News: books

Lagardère takes €465m state-guaranteed loan to counter effects of pandemic

Hachette UK's parent company Lagardère has taken a €465m French government-backed loan to help it cope with the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. ... Read more

HarperFiction launches Killing It contest for undiscovered crime writers

HarperFiction has launched Killing It: The Killer Reads Competition for Undiscovered Writers which aims to open the door for crime authors looking for a way... Read more

Duchess of Cornwall launches Reading Room book club

The Duchess of Cornwall has launched a book club-style online hub of reading recommendations and author interviews on Instagram. Read more

National Book Award winner Barry Lopez dies at 75

Barry Lopez, who authored close to 20 books on natural history, including the National Book Award-winning Arctic Dreams (Vintage), has died at the age of 75.... Read more

HCG to uncover northern picture book talent with Commonword

Hachette Children’s Group is partnering with Commonword, the largest writing development organisation based in Manchester, in a bid to find more northern Black, Asian and minority... Read more

Black Bee Books opens submissions for under-represented voices

Recently launched publisher Black Bee Books is currently open for submissions from under-represented voices in Wales. Read more

Thames & Hudson in line for 'exceptional' 2020 after rocketing 2019 profit

Thames & Hudson saw turnover increase 11% year on year to £37.8m while profits rocketed in the 12 months ending 31st December 2019, with c.e.o. Sophy Thompson... Read more

Indies dominate Costa Book Award winners

Indies dominate the Costa Book Awards 2020 category winners, with two Faber & Faber authors among the victors—Natasha Farrant and Ingrid Persaud—along with Monique Roffey, Lee Lawrence, and the... Read more

Reading Agency gets £3.5m to tackle loneliness over winter

The Reading Agency has been given £3.5m as part of a government £7.5m funding package to tackle loneliness over the winter period. Read more

Freight resumes after France and UK reach agreement on travel ban

Freight services are resuming again between the UK and France today (23rd December) after the two governments reached agreement on lifting a travel ban.... Read more

Indies report slowing sales as nervous shoppers play safe

Indie bookshops in Tiers 2 and 3—which, unlike Tier 4 shops, can still open their doors to customers—have reported a change in customer behaviour this week, with reduced... Read more

France freight delays 'hugely problematic' for publishers

Publishers are experiencing severe delays to their stock deliveries, as France continues its freight ban imposed to contain the spread of the UK's new coronavirus... Read more

Brinkhurst-Cuff curates Black Joy collection for Penguin

Penguin Books is releasing Black Joy for young adult readers, a collection of writing on race and belonging curated by gal-dem editor-in-chief Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff.... Read more

Moomin marvellous: Brand raises £1m for Oxfam with Sort Of Books and Waterstones

A special edition of The Invisible Child (Sort Of Books), featuring two short stories from the collection Tales from Moominvalley, has helped to raise £1m for Oxfam's projects supporting women and girls around the... Read more

Book Trade Charity gives out nearly £400k with help from trade crowdfunder

The Book Trade Charity has given away nearly £400,000 to people this year, including £164,000 in Covid-19 hardship grants made possible by a trade crowdfunding... Read more