Five higher education (HE) library purchasing consortia are getting together to negotiate jointly for the supply of their books and e-books, in what they say is “the most valuable and complex tender for books ever undertaken in the UK or elsewhere.”

The five organisations - Midlands Universities, North East and Yorkshire, and...

Independent bookshops are lamenting a lack of distinctive Christmas titles as the charts show few top sellers that the sector can claim as its own. Matthew Clarke of the Torbay Bookshop in Paignton, said: "In previous Christmases we've had a surprise bestseller, a quirky book which the independents have discovered early on and which...

Agents are struggling to sell début and literary fiction, with novels taking longer to sell to publishers and more failing to find a buyer at all.

Tough times were "undoubtedly affecting confidence about acquisitions" warned one agent who preferred to remain anonymous. A publishing m.d., who also requested to remain...

Heinemann has bought a debut novel from award winning Canadian poet Patrick Lane. Publishing director Jason Arthur bought UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada, from Judith Murray at Greene & Heaton.

Red Dog, Red Dog is described as "an epic novel of unrequited dreams". Set in the mid-1950s, it focuses on a...