News: international

French book trade figures condemn industry's sexual harassment

Forty-four authors and figures from the French book industry have signed an op-ed condemning sexual harassment and sexism in French publishing. The text, written by Caroline... Read more

Barnes & Noble pulls Diverse Editions after backlash

Barnes & Noble has pulled a series of classic novels reissued with "diverse" covers for Black History Month, after a furious backlash over the choice of... Read more

Publishers restrict China activities as coronavirus spreads

Publishers with operations in China are curtailing some activities in the country after the coronavirus outbreak. Read more

Macmillan USA to 'expand' Latinx representation after American Dirt row, say campaigners

Macmillan USA has agreed to expand Latinx representation in its staffing and in the books that it publishes according to representatives of #DignidadLiteraria.... Read more

Suspense writer Mary Higgins Clark dies at 92

Simon & Schuster US has announced the death of author Mary Higgins Clark at the age of 92. Read more

US print sales fall 1.3%

Sales of print books in the US fell by 1.3% in 2019 compared to the previous year, with 689.5 million sold. Read more

John le Carré awarded $100,000 Olof Palme Prize

John le Carré has been awarded the $100,000 Olof Palme Prize, an honour awarded to outstanding achievement in the spirit of assassinated Swedish politician Olof Palme. ... Read more

RWA president quits as HarperCollins Canada joins boycott over race row

A host of publishers including HarperCollins Canada are boycotting the forthcoming Romance Writers of America national conference and its new president has quit, as a backlash... Read more

German book market posts small 2019 rise

Even though the holiday season was below par, Germany’s book market narrowly avoided another major disappointment and finished the year on a positive note. Overall... Read more

RITA romance awards cancelled after race row sparks author boycott

The Romance Writers of America has cancelled its annual RITA awards ceremony after hundreds of authors staged a boycott over an ongoing race row.... Read more

English PEN translation award winners revealed

Twenty books have won English PEN’s flagship translation awards, marking the highest number of awards ever given by the programme. Read more

Bagchi wins DSC Prize for South Asian Literature

Amitabha Bagchi has won the $25,000 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature with his novel Half the Night is Gone (Juggernaut). Read more

US halts new book tariffs after China agreement

Planned US tariffs on Chinese products including children’s books have been halted after the two countries reached a preliminary trade agreement. Read more

Bloomsbury enters China's domestic market

Bloomsbury is entering China’s domestic market in a joint venture with state-owned China Youth Publishing Group (CYPG) and its subsidiary Roaring Lion Media (RLM).... Read more

SoA unveils shortlists for 2019's Translation Prizes

The shortlists for the Society of Authors’ 2019 Translation Prizes have been revealed, seeing 35 translated works from nine different languages put into the running... Read more