Latest Book News from The Bookseller

Supreme Court overturns James Rhodes injunction The Supreme Court has today (20th May) overturned an injunction preventing the publication of a memoir by classical pianist James Rhodes, in what has been described as a “victory for freedom of speech”. The decision has been welcomed by Canongate, Rhodes’ publisher, which was named as a co-defendant in the court case brought by Rhodes’ ex-wife, and also welcomed by freedom of speech organisations.

Alma scores first UK Number One with Travelling to Infinity Jane Hawking’s memoir of married life with the physicist and mathematician Stephen Hawking is the new number one on the Official UK Top 50 chart. In the seven days ending 16th May, Travelling to Infinity shifted 26,407 units and climbs 851 places to claim this week's top spot. Last week the Oscar-winning film was released on DVD and coupled with promotional retailer activity, the biography's recorded volume lifted by more than 7,000% on the previous week when it sold 369 copies.

Krasznahorkai wins Man Booker International Hungarian writer László Krasznahorkai has won the Man Booker International 2015. The £60,000 prize is awarded every two years to a living author for a body of work representing an achievement in fiction on the world stage. Krasznahorkai was announced the winner last night (19th May) at a ceremony at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Trade hails 'energetic new generation' at Orion Hachette UK has “identified an energetic and talented new generation to take over at Orion and Little, Brown” but the loss of Lisa Milton as m.d. of Orion Fiction is “something of a blow”, trade figures have told The Bookseller. It was announced yesterday that David Young is to retire as Orion c.e.o. at the end of this year, with David Shelley taking on the role, in addition to his responsibilities as c.e.o. of Little, Brown.

Jose Mourinho signs first book deal with Headline Headline has acquired the first book by Chelsea Football Club manager Jose Mourinho. The as-yet-untitled book will be a “visually sumptuous celebration” of Mourinho’s career so far. Mourinho has won eight league titles in four different European countries: in his homeland of Portugal with Porto, in England with Chelsea, in Italy with Inter Milan, and in Spain with Real Madrid. He has won 22 trophies, including two Champions League titles, during his career.

Public Library Subsidy cut without consultation Librarians and library suppliers have expressed concerns that changes to the Public Library Subsidy (PLS) could impact on the availability of government information in libraries. The PLS was originally created in 1924 as a way of helping libraries to purchase government publications such as parliamentary records, statistical publications and gazettes.

Headline deal for 'captivating' debut by Waterstones bookseller Headline has acquired an “utterly captivating debut novel” by an “exciting new talent” who works at Waterstones. Commissioning editor Emily Griffin bought British Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada, to The Second Love of My Life by Victoria Walters from Hannah Ferguson at Hardman & Swainson. The Second Love of my Life tells the story of Rose – a young artist living in the small Cornish village of Talting – whose childhood sweetheart and husband is killed in a road accident, leaving her widowed at the age of 25.

Gender gap widens for children reading for pleasure The number of children who enjoy reading for pleasure has increased but the gender gap between girls and boys has widened, according to a new report from the National Literacy Trust (NLT). For this year’s ‘Children’s and Young People’s Reading’, an annual report into children’s reading habits, the NLT surveyed young people aged eight to 18 in the UK in November and December 2014.

Scribe UK buys YouTube scientists Scribe UK has acquired a “quirky and accessible” book about science from the creators of the AsapSCIENCE YouTube channel.

BookBub secures $7m funding E-book promotion company BookBub has secured $7m in new equity funding. BookBub is based in the US but last year launched in the UK. The business is a daily deal site for e-books which allows publishers and authors to submit price promotion ideas for titles. Bookbub then reviews and chooses which to feature in its daily emails.

'Fake newspaper' campaign for The Monogram Murders HarperCollins is promoting the paperback release of Sophie Hannah's The Monogram Murders by giving out fake newspapers around London containing the opening chapters of the book. The 10,000 newspapers will be handed out by paperboys in "greyscale" makeup, to look as though they stepped out from a monochrome newsreel. Designed with creative agency Ralph, the newspaper will also feature authentic period adverts from brands such as Unilever, Fortnum & Mason and John Lewis.

Kureishi, Mosse and Billingham form Latitude line-up Hanif Kureishi, Kate Mosse and Mark Billingham are part of the literary line-up for this year’s Latitude festival, taking place from Thursday 16th to Sunday 19th July 2015 in Henham Park, Suffolk.