Most read stories of the past week on The Bookseller

 

Our round-up of the most read stories of the past week on The Bookseller: 1. Waterstones sold to Elliott 2. Unbound makes four editors redundant 3. Nosy Crow closes app department, makes three redundant 4. Fifty authors call on book industry to ditch plastic 5. Trade welcomes Daunt's continued leadership after Waterstones sale 6. Debut thriller sells in 25 territories 7. Debuts from Hermes Gowar, Greengrass and Batuman make Women's Prize shortlist 8. Amazon under fire from PA president Redmayne 9. Debut author Teo hits back after Ponti review 10. Book trade's runners complete hottest London Marathon on record

 

Standing Room Only

This week's stories

Clay artist Wi Taepa’s retrospective

[gallery:4231] For more than 30 years senior Maori clay artist Wi Taepa has loved getting his hands dirty. His approach is determinedly low-tech. He builds his vessels by hand, fires them in sawdust, and uses oxides and other clay slips that have served him well during his long career.
Apr 29, 2018 02:48 pm

The Vanishing Act

By setting her new crime novel in 1960s New Zealand, writer Jen Shieff reminds us of the distant past where lesbians were forced to keep their sexuality secret.
Apr 29, 2018 02:35 pm

US v THEM - Tony de Lautour

[gallery:4232] Three decades of art ranging from pop and underground street culture to his more recent interest in typography are canvassed in Christchurch artist Tony de Lautour's first major retrospective.
Apr 29, 2018 02:25 pm

Robbie Ellis’ comedic Pumpkins

Robbie Ellis made his name in New Zealand as a serious composer, including time as the University of Otago's Mozart Fellow - but his latest work shows he's just as adept at writing comedic tongue twisters matched with pretty much every musical genre you can think of.
Apr 29, 2018 01:45 pm

Burning Up Years: Aotearoa Music History

Curator Ben James is working on the exhibition called Burning Up Years: Aotearoa Music History at the Wellington Museum.
Apr 29, 2018 01:35 pm

Maori taonga around the world

The producers of the new Dame Anne Salmond hosted Maori TV series Artefact were offered unprecedented access to collections and taonga here and overseas.
Apr 29, 2018 12:40 pm

Josie McNaught at the Sydney Biennale

[gallery:4235] The Sydney Biennale is a significant international contemporary art event, important for New Zealand artists selected to represent us - they can open doors to other arts events as well as dealers.
Apr 29, 2018 12:35 pm

NZ Film takes out award at Moscow Film Festival

[gallery:4227] A New Zealand feature film looks set for release throughout the Eastern Block, and beyond, after premiering at the Moscow International Film Festival and taking out a top prize. Dustin Feneley's independent movie STRAY has already made history, the first New Zealand feature film selected for the world's second oldest film festival.
Apr 29, 2018 12:15 pm

From The Bookseller

LATEST NEWS Daunt speaks of Waterstones expansion drive under new owners Waterstones chief executive James Daunt has shared his hopes that the chain will continue to open fresh stores under its new ownership, as he conducted widespread interviews with the national media following the chain's sale to Elliott Advisors. Strange bedfellows: what Elliott Advisors wants with Waterstones Philip Jones reacts to the sale of Waterstones and the trade's concern that a private equity purchase of a book business rarely runs smoothly. Finalists Honeyman, Cocozza and Taneja to compete for 2018's Desmond Elliott Prize Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine (HarperCollins) by Gail Honeyman is one of three books in the running for the 2018 Desmond Elliott Prize for first-time novelists, alongside Paula Cocozza's How to be Human (Hutchinson) and Preti Taneja's We That Are Young (Galley Beggar Press). Foyles reaping benefits of new decentralised buying method An overhaul in the way Foyles buys books from publishers is already bearing fruit for the company, its chief executive Paul Currie has told The Bookseller. Zoffness wins £30k Sunday Times Short Story Award American writer Courtney Zoffness has won the 2018 Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award for her short story "Peanuts aren't nuts".  Amazon's sales up 43% in first quarter Amazon has reported a 43% rise in sales to $51bn (£36.9bn) for the first three months of 2018. Weekly E-Book Ranking: top two hold firm Gail Honeyman’s Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine and Helen Morris’ The Tattooist of Auschwitz have held first and second place in the Weekly E-Book Ranking for five weeks straight. Nosy Crow closes app department, makes three redundant Children’s publisher Nosy Crow is closing its in-house app department and making three members of staff redundant.  Judith Kerr and Philip Pullman join IBW celebrations Independent Bookshop Week (IBW) will feature the 50th anniversary of The Tiger Who Came to Tea as well as Philip Pullman exclusives and a nationwide poet tour from Carol Ann Duffy. T&F and CUP join Springer Nature blockchain pilot Academic houses Taylor & Francis and Cambridge University Press have joined a pilot project on using blockchain technology for peer review, announced by publisher Springer Nature and start-up Katalysis last month.  CrimeFest marks 10th anniversary with 4,000-book giveaway CrimeFest is celebrating its 10th anniversary by teaming up with publishers to give away 4,000 crime novels for free all over the country.  Eddo-Lodge title tops Academic Book Week poll Reni Eddo-Lodge's Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People about Race (Bloomsbury) has topped a people's poll of the books by women that have changed the world, conducted for Academic Book Week.

How We Met - Michele A'Court

A message from bestselling author and comedian Michele A'Court       "It's a very successful balance between that astute social observation which Michele A’Court is so good at, intellectual inquiry and analysis, but also it’s just full of warm fuzzy stories – 42 stories from 42 couples - and they all have happy endings. And who doesn’t want that in a world as we have today?'  - Louise O'Brien, Radio New Zealand Start Reading How We Met ►