News from The Bookseller

Note this is a couple of days old as a result of my being off-line.

Authors question deep discounts as SoA calls for greater contract transparency The Society of Authors (SoA) has called on publishers to give authors “the right to say no” to high-discounting practices as part of its campaign for fairer, more transparent contracts.

The Good Immigrant crowned Britain's favourite book of 2016 The Good Immigrant has been voted as the British public’s favourite book of 2016 at the Books Are My Bag Readers Awards.

Communications director Maureen Corish to leave PRH in restructure Maureen Corish, group communications director for Penguin Random House UK, is leaving the business at the end of November as the result of a restructure in PRH's communications function.

Booksellers compete for share of Black Friday bonanza Booksellers are bidding to get a share of the £2bn shoppers are predicted to spend today, Black Friday.

Participation in Summer Reading Challenge falls 4% The number of children taking part in the Summer Reading Challenge fell 4% this year, although percentage of under-4s participating rose 12%.

Bluebird hosts star-studded 2017 preview Bluebird hosted a star-studded 2017 preview event for press and retailers with bestselling authors Joe "The Body Coach" Wicks, comedian Russell Brand and activist Jack Monroe all appearing at the London Edition Hotel.

Retailers reveal festive promotional campaigns Bookshops are rolling out their Christmas advertising campaigns, with Foyles releasing a video in support of its festive push for the first time.

Deal prices surge at Shanghai International Children's Book Fair UK publishers in attendance at the fourth Shanghai International Children’s Book Fair (known as CCBF) reported a frenzy of intense interest from Chinese publishers keen to buy translation rights, with deal prices rising as auctions took place to distribute coveted titles.

Surfing memoir Barbarian Days wins William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award Surfing memoir Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life by New Yorker journalist William Finnegan (Corsair) has scooped the 28th William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award.

Natalie Jerome joins Kings Road Publishing Natalie Jerome is joining Kings Road Publishing, a division of Bonnier Publishing, as brand and licensing director.

Riddell and Fletcher amongst WBD Show line-up Children’s authors such as Tom Fletcher, Chris Hoy and the children’s laureate Chris Riddell have signed up to take part in next year’s ‘Biggest Book Show on Earth’, organised by World Book Day.

Kobo partners with retailer Fnac Spain Rakuten Kobo has partnered with European retail chain Fnac to bring Kobo products to readers in Spain.