Christopher Reid wins 2009 Costa Book of the Year award

Poet Christopher Reid has won the 2009 Costa Book of the Year award for his collection, A Scattering, a tribute to his wife Lucinda Gane following her death in 2005
Technorati Tag: Books

The CWA Dagger in the Library, 2010

"Authors like Val McDermid and Ian Rankin are well-known amongst the readers of crime fiction but, beneath the top rank of bestsellers are a host of writers, some new and some who have built loyal followings over the years but who have never quite broken through. It is to give a boost to these authors that the Crime Writers' Association Dagger in the Library Award exists. Again sponsored by the publishers, Random House, the Dagger is awarded to a writer nominated by library users and chosen by a panel of librarians, all of whom work with the public. This year's panel is chaired by Mark Benjamin, formerly Team Librarian at Hexham Library, and includes librarians from throughout the UK. 2009 saw a record 70 authors nominated, perhaps spurred on by the chance for groups nominating the winning author to be entered in a draw for £300 to be spent on books. As before, all groups whose nominated authors are shortlisted are entered into a draw for 2 tickets to the prestigious Dagger Awards ceremony, to be held this year at the Harrogate Festival. The closing date for entries is 9th April 2010"

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Frances Lincoln acquires Barn Owl

Independent publisher Frances Lincoln has acquired children's specialist Barn Owl Books, in a deal for an unspecified amount
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Waterstone's Children's Book Prize 2010 shortlist announced (UK)

The shortlist for the Waterstone's Children's Book Prize 2010 has been announced:

Flyaway by Lucy Christopher

The Crowfield Curse by Pat Walsh

The Girl Who Could Fly by Victoria Forester

Love, Aubrey by Suzanne LaFleur

Desperate Measures by Laura Summers

The Seven Sorcerers by Caro King

The Toymaker by Jeremy De Quidt, et al.

Superhumans: Meteorite Strike by A.G. Taylor

The Great Hamster Massacre by Katie Davies, et al.
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Waterstone's chief pays the price for poor Christmas sales

The boss of Waterstone's has left with immediate effect after the book chain suffered a plunge in sales over the Christmas period. Parent company HMV reported that like-for-like sales at Waterstone's tumbled by 8.5% in the five weeks to 2 January. The poor results took the shine off a record performance at HMV's entertainment stores. Waterstone's managing director, Gerry Johnson, has paid the price for the poor sales. He left with immediate effect today, to be replaced by HMV group development director Dominic Myers
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New Gormenghast novel found in attic

A new Gormenghast novel, which was written by Mervyn Peake's wife based on notes left by the author, is to be published by their son after being discovered in an attic. Titus Awakes was written by Maeve Gilmore shortly after her husband's death from Parkinson's Disease in 1968. She decided to write the book, which runs to 210 pages, after he left her a page and a half of fragmented notes about how he might have continued the story
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Woodhead Publishing acquires Horwood Publishing

"Woodhead Publishing Limited in Cambridge UK has acquired the list of Horwood Publishing in Chichester. The deal was done just before Christmas, the second year running that Woodhead has completed an acquisition on Christmas Eve. The Horwood list comprises about 90 books in the fields of mathematics, engineering, biochemistry, chemistry and the environment. Commenting on the acquisition, Martin Woodhead of Woodhead Publishing said, 'The Horwood list fits very neatly with our existing strengths in engineering, materials science, food science and environmental technology but also brings with it a superb mathematics list of 30 titles including bestsellers such as Fundamentals of University Mathematics. We are delighted to add such a high quality list to our business.'"
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Book business faces 'tectonic' shift: 2010 and beyond, part one

The book trade will weather the recession, with digital and a resurgent independent sector providing the best opportunities for incremental sales in 2010, according to leading industry figures polled by The Bookseller this week
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I-Spy children's books make a comeback

"Back by popular demand, Michelin is introducing 12 exciting new titles to the iconic I-Spy collection including I-Spy Cars, Train Journeys, Birds and Creepy Crawlies. I-Spy books take you on a voyage of discovery and are a fun and exciting way for families to take a closer look at the world around them. What better way to keep the kids entertained on long journeys. Each pocket-sized book contains up to 200 themed colour photographs, which you have to 'I-Spy'. The aim is to tick them off as you go and collect points"

The Guardian: A look ahead to what's new in 2010

"From cosmology to children's picture-books, our reviewers give a guide to the best of the publishers' lists for the first six months of the new year"

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Costa Book Awards 2009 category winners announced

One winner is selected in each of the five categories - Novel, First Novel, Biography, Poetry and Children's Book. Each category-winning author receives £5,000.

This year's Costa Book Awards 2009 category award winners are:

2009 Costa Novel Award Winner
Colm Toibin - Brooklyn

2009 Costa First Novel Award Winner
Raphael Selbourne - Beauty

2009 Costa Biography Award Winner
Graham Farmelo - The Strangest Man

2009 Costa Poetry Award Winner
Christopher Reid- A Scattering

2009 Costa Children's Book Award Winner
Patrick Ness - The Ask and the Answer (Chaos Walking, Book Two)