Latest News from The Bookseller

Endless buys majority stake in The Works Endless has acquired a larger stake in The Works, after buying executive chairman Anthony Solomon's stake, and is to open 30 new stores this year as part of its growth programme for 2015. Endless, a venture capitalist company which also owns a stake in The Book People, is now a majority shareholder in The Works. Solomon has stepped down from the company after seven years in the executive chairman role.

Royalties and industry image debated at PA a.g.m Publishers should start to spread money from the sale of e-books fairly between themselves and authors, and not make assumptions when they start to experiment with new channels that “an author is going to be thrilled with it”, Association of Authors’ Agents president Sam Edenborough has warned.

Author Solutions lawsuit continues Lawyers acting for Author Solutions are due to file new papers with a New York court this week in the latest development in the lawsuit against the assisted publisher. The Penguin Random House-owned company Author Solutions provides a variety of services direct to authors under a series of imprints, and also operates lists on behalf of traditional publishers such Simon & Schuster. However, the company has been widely criticised for over-pricing its publishing packages and marketing fees, and misleading writers about the potential of their titles.

IWM moves to 'voluntary donation' scheme Imperial War Museums (IWM) has decided against imposing a charge for using its research room, a controversial measure it had mooted earlier in the year as part of a cost-saving package of cuts. However it is to introduce a "voluntary donation scheme" for those who use the library for "profit-making output", which includes books.

Phaidon lifts turnover, cuts loss Phaidon Press has reported a 4.4% increase in annual turnover for the year to June 2014 due to a strong performance in the North American market. However, the company still reported a loss, which it attributed to increased investment in its business.  Turnover at the arts, lifestyle and culture publisher was £21.3m, up from £20.4m the year before. While the company reported a loss of £1.2m for 2014, it had reduced that loss by £0.4m from £1.6m from the year before.

Cancer fundraiser for John Green fans Penguin is encouraging teenage fans of John Green’s The Fault in our Stars to raise money for the Teenage Cancer Trust by taking part in a sleepover event.

BBC to adapt 1992 Mantel novel The BBC is adapting Hilary Mantel’s novel about the French Revolution, A Place of Greater Safety, following its recent adaptation of her Man Booker Prize-winning Tudor novels, Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies (all Fourth Estate). The 1992 novel tells the story of three young men who were key figures in the French Revolution: Georges-Jacques Danton, Maximilien Robespierre and Camille Desmoulins. They must deal with the darker side of the period’s political ideals as well as the addictive delights of power.

London crime writers form a gang Fifteen London-based female crime writers have launched Killer Women, a group which will work to “respond to the ways the relationship between authors and readers is changing” through publicity, events and workshops.

Julie Crisp departs Tor Tor’s editorial director Julie Crisp has left Pan Macmillan following a review of the company’s science fiction and fantasy publishing. Crisp was senior commissioning editor for the imprint for two years, before being promoted to editorial director in 2010. Her authors included China Mièville, Laura Lam, Anne Cleeves and Peter F Hamilton among others.

Royal Society kids prize shortlist announced Six books, including titles published by Usborne and Walker Books, are on the shortlist for this year’s Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize. The prize is for the best books that communicate science to children aged up to 14. Walker’s Tiny: The Invisible World of Microbes, by Nicola Davies is on the shortlist, as is Usborne’s 365 Science Activities, by various authors.

Virgin acquires Drew Barrymore essays Virgin Books has acquired the UK and Commonwealth rights to Wildflower, a collection of autobiographical essays by actress and producer Drew Barrymore. In the essays Barrymore, who shot to fame as a child actress when she played Gertie in Steven Spielberg’s "E.T.", writes about incidents from her life including living alone aged 14, getting stuck in a petrol station on a cross-country road trip and becoming a mother. Yvonne Jacob, editor at Virgin Books, acquired the UK and Commonwealth rights from Sabila Khan at Dutton, part of Penguin US.

Pan Mac acquires Gwynne trilogy in six-figure deal Pan Macmillan has acquired a new epic fantasy series in a six-figure deal. Senior commissioning editor Bella Pagan bought world rights to John Gwynne’s standalone trilogy from agent John Jarrold. The trilogy will be set in the same stirring Celtic-inspired world as Gwynne’s first quartet, the Faithful and the Fallen, published in the UK by Pan Macmillan’s Tor. In the new books the Banished Lands seem at peace, but the guardians appointed to enforce that peace have their own agenda, and mankind will suffer.