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

Kurt Vonnegut dies

Apr 12 2007: Novelist Kurt Vonnegut died last night in New York City at age 84 from irreversible brain injuries as a result of a fall several weeks ago.

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Bertelsmann buys Time Warner's stake in Bookspan

Apr 10 2007: German publishing giant Bertelsmann AG have agreed to buy Time Warner Inc.'s stake in Bookspan, giving the company full ownership of Book of the Month Club and making it the biggest operator of book, music and DVD clubs in the U.S.

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Mobile-Phone Manga Storms Japan

Apr 10 2007: Japanese teenagers are reading more and more comics on their cell phones. Last year Japanese consumers spent $20 million to view e-comics (better known as manga or anime) on handsets, with the average e-comics buyer spending about $15 a month. $20 million ...

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B&N misdated $45.5 million in stock options

Apr 05 2007: During the past 10 years, Barnes & Noble misdated and improperly backdated stock options to the tune of $45.5 million, a special committee formed by the company to investigate the issue has found. B&N will make changes on its balance sheet to reflect that amount; B&N....

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Borders Group reevaluates issuing convertible notes

Apr 05 2007: Borders Group owners of Borders and Walden bookstores is "reevaluating" the $250 million of convertible senior notes it was planning to issue today in order to pay off other debts. The turnaround is due to "shareholder feedback." David Dreman, whose Dreman Value ...

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British Book Award Winners

Mar 31 2007: The 2007 British Book Awards have been announced.  The winners include: John Grisham (Lifetime Achievement award), The Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfeld (Best Read of the Year), Richard Dawkins (Author of the Year), The Sound of Laughter by Peter Kay (...

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L.A. Times Book Review redesigns to emphasize web coverage

Mar 30 2007: The Los Angeles Times will debut its new Sunday book coverage on April 15 as part of a new section called 'Opinion' that will combine the Book Review with the Currents section.

Tim Rutten, an associate features editor at the paper, explains, "They are two distinct ...

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Awards: The BookBrowse Diamond and Ruby Winners

Mar 29 2007: BookBrowse.com, today announced the winners of its 2007 book awards. The winners are:

• The BookBrowse Diamond Award for Best Book Overall: Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen.
• The BookBrowse Ruby Award for Best Children's Book: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.

The ...

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