurt, Johannesburg, Sydney and Singapore. Cecelia Ahern has sold 12 million books in over 48 countries in only five years. At 28, she is one of the biggest success stories in commercial fiction. She is also the creator of the successful TV drama series, Samantha Who?"
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Britain's first storytelling laureate named as Cumbrian Taffy Thomas

Britain is set to enjoy its first storytelling laureate in the form of eccentrically-clad Cumbrian Taffy Thomas. Mr Thomas, 60, a literature and drama teacher who was awarded an MBE for services to storytelling and charity in 2001, has a repertoire of 300 stories, tales and elaborate lies collected mainly from traditional oral sources. During his two-year tenure starting in January next year, the self-declared "grand old man of stories" will travel the length and breadth of the UK entertaining children and adults
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My best read for 2009: Up West by Pip Granger

My best read for 2009 is Up West by Pip Granger:

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Foyles to stock e-readers, launches e-book store (UK)

"London independent Foyles is to stock e-readers for the first time as it launches its own e-book store. The Foyles London stores will stock the Sony Touch Edition and Pocket Edition, as well as the BeBook Mini, which has a five-inch screen, in-store and online. The Mini comes with 100 free classic titles. Foyles has also launched an e-book store on its website, stocking 57,000 titles in e-pub and pdf formats. The e-books will be supplied by Gardners which will set the prices, with percentage discounts offered on chosen titles by Foyles" The Bookseller
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2009 Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award winner

"Lords of Finance by Liaquat Ahamed has won the 2009 Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award. The 'beautifully written' history of how central bankers' mistakes led to the Great Depression bowled over the judges and swept away a strong field of finalists to take the GBP30,000 prize. The prize was awarded on October 29 at a special dinner at London’s Victoria & Albert Museum"
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Katie Price launches her new book 'Standing Out'

Katie Price launches her new style guide 'Standing Out' at Selfridges in London, arriving with a male enoutourage dressed in drag


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John le Carre moves to Penguin

John le Carre moves from Hodder to Viking and Penguin with his next novel, due in 2010

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The CWA Dagger Awards 2009 (UK)

The Crime Writers' Association has announce the winners of these CWA Daggers:

William Brodrick wins the CWA Gold Dagger for A Whispered Name
John Hart wins the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger for The Last Child
Johan Theorin wins the CWA John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger for Echoes from The Dead
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Video: Hilary Mantel on winning the 2009 Man Booker Prize

2009 Man Booker Prize winner Hilary Mantel talks about her novel Wolf Hall and what the accolade means to her personally

Mal Peet wins 2009 Guardian children's fiction prize

A modern retelling of Othello, in which the Moor of Venice and his wife Desdemona are transformed into the South American equivalent of Posh and Becks, has won this year's Guardian children's fiction prize. Mal Peet's Exposure beat authors including Terry Pratchett to win the GBP1,500 prize. "It feels absolutely great – I've always had my eye on the Guardian prize but it's always evaded me," said Peet. "My books have never even made the shortlist before, and I'd always sit at home gnashing my teeth and tearing my hair."

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Booker prize goes to Hilary Mantel for Wolf Hall

"She was the bookies' favourite, the people's favourite and tonight Hilary Mantel became the judges' favourite as Wolf Hall, her vividly told tale of Tudor intrigue, emerged triumphant at the Man Booker prize" - Guardian


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Northern Children's Book Festival 2009 (UK)

The Northern Children's Book Festival is planned, organised and hosted by the library services of the participating Local Authorities in the north east of England - November 9-21, 2009. RSS Feed

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JK Rowling denied top US honour

"Harry Potter author JK Rowling missed out on a top honour because some US politicians believed she "encouraged witchcraft", it has been claimed. Matt Latimer, former speech writer for President George W Bush, said that some members of his administration believed her books promoted sorcery. As a result, she was never presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom" - BBC

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Philippa Gregory on her novel The White Queen

Philippa Gregory talks about her latest novel The White Queen
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Ian Rankin opens Edinburgh University library upgrade

Bestselling crime writer Ian Rankin has opened a redevelopment of Edinburgh University's main library:



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Tony Harrison wins inaugural PEN/Pinter prize

Poet and playwright Tony Harrison has won the inaugural PEN/Pinter prize for his "unmistakable and passionate voice". The prize is to be awarded annually to the writer who best exemplifies Pinter's own quest to "define the real truth of our lives and our societies". Harrison, who filed poems from the frontline in Bosnia for the Guardian in 1995, was selected by a panel of judges including Pinter's widow, the author Antonia Fraser, playwright Tom Stoppard and National Theatre director Nicholas Hytner. "When Tony's name came up it pretty much stopped the discussion," said Stoppard. "I think we all felt immediately that he was exactly the writer for the PEN/Pinter prize, and PEN/Pinter was exactly the prize for Tony. Harold would raise a glass to that." - Guardian

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2009 Booktrust Early Years Awards winners

The winners of the 2009 Booktrust Early Years Awards were announced at a ceremony at BAFTA, Piccadilly, London on 23 September.

Baby Book Award
Chick by Ed Vere (Puffin)

Pre-School Award
Oliver Who Travelled Far and Wide by Mara Bergman, illus. Nick Maland (Hodder Children's Books)

Best Emerging Illustrator
Box of Tricks by Katie Cleminson (Jonathan Cape)

Frank O'Connor Award winner is Simon Van Booy

"British author Simon Van Booy has won the world's richest short story prize, the Frank O'Connor award, for a collection which focuses on the different faces of love. Van Booy's Love Begins in Winter beat five other short story collections, including the US author Wells Tower's Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned and Zimbabwean Petina Gappah's An Elegy for Easterly, to win the €35,000 (£30,000) prize. Some big literary names, including Kazuo Ishiguro, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Ali Smith and James Lasdun, had failed to make even the shortlist for this year's award."

New book: The UFO Files - from UK National Archives

"The UFO Files, published by The National Archives, is a collection of the most impressive reports from the Ministry of Defence's secret files on real-life UFO sightings. These reports are brought together for the first time, covering sightings from the early 1900s right up to the present day. The book includes sightings from civilians, as well as from military personnel and intelligence agencies. It looks at investigations conducted by British Intelligence and the CIA in response to UFO sightings, and their views on UFO threats to national security. Official reports, dramatic witness statements and personal interviews, many conducted by the author himself, are combined with rarely seen photographs and drawings."

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The Frances Lincoln Diverse Voices Children's Book Award

Frances Lincoln Limited and Seven Stories have announced the second Diverse Voices Award in memory of Frances Lincoln (1945 to 2001), to encourage and promote diversity in children's fiction. The purpose of The Frances Lincoln Diverse Voices Children's Book Award is to:

* Take positive steps to increase the representation of people writing from or about different cultural perspectives, whose work is published in Britain today.
* Promote new writing for children, especially by or about people whose culture and voice are currently under-represented.
* Recognise that as children's books shape our earliest perceptions of the world and its cultures, promoting writing that represents diversity will contribute to social and cultural tolerance.
* Support the process of writing rather than, as with the majority of prizes, promoting the publication.

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The Bookseller Retail Awards 2009 winners

The winners of the The Bookseller Retail Awards 2009 have been announced:

The Bookseller's Bookselling Company of the Year
W H Smith

Outstanding Contribution to Bookselling
Amanda Ross

High Street Retailer of the Year
Waterstone's

Direct to Consumer Bookselling Company of the Year
The Book Depository

Bertrams Independent Bookseller of the Year
Simply Books

Walker Books Children's Independent of the Year
Jarrolds Children's Book Department

Wiley Manager of the Year
Ian Critchley, Waterstone's Liverpool One

Usborne Children's Bookseller of the Year
Borders

Martina Cole General Retailer of the Year
W H Smith

Nielsen Marketing Campaign of the Year
Borders Where's Wally? On Google Earth

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The Roald Dahl Funny Prize 2009 shortlists announced

The shortlists for The Roald Dahl Funny Prize 2009 have been announced:

The funniest book for children aged six and under

* The Great Dog Bottom Swap by Peter Bently, illus. Mei Matsuoka (Andersen Press)

* Octopus Socktopus by Nick Sharratt (Alison Green Books)

* Elephant Joe is a Spaceman! by David Wojtowycz (Alison Green Books)

* Crocodiles Are the Best Animals of All! by Sean Taylor, illus. Hannah Shaw (Frances Lincoln)

* Mr Pusskins Best in Show by Sam Lloyd (Orchard Books)

* The Pencil by Allan Ahlberg, illus. Bruce Ingman (Walker Books)

The funniest book for children aged seven to fourteen

* The Galloping Ghost by Hilda Offen (Catnip Publishing)

* Eating Things on Sticks by Anne Fine, illus. Kate Aldous (Doubleday)

* Grubtown Tales: Stinking Rich and Just Plain Stinky by Philip Ardagh, illus. Jim Paillot (Faber and Faber)

* The Boy in the Dress by David Walliams, illus. Quentin Blake (HarperCollins)

* Purple Class and the Half-Eaten Sweater by Sean Taylor, illus. Helen Bate (Frances Lincoln)

* Ribblestrop by Andy Mulligan (Simon & Schuster)


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Man Booker Prize 2009 Shortlist announced

A S Byatt, J M Coetzee, Adam Foulds, Hilary Mantel, Simon Mawer and Sarah Waters are today, Tuesday 8 September, announced as the shortlisted authors for the 2009 Man Booker Prize for Fiction. The shortlist was announced by Chair of judges James Naughtie at a press conference held at the Man Group plc's London headquarters:

A S Byatt The Children's Book (Random House, Chatto and Windus)
J M Coetzee Summertime (Random House, Harvill Secker)
Adam Foulds The Quickening Maze (Random House, Jonathan Cape)
Hilary Mantel Wolf Hall (HarperCollins, Fourth Estate)
Simon Mawer The Glass Room (Little, Brown)
Sarah Waters The Little Stranger (Little, Brown, Virago)


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Liverpool Reads (UK)

"Liverpool Reads launched on Tuesday 15th September and this year is our biggest read ever. This year's book is The Savage, written by David Almond and illustrated by Dave McKean. The Savage is a uniquely presented, touching tale of grief, solace and hope from a master of contemporary storytelling and a visionary artist. David Almond, acclaimed author of Skellig - a children's novel recently adapted into a major drama for Sky television - is a Whitbread Children's award winner and was short-listed for the Carnegie Medal for The Fire-Eaters"


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New HSE Books website (UK)

"Health and Safety Executive has made the content of some 230 of our priced publications freely available through our new HSE Books website. The site helps deliver HSE's promise, made in June 2009 at the launch of our new strategy, to make the content of our priced publications containing guidance and regulation, freely available from 1 September 2009. These mainly include HSE's 'HSG' and 'L' series of publications. The content of these priced publications are now freely available in PDF format. Printed hard copies can also be purchased through the new website. The option to view a PDF is shown under the paragraph headed 'Downloads' on the relevant page for each publication within the new site"
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Pan Macmillan celebrates 30 years of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

"On 12 October 1979 the most remarkable book ever to come out of the great publishing corporations of Ursa Minor (and Earth) was made available to humanity - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Pan Macmillan is celebrating thirty years of planet-hopping comic genius with the publication of special editions of Douglas Adams' iconic books. With new forewords from Russell T Davies, Terry Jones, Simon Brett, Neil Gaiman and Dirk Maggs, these editions are a must-have for Hitchhiker readers. Turn to the back of each book to find exclusive material from the Pan Macmillan archives, such as original synopses, press releases, photographs and letters from Douglas to his publisher. Whether you're a seasoned Hitchhiker fan or experiencing Arthur Dent's intergalactic adventures for the first time you'll love the fun new design, including The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy's 'DON’T PANIC' DIY sticker


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UK publisher Marion Boyars driven out of business

"One of the UK's most adventurous independent publishers, Marion Boyars, is being forced out of business after more than 40 years by the adverse climate of today's book trade. The publisher of authors including Ken Kesey, Georges Bataille, Nobel prize winner Kenzaburo Oe, Ivan Illich and Shel Silverstein, Marion Boyars said that it had sold licences in 38 literary titles to Penguin Classics, and that it would be winding down its operations once it has completed its autumn programme" - Guardian


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2009 Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award shortlist

The shortlist for the 2009 Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award has been announced:

* Animal Spirits: How Human Psychology Drives the Economy, and Why It Matters for Global Capitalism by George A. Akerlof & Robert J. Shiller
* Good Value: Reflections on Money, Morality and an Uncertain World by Stephen Green
* Imagining India: Ideas for the New Century by Nandan Nilekani
* In Fed We Trust: Ben Bernanke's War on the Great Panic by David Wessel
* Lords of Finance: 1929, The Great Depression, and the Bankers who Broke the World by Liaquat Ahamed
* The Match King: Ivar Kreuger and the Financial Scandal of the Century by Frank Partnoy


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2009 Booktrust Early Years Awards shortlists

The shortlists for the 2009 Booktrust Early Years Awards have been announced:

Baby Book Award
Chick by Ed Vere (Puffin)
The Big Night-Night Book by Georgie Birkett (Red Fox)
Baby Loves: Tiger by Claire Dowe (Scholastic)
Five Little Ducks by Francesca Stich & Jemima Lumley, illus. Jason Chapman (Simon & Schuster)
Baby's Very First Outdoors Book by Stella Baggott (Usborne)
That's Not My Frog by Fiona Watt, illus. Rachel Wells (Usborne)

Pre-School Award
If I Were You by Richard Hamilton, illus. Babette Cole (Bloomsbury)
Oliver Who Travelled Far and Wide by Mara Bergman, illus. Nick Maland (Hodder Children's)
Sylvia and Bird by Catherine Rayner (Little Tiger Press)
Wow! Said the Owl by Tim Hopgood (Macmillan)
The Tail of the Whale by Ellie Patterson, illus. Christine Pym (Meadowside)
Miaow Said the Cow by Emma Dodd (Templar Publishing)

Best Emerging Illustrator
The Grump by Sarah Garson (Andersen Press)
Toot Toot Beep Beep by Emma Garcia (Boxer Books)
Box of Tricks by Katie Cleminson (Jonathan Cape)
Small Mouse Big City by Simon Prescott (Little Tiger Press)
The Haunted House by Kazuno Kohara (Macmillan)
Peas! by Andy Cullen, illus. Simon Rickerty (Puffin Books)

Beyond Books YouTube Channel from ITN One

From The Bookseller: "ITN On, the multimedia arm of ITN, is to launch a book video channel on YouTube. Beyond Books will aggregate existing video from publishers with its own programming to create 'one home' for book-related content on the web. ITN said it had been working closely with publishing houses including Penguin, Faber and Random House to launch the service within the next week. The site, which has already been soft-launched, is to be funded by advertising, with cross-promotion via YouTube and ITN On's other YouTube channels: Entertainment, News, Music, Game On, and Extreme, which cumulatively attract 13 million views a month. Publishers will be able to add videos for free, via ITN On; the division is also offering its multimedia production services to create bespoke video for publishers"

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BBC Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction 2009 winner

Leviathan, or The Whale by Philip Hoare (Fourth Estate) has been named the winner of the BBC Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction 2009
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Alice Munro wins 2009 Man Booker International Prize

"Alice Munro collected the Man Booker International Prize 2009 during a ceremony at Trinity College Dublin. The Canadian writer received a trophy along with the £60,000 award. The Man Booker International Prize is awarded once every two years to a living author for a body of work. The inaugural award was given to Ismail Kadaré in 2005 and the second to Chinua Achebe in 2007. Jane Smiley, chair of judges, gave a speech asking Alice Munro to receive the prize "as gratitude, our gratitude for her work." Smiley also called for more work to be translated into English and highlighted the importance of the Man Booker International Prize as "It offers a vantage point from which English language readers and publishers may survey the world"."

Royal Society Prize for Science Books shortlist

"It's a transatlantic race between the American academics and the UK's journalists and biographers in the competition for this year's Royal Society Prize for Science Books. The shortlist for the world's most prestigious awards for science writing was announced 25 June, and was made up of three books written by US academics and three written by British journalists and biographers."

The six books shortlisted by the judges are:

* What the nose knows: The science of scent in everyday life by Avery Gilbert (Crown Publishers)

* Bad science by Ben Goldacre (Harper Perennial)

* The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic generation discovered the beauty and terror of science by Richard Holmes (HarperPress)

* Decoding the heavens: Solving the mystery of the world's first computer by Jo Marchant (William Heinemann)

* The drunkard's walk: How randomness rules our lives by Leonard Mlodinow (Penguin)

* Your inner fish: The amazing discovery of our 375-million-year-old ancestor by Neil Shubin (Penguin)

The winner will be announced at an event at the Royal Society on 15 September 2009 and awarded £10,000. The authors of each shortlisted book will receive £1000

Oxfam Bookfest 2009

"From 4 to 18 July, Oxfam will be celebrating its love of books with more than 250 events in Oxfam shops, libraries, community centres and other venues around the UK, featuring a host of authors and celebrities. Some of the big names taking part in Bookfest include: Poet Laureate Carol Anne Duffy, Ian Rankin, Alexander McCall Smith, Mark Haddon, Kate Atkinson, Vikram Seth, Joanna Trollope, Anne Fine, Jonathan Coe, Marina Lewycka, Michael Faber and Nicholas Shakespeare. Plus there's James Robertson, Linda Newbery, Aileen Paterson, Mark Billingham, James Mayhew, Adele Geras, Cath Staincliffe, Barbara Erskine and Erica James..."

John Berger to donate archive to British Library

The eminent writer, critic, and thinker John Berger has announced the donation of his archive to the British Library. The archive of previously unseen 'put-aside objects' (Berger's description of archives in his collection Here is Where we Meet) is to be transferred to the care of the British Library from its current home in a remote French Alpine village later this month (June 2009). Jamie Andrews, Head of Modern Literary Manuscripts at the British Library, will travel to the Alps (setting off on 20 June 2009) to help sort through the papers - currently stored in an old stables - and bring them back to the climate-controlled storage areas in the heart of the British Library's flagship St Pancras building

The Miles Franklin Literary Award 2009 winner

The Miles Franklin Literary Award 2009 winner is Tim Winton for Breath

Vintage to publish new Man Booker Prize editions

Vintage have announced they are publishing beautiful new editions of nine Man Booker Prize winning titles which will all be available this August as the Vintage Booker collection. The titles are:

Amsterdam by Ian McEwan (1998)
Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee (1999)
How Late It Was, How Late by James Kelman (1994)
Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie (1981)
Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha by Roddy Doyle (1993)
Possession by A.S. Byatt (1990)
The Famished Road by Ben Okri (1991)
The Gathering by Anne Enright (2007)
The Sea, The Sea by Iris Murdoch (1978)

These nine books were chosen from a number of previous Booker winners published by Vintage including: The Old Devils by Kingsley Amis (1986), J M Coetzee's The Life and Times of Michael K (1983), Stanley Middleton's Holiday (1974) and David Storey's Saville (1976). They will be available as Vintage paperbacks from 6th August 2009, each at GBP5.99.

2009 Scottish Book of the Year winner

"Acclaimed writer James Kelman has won Book of the Year 2009 in the Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust Book Awards for his novel Kieron Smith, boy. Managed by the Scottish Arts Council the awards are Scotland's richest book awards and net the author a total prize of GBP30,000. Kelman was presented with his GBP30,000 cheque by Sir Donald MacKay, Chairman of Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust at a prestigious ceremony at Borders Book Festival in Melrose on Friday 19 June, hosted by writer and comedian Rory Bremner"

British Book Industry Awards 2009 winners

The winners of the British Book Industry Awards 2009 have been announced:

Frankfurt Book Fair Rights Professional of the Year
: Lucy Vanderbilt, HarperCollins


Orion Publishing Group Literary Agent of the Year: Jonathan Lloyd, Curtis Brown

Sue Butterworth Award for Young Bookseller of the Year, sponsored by HarperCollins: Joint Winners Max Porter of Daunt Books and Lisa Bird of Foyles South Bank

StoraEnso Design & Production Award: The Big Fat Duck Cookbook (Bloomsbury)

Baker Tilly Imprint & Editor of the Year: Ravi Mirchandani, Atlantic

Arts Council England Diversity Award in Literature: Saqi

The Daily Mail Marketing Campaign of the Year: Devil May Care Jane Rose, Penguin

PPC Publicity Campaign of the Year: The Outcast, Louise Rhind-Tutt, Random House

Independent Alliance Independent Bookshop of the Year: The Hungerford Bookshop

Lightning Source Independent Publisher of the Year: Atlantic Books

Harlequin Mills & Boon Direct Bookselling Company of the Year: The Book Depository

BDS/ehaus Chain Bookselling Company of the Year: WHSmith

Publishing Technology Publisher of the Year: Canongate

Man Booker Prize 2009 dates now available

"The Man Booker Prize for Fiction 2009 can confirm the longlist, shortlist and winner announcement dates. They are:
* Tuesday 28 July 2009 - Man Booker Prize for Fiction 2009 longlist announcement

* Tuesday 8 September 2009 - Man Booker for Fiction 2009 shortlist announcement

* Tuesday 6 October 2009 - announcement of the winner of the Man Booker Prize for Fiction 2009 at Guildhall

This year's judging panel is chaired by James Naughtie. He is joined by Lucasta Miller, John Mullan, Sue Perkins and Michael Prodger"

2009 CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Children's Book Awards shortlists

The shortlists for the 2009 CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Children's Book Awards have been announced
Technorati Tag: Books

Orange Prize for Fiction 2009 shortlist announced

The Orange Prize for Fiction 2009 shortlist has been announced:

* Scottsboro by Ellen Feldman
* The Wilderness by Samantha Harvey
* The Invention of Everything Else by Samantha Hunt
* Molly Fox's Birthday by Deirdre Madden
* Home by Marilynne Robinson
* Burnt Shadows by Kamila Shamsie

JG Ballard dead at 78

" The author JG Ballard, famed for novels such as Crash and Empire of the Sun, has died aged 78 after a long illness. His agent Margaret Hanbury said the author had been ill "for several years" and had died on Sunday morning. Despite being referred to as a science fiction writer, Ballard said his books were instead "picturing the psychology of the future". His most acclaimed novel was Empire of the Sun, based on his childhood in a Japanese prison camp in China" - BBC
Technorati Tag: Books

Books lent out to Tube commuters (UK)

Books are being loaned to commuters on the London Underground in a scheme aimed at giving readers an alternative to free newspapers. Novels are handed out free to commuters outside five Tube stations once a month in the Choose What You Read scheme. They are returned the following month or to a central London "drop" box. Co-founder Alfie Boyd said: "Everyone enjoys reading a nice story rather than about a useless celebrity that no-one really cares about too much." He began the scheme with friend Claire Wilson to give commuters an alternative to the "tonnes of free newspapers dished out and thrown away every day" - BBC. The Choose What You Read website is here

The Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival 2009

"Now in its 7th year the Theakstons Old Peculiar Crime Writing Festival is now a firm date in the literary calendar and has achieved international acclaim for the programming, organisation and Festival atmosphere. Every year, writers, readers, publishers and agents all gather in the beautiful informal setting of the Crown Hotel, Harrogate, UK, to talk about the biggest themes, the most controversial writing, take part in hilarious late night cabaret, see special guests, or just enjoy the atmosphere. For 2009, the Festival has been programmed by award winning author, Laura Wilson, who, with the support of the programming committee and Festival team, has created a thrilling four days – packed with the very best and brightest names in crime writing." - 23-26 July, 2009

Orange Award for New Writers 2009 shortlist

The shortlist for the Orange Award for New Writers 2009 has been announced:

- An Equal Stillness by Francesca Kay
- Miles From Nowhere by Nami Mun
- The Personal History of Rachel DuPree by Ann Weisgarber

Desmond Elliott Prize 2009 longlist announced

The longlist for the Desmond Elliott Prize 2009 has been announced:

* A Girl Made of Dust by Nathalie Abi-Ezzi (Fourth Estate)
* The Behaviour of Moths by Poppy Adams (Virago)
* Girl in a Blue Dress by Gaynor Arnold (Tindal Street Press)
* Mr Toppit by Charles Elton (Viking)
* Never Never by David Gaffney (Tindal Street Press)
* Blackmoor by Edward Hogan (Simon & Schuster)
* The Redemption of Alexander Seaton by Shona MacLean (Quercus)
* The Rescue Man by Anthony Quinn (Jonathan Cape)
* Little Gods by Anna Richards (Picador)
* The Alternative Hero by Tim Thornton (Jonathan Cape)

2009 Galaxy British Book Awards - winners

The winners of the 2009 Galaxy British Book Awards have been announced

Galaxy Book of the Year
The Suspicions of Mr Whicher - Kate Summerscale (Bloomsbury)

Outstanding Achievement
Michael Palin

Richard & Judy Best Read
When Will There Be Good News - Kate Atkinson (Black Swan)

Borders Author of the Year
Aravind Adiga for The White Tiger (Atlantic Books)

Tesco Biography of the Year
Dreams From My Father - Barack Obama (Canongate)

Books Direct Crime Thriller of the Year
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson (Quercus)

Sainsbury's Popular Fiction Award
Devil May Care - Sebastian Faulks (Penguin 007)

Play.com Popular Non-Fiction Award
The Suspicions of Mr Whicher - Kate Summerscale (Bloomsbury)

Waterstone's New Writer of the Year
Tom Rob Smith for Child 44 (Simon & Schuster)

WHSmith Children's Book of the Year
Breaking Dawn - Stephenie Meyer Atom

Orange Prize for Fiction 2009 longlist

The Orange Prize for Fiction 2009 longlist has been announced:

* The Household Guide to Dying by Debra Adelaide
* Girl in a Blue Dress by Gaynor Arnold
* Their Finest Hour and a Half by Lissa Evans
* Blonde Roots by Bernadine Evaristo
* Scottsboro by Ellen Feldman
* Strange Music by Laura Fish
* Love Marriage by V V Ganeshananthan
* Intuition by Allegra Goodman
* The Wilderness by Samantha Harvey
* The Invention of Everything Else by Samantha Hunt
* The Lost Dog by Michelle de Kretser
* Molly Fox's Birthday by Deirdre Madden Molly
* A Mercy by Toni Morrison
* The Russian Dreambook of Colour and Flight by Gina Ochsner
* Home by Marilynne Robinson
* Evening is the Whole Day by Preeta Samarasan
* Burnt Shadows by Kamila Shamsie
* American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld
* The Flying Troutmans by Miriam Toews
* The Personal History of Rachel DuPree by Ann Weisgarber

Bisto Book Awards shortlist announced

The Bisto Children's Book of the Year Awards, in partnership with CBI are presented annually in recognition of excellence in writing and/or illustration of books for young people. The awards are administered by CBI, the national organisation for children's books and sponsored by Bisto gravy. The awards are open to any children's book by an author and/or illustrator born or resident in Ireland, written in Irish or English and published between 1st January and 31st December each year. Speaking about the shortlist, Keith O'Sullivan Chair of the 2008-9 Judging Panel, said: "This year's shortlist is exceptionally strong and diverse: it is characterised by quality writing and illustration, which afford readers, of all ages, exciting opportunities to engage with a range of themes from adventure, friendship and belonging to conflict and loss."

Book Industry Conference 2009

The Book Industry Conference 2009 will take place on 1 and 2 June at the Wellcome Trust Conference Centre, Cambridgeshire. The conference programme will address the current economic climate, how it affects us, and what we can do as an industry and as individual businesses. The British Book Industry Awards will take place on the evening of 1 June, in theatre-style format in the Wellcome Trust Auditorium. Pre-award drinks and post-awards reception will be in the historic Hinxton Hall, which is 1 minute's walk from the theatre

Fourth Runnymede International Literary Festival

Fourth Runnymede International Literary Festival - 18-21 March 2009 - London, UK
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4th Huddersfield Literature Festival

4th Huddersfield Literature Festival - 11-15 March 2009 - Huddersfield, Yorkshire
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The Galaxy British Book Awards 2009

The Galaxy British Book Awards 2009 will take place at the Grosvenor House on London's Park Lane on the evening of Friday 3rd April 2009. Tickets are GBP295 (+ vat), tables of 10, and, as before, will be fully inclusive of food and drink during the evening
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London Book Fair Podcast Series - Paul Marsh

Paul Marsh, Literary Agent, The Marsh Agency Ltd gives his views on the current conditions of the Foreign rights market, how agents are dealing with the digital rights issues and the opportunities that exist for agents from Market Focus India:

The Reading Festival of Crime Writing 2009

This year's Reading Festival of Crime Writing takes place 11-13 September in Reading, UK. Tickets will be available from Reading Arts from mid 2009. Speakers include: M. C. Beaton, Stephen Booth, Christopher Brookmyre, Elizabeth Corley, Ruth Downie, Simon Hall, Charlie Higson, Simon Kernick, John Macken, Zoe Sharp, Simon Beckett, Gyles Brandreth, Chris Carter, Judith Cutler, Kate Ellis, Sophie Hannah, Jane Hill, Patrick Lennon, Edward Marston, Andrew Taylor, Mark Billingham, Simon Brett, Natasha Cooper, Colin Dexter, Frances Fyfield, Cynthia Harrod-Eagles, Peter James, Peter Lovesey, Andrew Martin, and more

AuthorsPlace from Random House

AuthorsPlace is a new website from Random House. "We've invited our authors to create their own unique profile pages on AuthorsPlace, the first of which are now live. Find out more about the authors and their books, read interviews, watch videos, browse picture galleries, and talk to them on their blogs and message board"

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London Book Fair Podcast Series - Simon Juden

Simon Juden, Chief Executive of The Publishers Association, gives his views on why London is a growing centre for world-beating publishers; The role of the Publishers Association and the challenges the Publishing industry faces in the year ahead. Click on play button below to view the interview

Sebastian Barry wins 2008 Costa Book of the Year award

Irish author Sebastian Barry has won the 2008 Costa Book of the Year award for The Secret Scripture, a moving account of one woman's stolen life and her journey to reclaim the past. The announcement was made Tuesday 27th January at an awards ceremony held at the InterContinental Hotel in central London

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The Marsh Award for Children's Literature in Translation - 2009 winner

Sarah Ardizzone has won the Marsh Award for Children's Literature in Translation 2009 for her translation of Toby Alone, at a ceremony at the English-Speaking Union, on 20 January 2009. The Award of GBP2000 was presented by Anthony Horowitz

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Emerald launches eBook series collections

"Emerald Group Publishing Limited has announced the launch of its eBook series collections; one focusing on Social Sciences and the other on Business, Management & Economics. These two collections both complement the management focus of existing Emerald journals and extend it into new subject areas such as Psychology and Sociology. In total, they represent over 500 volumes and feature leading international authors in each field covered"

Technorati Tag: Books