Breaking news on authors, publishers, and book-related topics

James Tait Black Memorial prize shortlist

May 18 2009: The James Tait Black Memorial prize shortlists for biographers and novelists have been announced. The winners will be announced at the Edinburgh Book Festival in August.

Biography finalists:

• Edward Carpenter: A Life of Liberty and Love by Sheila Rowbotham
• ...

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Sequel to "Catcher in the Rye"?

May 15 2009: January Magazine explores the developing story of a sequel to Catcher in the Rye apparently due to publish in September. Is it a hoax, an unauthorized sequel, or is it really penned by J D Salinger using the lame pseudonym "John David California". The considered ...

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'Richard & Judy' show closes after viewers fall from 3 million to 8,000

May 13 2009: Richard Madeley has spoken out days after his and wife Judy Finnigan's digital channel chatshow was axed to openly admit their failure.

The couple's decision to move "The Richard and Judy Show", and its popular book club, from Channel 4, where it attracted a peak ...

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Eden Ross Lipson, longtime NY Times Book Review editor, dies at 66

May 13 2009: Eden Ross Lipson, long-time editor editor of the New York Times Book Review, died yesterday. She was 66 and had pancreatic cancer.

An editor at The New York Times Book Review for 31 years, Ms. Lipson was the children's book editor there from 1984 until her retirement...

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Supersized Amazon Kindle DX

May 06 2009: Amazon have unveiled their larger Kindle DX with a screen size 2.5 times the size of a regular Kindle. It's 1/3 inch thick and able to store 3,500 books or periodicals. Although they are offering it for sale at Amazon there is no firm date on when it will actually be ...

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Big-screen e-readers to help save the daily press?

May 04 2009: The New York Times reports on the rumors that Amazon is close to launching a bigger screen version of the Kindle, with a screen roughly the size of a standard sheet of paper, aimed at the newspaper and magazine reading market.

Similar readers are also in the works ...

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Buy Indie Day

May 01 2009: May 1st is Buy Indie Day. The idea: buy one book - paperback, hardcover, audiobook, whatever you want - at an independent bookstore near you. Find an independent bookstore near you at Indiebound.org

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Diverse reading culture in Europe driven by Swedish crime fiction

Apr 30 2009: The Guardian reports on the remarkably diverse reading culture in Europe with Swedish crime fiction dominating the charts led by Stieg Larsson, Henning Mankell, Liza Marklund and Jens Lapidus.

By awarding points for chart position and length of time in the charts...

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