Latest News from The Bookseller

Pre-Frankfurt rights tussle for trade The trade is 'cautious but positive' ahead of the Frankfurt Book Fair, but the tussle between agents and publishers over global rights is resurfacing with a new intensity.

Trade 'needs to do more to promote BAME authors' Black and Asian writers are “not allowed to be average”, author Sathnam Sanghera has said. Sanghera, author of the memoir The Boy with the Topknot (Penguin) and the novel Marriage Material (William Heinemann), was taking part in a debate hosted by Spread the Word, the writer development agency for London, and non-profit initiative Words of Colour.

Davies retires from BA after 26 years Sydney Davies, the Booksellers Association’s head of trade and industry, is retiring after 26 years. The BA has appointed Giles Clifton, a non-practising barrister, to the new role of head of corporate affairs following his departure. Clifton will begin in October and focus on lobbying for the trade body.

Canelo signs 'wicked' novel by Eric Idle Digital publisher Canelo is to release Monty Python co-creator and comedian Eric Idle’s new novel in October. The Writer’s Cut is described as “a wicked, enthralling comedy” set during the glorious days of the Bush Empire. The novel follows Stanley Hay, a joke writer with a career going nowhere in particular. Until, that is, he decides to write a novel. The book will be released digitally on 5th October priced £3.99. World English language rights were acquired from Rory Scarfe at Furniss Lawton.

Elaine McQuade retires Elaine McQuade, head of children’s marketing and PR at Oxford University Press (OUP), will retire at the end of October. McQuade joined OUP in 2011 and has since then worked on brands such as Winnie the Witch and Oxford Dictionaries. She has also worried with authors like Gill Lewis, Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntyre.

Two more from Jane Shemlit to Michael Joseph Michael Joseph has signed two more novels by Jane Shemlit, whose hit debut Daughter sold 160,366 copies through Nielsen BookScan.. Her second novel, The Drowning Lesson, will be published as a paperback original and e-book next week. Publishing director Maxine Hitchcock bought UK and Commonwealth rights in a third and fourth novel from Eve White of Eve White Associates.

British Library to work closely with Chinese counterpart The British Library and the National Library of China are to collaborate following an agreement signed by the governments of the two countries.

New Clinton biography from Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is publishing a new biography of Hillary Clinton in the lead-up to the 2016 US presidential election. Hillary: A Biography of Hillary Rodham Clinton (January 2016, £12.99) has been written by former financial journalist Karen Blumenthal right, also the author of Bloomsbury’s 2012 biography of Steve Jobs, The Man Who Thought Different.

Amazon launches £50 tablet Amazon has launched a new budget tablet for under £50. The device will be priced at £49.99 and will include a 7 inch IPS display, “all-day” battery life and the new Amazon content ecosystem – Amazon Underground. Through Amazon Underground, customers can shop for items including books and movies from their device and have access to thousands of free apps. The new tablet will also feature a quad-core processor, front and rear facing cameras and up to 128GB of expandable storage.

Holocaust memoir to Faber Faber has acquired a Holocaust memoir originally published in France. Hannah Griffiths bought UK and Commonwealth rights to But You Did Not Come Back by Marceline Loridan-Ivens with Judith Perrignon from Amy Hundley at Grove Atlantic. The text will be translated from the French by Sandra Smith. But You Did Not Come Back is a memoir about Loridan-Ivens's internment at Birkenau at the age of 15, and the loss of her father, who was sent to Auschwitz.

Over 70 library staff take redundancy in Hampshire Many public sector workers, including 74 library staff, have agreed to take voluntary redundancy as Hampshire County Council looks to save £98m. Around £2.7m worth of savings across a range of departments at the council will be made after employees have chosen to take redundancy, reported Portsmouth News.

Hot Key acquires reality show thriller Hot Key Books has acquired YA novel Cell 7 by Kerry Drewery, set in world where sinister reality TV has replaced the justice system. In the book, a teenager called Martha is accused of murdering Jackson Paige, a self-made millionaire. Like all the other criminals in the story, her fate will be decided on by the public, who will choose whether she lives or dies. Hot Key’s editor-at-large Emma Matthewson acquired the world rights in all languages in a three-book deal from Jane Willis at United Agents, and will publish in autumn 2016.