Latest book news from The Bookseller

Trade pays tribute to Ion Trewin Tributes have been paid to a “true friend” of literature, Ion Trewin, who died yesterday (8th April) at the age of 71. Trewin, who was literary director of the Booker Prize Foundation, was diagnosed with untreatable cancer last October. He leaves behind his wife Sue, son Simon, who is head of the London literary department at agency WME, daughter Maria, and four grandchildren.

HC US 'to return to full agency' on e-books HarperCollins in the US is preparing to return to a full agency model for e-book sales next week, according to a report on Publishers Lunch. The site reports that multiple retailers have been made aware that HarperCollins will change its terms as of 14th April, requiring all of its e-books to be sold at its listed consumer price, without any discounts.

Charts: Alfie, Peppa grab first number ones Alfie Deyes has avoided the difficult second book syndrome by notching up his, and publisher Blink’s, first UK Official Top 50 number one.

Publishers and agents agree to speed up contracts Publishers and agents have agreed a set of guidelines for negotiating author contracts, following concerns author payments were being delayed.  The Publishers Association (PA) and Association of Authors’ Agents (AAA)  said the guidelines were designed to “speed up the process for the benefit of all parties.”

Oyster launches e-book store Oyster has launched an online e-book store in the US. The subscription company, which started out in September 2013 charging $9.95 a month for unlimited e-books, has now expanded into online retail, launching an e-book store where customers can pay for individual titles. While only S&S, HarperCollins and Macmillan are signed up to its e-book subscription service, Scribd's store offers books from all the "Big Five" US publishers - Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster.

Entrekin's new literary culture website New York-based independent publisher Grove Atlantic and non-profit site Electric Literature have launched a new website celebrating literary culture, with support across other literary publishers.

Read On. Get On calls for qualified nursery teachers Nurseries should employ at least one early years trained graduate to improve literacy, according to a new report from the Read On. Get On. coalition. In a new report released today (9th April), entitled The Power of Reading, the group is calling for the next government to ensure that all nurseries are led by a qualified teacher. It says only 13% of staff in independent nurseries have a relevant degree and 11,000 more graduates are needed, especially in nurseries that serve disadvantaged areas.

Murakami shortlisted for Indie Foreign Fiction Prize Authors Haruki Murakami, Erwin Mortier and Daniel Kehlmann have made the shortlist for the 2015 Independent Foreign Fiction Prize. Also shortlisted for the £10,000 award are two writers whose work has been translated from Spanish into English for the first time: Tomás González and Juan Tomás Ávila Laurel.  Now in its 25th year, the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize is managed by reading charity Book Trust and sets out to honour contemporary fiction in translation. The £10,000 prize money is divided equally between author and translator.

'Literary quarter' plan for Edinburgh A project to create an official literary quarter in Edinburgh has been launched, marking 10 years since the Scottish capital was made the world's first Unesco City of Literature. Arts organisations and local property owners are banding together to create a new charitable trust to drive through plans for the city's Netherbow area, pedestrianising part of the Royal Mile and redeveloping neglected buildings.

Le Guin publishing project from Orion Gollancz is bringing out a series of books, short story collections and non-fiction by science fiction writer Ursula K Le Guin as part of a “far-reaching" backlist publishing project. The Orion Publishing Group imprint bought UK and Commonwealth Rights to five “significant” novels, two short story collections, a volume of selected non-fiction, and e-book rights to 12 novels including A Wizard of Earthsea and The Dispossessed, all of which are being published as e-books for the first time.

Queen Victoria story to be published A story written Queen Victoria wrote at the age of 10 will this May appear in print for the first time. The Adventures of Alice Laselles by "Alexandrina Victoria aged 10 3/4" will be published by the Royal Collection Trust in May as a 64-page hardback. It will be sold through general bookshops for £14.95 but at the lower price of £9.95 at the Trust's physical shops in London, Windsor and Edinburgh or via its website.

Pan Mac signs standalone thriller from Hannah Pan Macmillan has acquired the first standalone thriller from crime writer Mari Hannah. Publishing director Wayne Brookes bought UK and Commonwealth rights including Canada to The Silent Room from Oli Munson at A M Heath. Hannah is the author of a series of novels, published by Pan Macmillan, featuring DCI Kate Daniels. TV rights for the series recently sold to Sprout Pictures, which is owned by Gina Carter and Stephen Fry.