Latest News from The Bookseller

Daunt slams 'injustice' of business rates for bricks and mortar stores Waterstones has a “major hurdle” to jump in April, when the introduction of the UK government’s “unjust” business rates re-evaluation will leave the company with a £2m-a-year shortfall, which could jeopardise the retailer’s recent return to profitability.

Children's Laureates past and present urge end to 'school library lottery' Children’s laureate Chris Riddell has called on education secretary Justine Greening to  end the “disadvantageous school library lottery" and ensure every child in the country has access to a school library service.

William Boyd returns to Penguin Viking has acquired three new titles – a collection of short stories and two novels – by William Boyd.

EU e-book ruling means change to PLR, says SoA The Society of Authors has welcomed the European Court's ruling on e-lending, which it argues removes “the final barrier” to applying Public Lending Right (PLR) to the remote lending of e-books and audiobooks.

Currency fluctuation presents 'challenge' for Irish publishers Export and rights sales to the UK and the US present “huge opportunities” for Irish publishers, but sterling instability could be a “nightmare” challenge, Publishing Ireland's annual Trade Day heard last week.

PA encourages school leavers to #WorkInPublishing The Publishers Association (PA) is speaking to schools and university students this week for #WorkInPublishing week, an initiative launched last year to encourage school leavers from under-represented backgrounds to consider publishing as a career option.

'YA débutants are finding it harder to break into the mainstream' Publishers are failing to take on début Young Adult writers and are instead concentrating on established UK YA writers and US imports, according to some leading figures in the industry.

Amazon to double Black Friday deals Amazon's 2016 Black Friday promotion is set to double the number of deals on offer compared to last year, stretching the promotion out for almost two weeks.

Walker acquires MG fantasy series Walker Books has bought world rights to a middle-grade fantasy trilogy from Irish author Celine Kiernan.

UEL launches writers prize for young adults The University of East London is launching a new literary fiction prize for young adults, the CityLife Prize for Fiction for Young Writers.