Latest news from The Bookseller

Louise Rennison dies HarperCollins has confirmed "with huge sadness" the death of "much loved author and friend" Louise Rennison.

Styring to leave Igloo Books John Styring is stepping down as c.e.o. of Igloo Books, nearly two years after his company was acquired by Bonnier Publishing.

Campaigns for Hawkins, Haig and Pratchett honoured at PPC awards Publicity campaigns for titles by Paula Hawkins, Matt Haig and Terry Pratchett were among those honoured at the Publisher’s Publicity Circle Annual Awards last night, which celebrated the “best PR campaigns” carried out in 2015.

Tom Fletcher pens children’s novel for PRH Penguin Random House Children’s will publish The Christmasaurus, the first middle-grade children’s novel by Tom Fletcher, musician and co-author of the Dinosaur That Pooped series of picture books (Red Fox).

Neil Gaiman to release non-fiction title this year Neil Gaiman is set to release two books this year – a selection of non-fiction writings and a special edition of his first novel Neverwhere, illustrated by Children’s laureate Chris Riddell.

Glyn appointed National Poet of Wales Award-winning poet, presenter, director and producer Ifor ap Glyn has been appointed as the National Poet of Wales.

Atkinson, Harris and Boyd compete on Walter Scott longlist Authors including Kate Atkinson, William Boyd and Robert Harris are battling it out to win the £25,000 Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction.

Missing HK bookseller 'renounces' British citizenship Hong Kong bookseller and publisher Lee Bo who went missing last year, has refuted claims that he was kidnapped by Chinese authorities, saying he had snuck into the country illegally and that he would renounce his British citizenship.

Baileys renews Women’s Prize for Fiction sponsorship Baileys has confirmed sponsorship for 2017 for the Women's Prize for Fiction following an initial three-year partnership.

Wold joins Watkins as associate publisher Chris Wold has joined Watkins Media Limited – publishers of Watkins, Nourish, Angry Robot and Repeater – in the role of associate publisher of Nourish and Special Projects.

Angela Thomas signs UK deal with Walker Angela Thomas’ The Hate U Give, a YA novel inspired by the ‘black lives matter’ movement in the US, will be published in the UK by Walker Books.

Picador to publish Brownrigg sequel 20 years on Picador has acquired Pages For Her by Sylvia Brownrigg, a novel set 20 years on from Brownrigg’s first novel Pages for You.

Peter Rabbit Becomes First Children’s Book Character on British Coin

• He now appears on the 50p coin
• One of literature’s most lovable thieves has found his way to the British currency: Peter Rabbit has become the first children’s book character to appear on a U.K. coin.

The daring bunny appears on a 50p piece in his signature blue jacket—which he famously loses in Mr. McGregor’s garden—beginning Monday, with a non-colored version to appear later in the year. The Royal Mint called Peter “the most recognizable of [Beatrix] Potter’s creations, and one of the most cherished from children’s literature,” the Guardian reports.  More

This year marks the 150th anniversary of Beatrix Potter’s birth, which will be celebrated with three more characters to appear on currency in the months to come. A recently discovered Potter story, The Tale of Kitty-in-Boots, will also be published in September, featuring an appearance by an aged Peter Rabbit.

Hilton Als, Stanley Crouch Among Recipients of $150,000 Windham-Campbell Prize

By Shane Barnes March 1, 2016 -Flavorwire

There are more than a few major literary prizes — the Pulitzer, the Man Booker, the National Book Awards, the National Book Critics Circle Award — but they’re nowhere near as lucrative as Yale’s Windham-Campbell prize, which, at $150,000, is for sure a “prize.”
…Read More

‘The Revenant’ Author Michael Punke Has a Day Job

By ALEXANDRA ALTERFEB. 26, 2016 - THe New York Times

Michael Punke, the United States deputy trade representative, is the author of “The Revenant.” The film version has been nominated for 12 Oscars. Credit Eric Piermont/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

There are five literary adaptations in the Oscar race for best picture this year, including movies based on Emma Donoghue’s “Room” and Colm Tóibín’s “Brooklyn.” But among the hopeful novelists who will be closely watching Sunday’s Academy Awards ceremony, only one has negotiated a $1.3 trillion global trade deal.

That would be Michael Punke, the deputy United States Trade Representative and the United States ambassador to the World Trade Organization. In addition to being an international trade policy wonk, Mr. Punke is the author of “The Revenant,” a 2002 novel about a 19th-century American fur trapper’s epic struggle for survival in the wilderness, and the inspiration for Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s film. The movie is up for 12 Oscars, including best picture, and has catapulted the novel onto the best-seller lists.

More

What Patricia Highsmith did for love: 'The Price of Salt' and the secrets behind 'Carol'

AFP / Getty Images

Author Patricia Highsmith in Copenhagen in November 1975. (AFP / Getty Images)

Joan Schenkar

Patricia Highsmith, the Dark Lady of American Letters, worked her 1956 Olympia Portable typewriter violently enough to wipe the letter "E" right off its keyboard.

Her approach to love was just as extreme.  MORE


AND MORE:

The Secrets That Drove The Author Of ‘Carol’

WORDS Posted: February 29, 2016 5:09 pm

“Only Patricia Highsmith could phrase a novel of life-changing love in the language of Jack the Ripper.”

Read the story at Los Angeles Times Published: 02.25.16

Fifty Shades dominates at Razzies

Book2Book Monday 29 Feb 2016

The film adaptation of the erotic novel Fifty Shades of Grey has swept the board at the annual Golden Raspberry or Razzie awards in Los Angeles.
Fifty Shades won worst screenplay, and worst actor and actress for Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson.


BBC

Louise Rennison, much-loved author Of Books For Teenagers, Dies

Book2BookTuesday 01 Mar 2016

Louise Rennison, the author who wrote the teenage hit Angus Thongs And Full-Frontal Snogging, has died.
Her publisher, HarperCollins, confirmed the news by tweeting: "It is with huge sadness that we can confirm the death of our much loved author and friend, Louise Rennison.
"In life, as in her writing, she brought joy and laughter. Our thoughts are with her family, friends and the readers whose lives she touched."


BT

And message from Sandra Noakes at Harper Collins NZ:

A sad day for us as we learn of the passing of the much-loved Queen of Teen, Louise Rennison.  Louise had a big audience of fans in New Zealand.

Nobody wrote for teenagers like Louise did, she understood them, their lives and their extraordinary and powerful friendships. In life, as in her writing, she brought joy and laughter. Our thoughts are with her family, friends and the readers whose lives she has touched for more than twenty years.  

The reaction across mainstream and social media is building, but this piece in The Guardian says it all.

http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2016/feb/29/louise-rennison-greatest-quotes-ever

Hong Kong Booksellers Detained for 'Illegal Book Trading'

Shelf Awareness

On Sunday, four of the five Hong Kong booksellers who disappeared in October, sparking protests from the international book community, appeared on Chinese TV, saying they had been detained for "illegal book trading" for selling 4,000 "unauthorized" books to 380 customers in mainland China, BBC News reported. Gui Minhai, Lui Bo, Lam Wingkei and Cheung Jiping gave details of their alleged offenses. The fifth detainee, British national Lee Bo, was not shown.

The men are employees of the publishing company Mighty Current and its Causeway Bay Bookstore. Mighty Current is known for publishing books critical of the Chinese leadership. The company's books are sold by the thousands at the Hong Kong airport and other locations, including its bookstore in Hong Kong's Causeway Bay neighborhood. They are particularly popular with tourists from mainland China, where such books are banned.
During their appearance on television, Gui, a Swedish national, said he had concealed the books in bags to "evade" customs and was identified by the other detainees as having been in charge of the operation. Lui said: "I have deeply reflected on what I have done and very much regret the illegal book trading I have carried out with Gui Minhai." Lam said the books' content had been "fabricated.... They were downloaded from the Internet, and were pieced together from magazines. They have generated lots of rumors in society and brought a bad influence." BBC News noted that "public confessions have long been a part of China's criminal law, but experts say many confessions are forced."

Citing police sources, Phoenix TV said Lam, Lui and Cheung had shown a "good attitude" by confessing and might be allowed to return to Hong Kong this week while they await trial. Gui, who is expected to remain in China, "had appeared on Chinese TV in January saying he voluntarily handed himself over to the authorities over a fatal drink-driving incident more than a decade ago," BBC News reported.

The Los Angeles Times noted that the arrest of the booksellers "has alarmed journalists and activists in Hong Kong. Columnist Jason Ng said the disappearance of the booksellers left Hong Kong citizens cynical and despondent. 'Every morning, Hong Kong people wake up to another news headline of utter absurdity,' he said. 'There is one clumsy lie covering another clumsy lie every day. And the plot gets more and more farfetched.' 

New Chair for Copyright Licensing New Zealand (CLNZ)

Copyright Licensing New Zealand has announced the appointment of Dunedin crime writer Vanda Symon to the position of Chair of the Board. Ms Symon takes over from Adrian Keane, Owner and Chief Executive of Edify Ltd, who has held the position since 2012.

CEO of CLNZ, Paula Browning, says the appointment of an author of Ms Symon’s experience and international success is timely given the strategic challenge facing CLNZ in the short to mid-term.

“The government is currently undertaking a study of the creative industries use of copyright and design. It is critical that the report produced by the study recognizes the importance of creators – writers, musicians, artists and others - and their absolute right to earn a living from their work. CLNZ being led by someone with Vanda’s vast knowledge of the business of writing is vital for the organisation to succeed in influencing future government policy.”

Ms Symon will be supported by Emeritus Professor Pat Walsh, former Vice Chancellor of Victoria University, who steps in to a new role as Deputy Chair. Emeritus Professor Walsh, who is also a published author, has extensive governance experience including being the current Chair of Agri One.

Ms Symon is looking forward to bringing her knowledge and experience of being a working writer establishing and maintaining a career in the arts, and her background of being a New Zealander with Pacific roots, to the role. She also acknowledged Mr Keane’s leadership in the past 4 years, particularly during the period that CLNZ was party to a Copyright Tribunal reference with Universities New Zealand. “Adrian’s in-depth knowledge of the value and use of content in an education setting was vital to achieving the agreement that we now have in place with the universities”.

A Classic Spy Novel with No Heroes or Villains

Off the Shelf By Yasmin Majeed    |   Monday, February 29, 2016 Clear away the fog of the Cold War and what will you see? That’s what George Smiley and Jim Prideaux, two spies hung out to dry by their agency, are trying to find out in John Le Carré’s classic spy novel, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. But at times Tinker Tailor isn’t so much a spy novel as it is a ghost story about men haunted by the war. READ MORE

Tuatara Open Late: Book Club with Emily Perkins - Thursday 3rd March 7.30pm

Unity Books and the City Gallery Book Club warmly welcome you to

Tuatara Open Late: Book Club
with Emily Perkins

Thursday 3^rd March 7.30pm

City Gallery Wellington

Koha Entry

City Gallery Book Club returns with host Emily Perkins and her panel of writers Pip Adam, Megan Dunn and Damien Wilkins. They discuss Writers Week and influence.

The exhibition Julian Dashper & Friends is a show about conversations: between the local and international, between artists, between friends. Taking their cue from the exhibition, City Gallery Book Club host Emily Perkins and her party of writers and readers looks at how writers influence each other, focussing on some of the featured authors in Writers Week.

Speakers

Emily Perkins

Emily Perkins’ books include Not Her Real Name and Other Stories, Novel About My Wife and The Forrests. She is an Arts Foundation Laureate. Emily hosted TVNZ7’s books programme The Good Word and is a co-convenor of the MA in Creative Writing at Victoria University’s International Institute of Modern Letters.

Megan Dunn

Megan Dunn received an MA in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia in 2006, graduating with distinction. Her art writing has appeared in a number of publications including Art News, Circuit, Eyecontact, Metro, New Zealand Books and The Listener.

Pip Adam

Pip Adam's work has appeared in Sport, Glottis, Turbine, The Lumiere Reader, Hue & Cry, Landfall and Blackmail Press.
She completed a manuscript for a full-length work based on the creative component of her PhD which became her novel I am Working on a Building, published by Victoria University Press.

Damien Wilkins

Damien Wilkins is the Director of Victoria University's International Institute of Modern Letters.
He is the author of ten books, including the novels The Miserables, and Nineteen Widows Under Ash.

Unity Books will be on-site selling books

For more information, please visit the City Gallery website here.

www.unitybooksonline.co.nz
57 Willis Street, Wellington 6011
04 499 4245

Divinity, Pure Physics or English Literature...

Dotti Irving writes from London

I spent a marvellous evening in Newcastle last week, courtesy of the Booker Prize Foundation and Newcastle University. For some years now, the Foundation has been working with universities all over the country on a project aimed at providing new students with a unique experience in their first year of university. The way it works is that the institutions liaise with the Foundation to select a writer from recent Man Booker Prize shortlists, whose book is then given to all first year students, regardless of their department or discipline. So students may be studying Divinity, Pure Physics or English Literature – they’ll still be given a copy of the book, free.    Read  More

Ebook portals: new ways for authors to sell books and, with luck, make money

Susan Wyndham

Literary Editor, The Sydney Morning Herald

• 

Author and Wuthering Ink founder Sue Woolfe. Photo: Sunder Madabushi

CUT OUT THE MIDDLE MEN

Wuthering Ink is a new Australian portal for established authors to sell their own ebooks, bypassing publishers and booksellers, and so receiving 80 per cent of the retail price rather the usual 25 per cent. 

Sue Woolfe, the respected Sydney novelist and writing teacher, conceived the idea five years ago. Despite being a bestselling author, she had little money and wondered why the creators of print books gave up 90 per cent of their income. "In 2011-12 publishers were shutting their doors and there was despair everywhere," she says. "I could see the potential of the internet while being completely non-digital." Working with authors Bem Le Hunte, Libby Hathorn​ and Louise Katz, she developed the portal, where others such as Kate Grenville, Patti Miller and Stephen Sewell now offer their backlist​ and out-of-print books.
MORE

Is That Kafka in the 21st Century?

By Jonathon Sturgeon February 29, 2016 Flavorwire

“Is that Kafka?“, asks the title of a playful new book from Reiner Stach, one that pulls together 99 facts and observations from the Czech author’s life, all with the purpose of clearing the brush of falsehoods about the man that linger in the public imagination.
…Read More

Want to Win an Oscar? Base Your Movie on a Book

Bruce Davis, former Director of the Academy, Runs the Numbers

February 26, 2016  By Brangien Davis

As celebrities make their way down the red-carpet this weekend, carefully negotiating issues as deep as the politics of race in Hollywood and as superficial as boob tape, their minds will not likely be on literature. But books will be there amid the sparkling smiles, if only as subtext. Of the eight movies nominated for a Best Picture Oscar this year, five are book adaptations: The Martian (novel by Andy Weir), Room (novel by Emma Donoghue), The Big Short (nonfiction book by Michael Lewis), The Revenant (novel by Michael Punke) and Brooklyn (novel by Colm Toibin). 
This lit-heavy list reflects a reality rarely discussed during Oscar season: the high incidence of Best Picture winners based on books. Bruce Davis, executive director of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from 1989 to 2011 (who is currently writing a book about the history of the Oscars and is also my dad), digs into the stats and the story behind them.

Brangien Davis: Reading through the list of Best Picture Oscar winners over the years, I was surprised by how many were based on books. Is there a tally of how many Best Pictures were book adaptations, versus original screenplays?
More

Latest News from The Bookseller

Retail sector 'could lose 900,000 jobs over next decade' The retail sector could see 900,000 job losses and 74,000 shop closures over the next decade as a result of rising costs, a report by the British Retail Consortium has found.

Carol Ann Duffy to tour UK for IBW Poet Carol Ann Duffy will undertake a nationwide tour of independent bookshops this summer to support the 10th anniversary of Independent Bookshop Week.

Dahl theme for Summer Reading Challenge The 2016 Summer Reading Challenge will be based around Roald Dahl 100, the celebrations marking the centenary of Dahl’s birth.

‘No Gruffalo without EU’, says Scheffler In a Nosy Crow blog post warning about the dangers of the UK leaving the European Union, illustrator Axel Scheffler has said there would have been no Gruffalo without the EU.

Fire leaves Furniss Lawton seeking new office Literary agency Furniss Lawton is temporarily without a permanent office following a serious fire at its Kew Bridge base last month.

McCann, Levy and Gappah longlisted for Sunday Times Short Story award Writers from six countries and across four continents, including Colum McCann, Deborah Levy and Petina Gappah, make up the 12-strong longlist for the £30,000 2016 Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award.

Transworld to publish new Jilly Cooper: Mount! Transworld is publishing Jilly Cooper’s new novel, Mount!, under its imprint Bantam Press on 8th September 2016.

Swainson acquires Cercas and Vásquez for MacLehose Former Bloomsbury commissioning editor Bill Swainson has signed new novels by leading international authors Javier Cercas and Juan Gabriel Vásquez for Quercus imprint Maclehose Press.

H&S pre-empts on 'contemporary Paris' debut Hodder & Stoughton has pre-empted world rights in a debut novel These Dividing Walls by Fran Cooper, and one further novel.

Coronet buys self-published 'phenomenon' The Cancer Whisperer Hodder imprint Coronet has acquired a memoir and self-help book chronicling a woman’s relationship with cancer.

Marks wins Folio's Morpurgo illustration prize The Folio Society and House of Illustration yesterday announced Alan Marks as the winner of a prize to illustrate a new edition of Michael Morpurgo’s War Horse.

Buster turns classic kids titles into colouring books Children's indie Buster Books is set to publish a series of colouring books based on classic children’s books, illustrated by Ann Kronheimer.

Walter Scott Prize Longlist Announced

Book2Book Friday 26 Feb 2016

The 2016 longlist for the Walter Scott Prize has been announced. Thirteen books are in contention, with settings as diverse as ancient Rome, wartime Europe, and Japan, Canada and Australia in previous centuries. The longlist is:

A GOD IN RUINS by Kate Atkinson
SWEET CARESS by William Boyd
A PETROL SCENTED SPRING by Ajay Close
A PLACE CALLED WINTER by Patrick Gale
DICTATOR by Robert Harris
DEVASTATION ROAD by Jason Hewitt
DEATH AND MR PICKWICK by Stephen Jarvis
MRS ENGELS by Gavin McCrea
END GAMES IN BORDEAUX by Allan Massie
TIGHTROPE by Simon Mawer
SIGNS FOR LOST CHILDREN by Sarah Moss
CURTAIN CALL by Anthony Quinn
SALT CREEK by Lucy Treloar


walterscottprize.co.uk

The Revenant Tops Bookish Oscar Winners

Shelf Awareness

At last night's Academy Awards ceremony, five of the eight best picture nominees were based on books and 10 adaptations overall were up for Oscars, but the final results did not quite live up to readers' expectations. An early favorite with a dozen nominations, The Revenant lost to Mad Max: Fury Road in nearly all of the technical categories before coming back strong late in the evening to pick up Oscars in three major categories. The four bookish winners were:
The Revenant, based in part on the novel by Michael Punke: actor (Leonardo DiCaprio), director (Alejandro González Iñárritu) and cinematography (Emmanuel Lubezki)

Room, based on Emma Donoghue's novel: actress (Brie Larson)

The Big Short, based on the book by Michael Lewis: adapted screenplay (Charles Randolph & Adam McKay)

The Danish Girl, based on David Ebershoff's novel: supporting actress (Alicia Vikander)

Book-to-film adaptations that earned nominations but did not win Oscars included The Martian, adapted from Andy Weir's novel; Carol, based on Patricia Highsmith's novel The Price of Salt; Brooklyn, adapted from the novel by Colm Toibin; Steve Jobs, based on the book by Walter Isaacson; 45 Years, adapted from the short story "In Another Country" by David Constantine: and Trumbo, based on Bruce Cook's book Trumbo: A Biography of the Oscar-Winning Screenwriter Who Broke the Hollywood Blacklist.

What Can We Learn About How To Live In The World By Reading Fantasy Fiction?

artsjournal: February 28, 2016 4:10 pm

“Hope isn’t stupid.”

Read the story at The Guardian (UK) Published: 02.28.16