Latest News from The Bookseller

LATEST NEWS Authors raise six figures to help refugees Authors fundraising to help Syrian refugees have raised in excess of £100,000 in less than a day. The campaign was started on Twitter yesterday (Thursday) by author Patrick Ness, who said he would match £10,000 in donations given to Save the Children through an online donation page he set up. His target was reached within hours, prompting YA author John Green to say he would match the next £10,000. Collins India is 'fastest-growing' arm of HarperCollins HarperCollins’ education arm Collins India is the "fastest-growing business in the company globally", the publisher's UK c.e.o Charlie Redmayne has said. Speaking to The Bookseller following the announcement of a new c.e.o at HarperCollins India, Ananth Padmanabhan, Redmayne said the Indian business – consisting of local trade publishing and US and UK imports – had grown revenue by 40% last year, with Collins India "taking the Indian schools education market by storm". Canongate buys new Yann Martel book Canongate has acquired the new novel by Man Booker Prize winner Yann Martel. The High Mountains of Portugal “takes the reader on a road trip through Portugal in the last century – and through the human soul”, said Canongate. The book follows three characters – a young man in Lisbon in 1904 who discovers an old journal, a Portuguese pathologist 35 years later who finds himself at the centre of a murder mustery, and a Canadian senator 50 years on, who is grieving the loss of his wife. Edinburgh Festival book sales 'highest in history' Book sales at this year’s Edinburgh International Book Festival were up 5% from the previous year – the highest ever sales in the festival’s 32-year history. The festival’s two bookshops sold more than 60,000 books over the course of the 17-day event. Four children’s and YA books featured in the top 10 bestsellers for the festival, which also contained two memoirs, a poetry collection, and a collection of essays. Miles Kelly founder Jim Miles dies Jim Miles, co-founder of children’s book publisher Miles Kelly, died on 27th August after fighting brain cancer for four and a half years.  Author asks 'what's a book worth?' An author has launched a campaign that aims to encourage discussion about the emotional worth of books. What’s a Book Worth? is asking readers to film themselves talking about a book that means a lot to them and share those thoughts on 28th September, using the hashtag #WhatsABookWorth, the title of the book and its cover price. It is also encouraging readers to write a short blurb about a book that they love and share it on social media. Holly Black signs trilogy with Hot Key Books Hot Key Books has acquired a new book trilogy, The Folk of the Air, from bestselling teen and children’s author, Holly Black. Black is known for the Modern Faerie Tale series, as well as for co-authoring The Spiderwick Chronicles and Magisterium. Black said that the trilogy will “delve deeper into the strange, glittering, malicious courts of the faeries.” Penguin marks 80th birthday with Shoreditch pop-up shop Penguin will launch a pop-up shop this month at Boxpark, Shoreditch, in partnership with Waterstones, to celebrate its 80th birthday. The Penguin Shop (Unit 26 Boxpark) will run for six days, from 8th to 13th September 2015, and will feature a “treasure trove” of books. Its range will include Penguin Modern Classics, Little Black Classics and Penguin by Hand. The shop will also sell merchandise based on the original Penguin books including Jane Austen mugs, Sherlock Holmes notebooks and Virginia Woolf tote bags. Columbine killer's mother to release book Ebury Publishing imprint WH Allen has acquired the first book by the mother of one of the Columbine killers. This will be the first time that Sue Klebold, whose son Dylan, along with fellow student Eric Harris, killed 12 students and a teacher at his American high school on 20th April 1999 before killing himself, has spoken publicly about her experiences. Dylan Klebold and Harris, who also killed himself, also wounded 24 people during the shooting. PRH's Garry Prior to retire Penguin Random House’s group UK sales director Garry Prior is to retire at the end of the year. Prior has worked for Penguin Random House companies for 35 years, starting his career in publishing in 1980 as a marketing assistant at Transworld’s Corgi Books. During the 1980s he moved between various marketing and sales roles and “contributed hugely to Transworld's growth”, said Penguin Random house. He became Transworld’s UK sales director in 1993, and three years later was promoted to sales and marketing director. CILIP called on to oppose 'amateurisation' of library service CILIP member Andy Richardson has called on the organisation to oppose the “amateurisation” of public library services. Richardson said that allowing library services to be run by volunteers in the local community with little or no funding for professional or paid library staff, proposed by many local authorities throughout the country, including Southampton and Birmingham, would result in its 'amateurisation'. Dulwich Books sale is 'trailblazer' for indie bookshops Fellow indies have described the sale of Dulwich Books to The Marsh Agency’s Susie Nicklin (pictured) as a “trailblazer” for independent bookshops. Sheila O’Reilly, founder of Dulwich Books, said her email inbox was “hopping” with goodwill messages when the sale was announced on The Bookseller‘s website, with indie bookshops among those to congratulate the winner of The Bookseller Industry Awards’ Independent Bookshop of the Year 2014.