News: books

Make sure mid-tier titles aren't lost in packed autumn, Fry warns

Marketing and publicity teams need to make sure their middle-tier titles don't get lost in the crowded autumn, Canongate commercial director Jenny Fry has warned.... Read more

PRH accelerates inclusion plan with targets on leadership, hires and books

Penguin Random House has published an “accelerated inclusion plan”, including a commitment on "radical and urgent action" to make its senior leadership teams representative of... Read more

Harper steps up at Square Peg

Square Peg assistant editor Mireille Harper has been promoted to editor at the Vintage imprint. Read more

IPG and PA welcome Sunak's job retention bonus scheme

A new job retention bonus scheme aiming to encourage employers to keep on furloughed staff has been unveiled by the Chancellor of the Exchequer.... Read more

Target non-traditional media to make campaigns inclusive, Seaward says

Publishers need to target non-traditional outlets and realise the media has changed if they want to make their book campaigns more inclusive, Dialogue senior publicity manager Millie... Read more

Koomson 'finds her Verity' as Gbeleyi lands audio role after open casting call

Maria Gbeleyi has been chosen as the voice of Verity Gillmare in the audio version of Dorothy Koomson’s new novel, All My Lies are True (Headline). The announcement follows an open casting call, "Find... Read more

Starkey dropped by RCW over slavery comments

Historian David Starkey, who has caused outrage by his comments on slavery, has been dropped by his literary agency Rogers, Coleridge & White (RCW).... Read more

Atwood, Rushdie, Gladwell and Rowling sign letter protesting against 'ideological conformity'

High-profile authors including Margaret Atwood, Salman Rushdie, Malcolm Gladwell and J K Rowling have signed an open letter protesting "ideological conformity" and the spread of "censoriousness", including "an... Read more

'Living legend' Linton Kwesi Johnson wins PEN Pinter Prize 2020

Poet and reggae recording artist Linton Kwesi Johnson has been awarded the PEN Pinter Prize 2020 for his commitment to political expression in his work.... Read more

Viking launches book club contest for Osman debut

Viking and the Reading Agency are marking the publication of Richard Osman's debut novel The Thursday Murder Club by offering libraries, care homes and community centres in... Read more

Children's writer Gillian Philip dropped after tweets supporting Rowling

Children's author Gillian Philip has said she has been dropped by Working Partners after supporting J K Rowling on Twitter. Read more

Welbeck hires Keating as head of children's marketing and PR

Welbeck has hired Lorraine Keating as head of children's marketing and PR. Read more

Sales fell 11% year on year in second quarter, Nielsen estimates

Book sales fell 11% by volume year on year in the second quarter of 2020, estimates by Nielsen suggest, although there have been gains on 2019 since bookshops... Read more

Hachette tracks uplift in BAME staff numbers but pay gap widens

Hachette UK has published its second ethnicity pay gap report, showing the number of BAME employees at the company has increased but the mean average... Read more

Publishers cut ties with David Starkey after 'abhorrent' comments

HarperCollins says it will no longer publish books by historian David Starkey and is reviewing his backlist, describing his recent comments on slavery as “abhorrent”. Vintage and... Read more