News: international

Westover and Powers make Dayton Literary Peace Prize shortlist

The Dayton Literary Peace Prize shortlist has been unveiled featuring Tara Westover’s debut Educated (Windmill) and the Man Booker-shortlisted The Overstory (William Heinemann) by Richard Powers.... Read more

Authors Guild backs AAP’s Audible lawsuit

The Authors Guild is supporting the Association of American Publishers (AAP) as the organisation sues Amazon’s audiobook company Audible over a new speech-to-text feature. ... Read more

BIBF buoyant for UK, but US publishers face trade tariff problems

UK publishers at the Beijing International Book Fair last week saw typically buoyant rights trading, as the country's book market boom continues in 2019, with double-digit growth... Read more

Publishers sue Amazon's Audible over speech-to-text feature

Major US publishers have filed a lawsuit against Amazon's audiobook company Audible in a row over a new speech-to-text feature which they say is a violation... Read more

Cao Wenxuan's Dragonfly Eyes to be published by Walker

Leading Chinese children's writer Cao Wenxuan, winner of the 2016 Hans Christian Andersen Award, is to publish a new book with Walker in January 2020.... Read more

China's book sales keep on rising in 2019

The books market in China, as measured by data company OpenBook, rose by 10.8% year-on-year in the first half of 2019, according to statistics presented at... Read more

5G first for Beijing International Book Fair

The Beijing International Book Fair (BIBF) is to use new 5G technology to project a lifelike 3D image of an author into the Fair this weekend... Read more

Flame Tree in 'pioneering' venture with Chinese giant Phoenix

London indie Flame Tree Publishing has entered a "pioneering" co-publishing deal with Jiangsu Phoenix Literary and Art Publishing, a division of the leading Chinese publisher Phoenix... Read more

Growing kids’ market appeals to UK firms in Beijing as fair launches dedicated strand

Publishers and agents say they are expecting a positive Beijing International Book Fair, reflecting the growing Chinese market. Read more

Tison's reimagining of Lolita to be published in France

A reimagining of Vladimir Nabokov’s classic Lolita, written from the child’s point of view, will be published in France this week.... Read more

HarperCollins sees flat annual sales, but record EBITDA

HarperCollins’ global sales recorded a disappointing fourth quarter, down from $490m in 2018 to $419m in 2019, a decrease of 14%, for the three months... Read more

Macmillan Education Schools Division to withdraw from Australia market

Macmillan Education is to review its local operations in Australia, "with the intention of withdrawing from the Australian market in due course". Read more

PRH Grupo Editorial buys La Campana to boost Catalan presence

Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial in Spain is reinforcing its presence in Catalan through the acquisition of the independent publisher La Campana. Read more

US student groups oppose McGraw-Hill/Cengage merger

Over 40 student organisations in the US have urged the Department of Justice to block the proposed merger of publishers Cengage and McGraw-Hill. Read more

Barnes & Noble says lawsuits 'lack merit' as shareholders file against sale

Shareholders have filed two lawsuits against Barnes & Noble in a legal row over the sale as the book retailer insists the complaints "lack merit". ... Read more