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

US book sales rise slightly in January

Mar 16 2009: Shelf Awareness reports that January bookstore sales in the USA were $2.286 billion, up $1 million over January 2008, according to preliminary estimates from the Census Bureau. This marked the first gain for bookstore sales in four months.

The slight gain was all the...

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Despite recession, book sales up in Europe

Mar 16 2009: Despite being mired in recession sales of books in Europe are up - although sales are flat in Britain, they are up in much of Continental Europe.

For example, the number of books sold in France rose 2 percent in December from a year earlier and 2.4 percent in January...

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Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Trade for sale or not?

Mar 12 2009: Today, Publishers Weekly reports that the sale of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s trade and reference group is moving forward with four serious bidders including Hachette, Random House, a group led by a former HMH executive Wendy Strothman, and a independent publishing ...

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Two unknown Roberto Bolano novels found

Mar 11 2009: Two new novels by the Chilean author Roberto Bolano have reportedly been found in Spain among papers he left behind after his death. The previously unseen manuscripts were entitled Diorama and The Troubles of the Real Police Officer. The documents may also include a ...

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Obama battles vampires for Galaxy prize

Mar 10 2009: The shortlists for the British Book Awards have been announced. The winners will be awarded on April 5. Categories include biographies, thrillers, popular fiction, nonfiction, children's books, best new writer, author of the year, book of the year etc. Both of Barack ...

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U.S. House Introduces Bill to Stop 'Libel Tourism'

Mar 09 2009: The House of Representatives last week introduced the Free Speech Protection Act, which would put an end to 'libel tourism,' the widespread practice of shopping libel suits in countries with weaker free speech protections than the U.S.

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Oddest book title of the year shortlist announced

Mar 09 2009: Now in its 31st year, the annual Diagram Prize for Oddest Book Title of the Year continues to find unusual book titles for its 'hotly contested' annual award.
This year's short listed titles are:

• Baboon Metaphysics by Dorothy Dorothy L Cheney and Robert M ...

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B&N buys Fictionwise, challenges Amazon Kindle

Mar 06 2009: Barnes & Noble has bought Fictionwise, the e-book website that includes eReader and eBookwise, for $15.7 million. B&N said that it plans "to use Fictionwise as part of its overall digital strategy, which includes the launch of an e-Bookstore later this year." The move ...

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