Latest News from The Bookseller

Alagiah, Weldon and Webb top agents' LBF hotlists The first novel by BBC presenter George Alagiah, the sequel to Fay Weldon's The Lives and Loves of a She Devil and comedian Robert Webb's memoir are among the titles agents are hoping will be the hot books of this year's London Book Fair, while publishers have also been pre-empting and buying at auction a number of big books.

Walker Books launches Studio imprint Walker Books is to launch Walker Studio, an imprint that will produce “books for book-lovers”.

Trade marks the April Fool's date Publishers and booksellers are attempting to revolutionise the industry this April Fools' Day by launching new innovations to shake up the trade.

Transworld wins auction for Ruth Jones novels Transworld has bought two novels from Welsh actress and writer Ruth Jones, in a "major" deal following a 10-way publisher auction.

Janet Ellis on longlist for Desmond Elliott Prize Former "Blue Peter" presenter Janet Ellis is among the 10 authors whose début novels have been longlisted for this year's £10,000 Desmond Elliott Prize.

Protestors refuse to leave Herne Hill's Carnegie Library Protestors have staged a sit-in at Herne Hill's Carnegie Library in a determined bid to keep it open.

Latest VIDA survey charts women in literary magazines The number of women contributors to the Times Literary Supplement dropped slightly in 2015, according to the latest annual survey by research organisation VIDA: Women in Literary Arts. But Granta by contrast saw a small rise in women's writing.

Canongate to publish Michel Faber's poetry on grief Canongate is to publish Undying, a collection of poetry from Michel Faber in which he honours the memory of his late wife.

Mark Rusher leaves Orion Mark Rusher, group marketing director at Orion, has left the company after 15 years.

Colouring is now cool for cats Publishers and retailers are predicting a new trend in books for the summer - colouring books for creative pets.

Chris Brookmyre takes on Caledonian Challenge Novelist Chris Brookmyre and three fellow crime writers are to embark on a 24-mile hike to raise money for charity as part of this year's Caledonian Challenge.

Hot Key pre-empts YA Nazi drama Hot Key, a division of Bonnier Publishing, has acquired a teen novel about a 14-year old seamstress working in a Nazi concentration camp.

Desmond Elliott Longlist Announced

Book2Book Friday 01 Apr 2016

The debut novel from former Blue Peter presenter Janet Ellis is included in the longlist for the ninth Desmond Elliott Prize, announced today, Friday 1st April. The Butcher's Hook, written after Ellis attended a writing course run by literary agency Curtis Brown, is one of ten books to be longlisted for the Prize, cited as the "most prestigious award for first-time novelists" (Telegraph). Seven of the ten books are by women, up from a fifty-fifty split in 2015.


Press release

Cheryl Pearl Sucher, fiction writer and journalist as well as a frequent contributor to the NZ Listener.

Here she is writing about her upcoming return to the US, it is well worth a read:

http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/OPINION-going-home-cp-186888

Two of us: Tom and Meg Keneally

March 26, 2016 - Sydney Morning Herald

Tom Keneally, 80, is an acclaimed writer. His daughter, Meg, 49, a former journalist, works in corporate affairs and as a scuba diving instructor. The Soldier's Curse is the first of a series of novels they are writing together.

"There isn't a lot of conflict, because we're very similar": Meg and Tom Keneally. Photo: Edwina Pickles

MEG: Dad has a genuine interest in other people's lives. You get into a taxi and by the end of the ride he knows the first name of the taxi driver's mother, where his children go to school and what his story is. I think that comes from a humane place inside him. He's a genuinely good guy.
An early memory is of Dad coming out of his study in the afternoons and making up stories for my sister and me. We used to treat him like a story vending machine. He would be expected to deliver a well-characterised and perfectly plotted story on the hop. That's just what Dad did. I also recall on Dad's desk this stack of paper, which looked perfect for testing my new crayons. It turned out I was scribbling on the manuscript of The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith [Tom's 1972 novel]. It wasn't until he won a Logie and we watched his acceptance speech on TV that I had an inkling he might be a big deal.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/good-weekend/two-of-us/two-of-us-tom-and-meg-keneally-20160309-gnebdz.html#ixzz44W4aZLIi

Zirk van den Berg’s novel of forbidden love in the Boer War optioned for film by New Zealand company

by Penguin Books on Mar 31st, 2016  

Movie rights to Zirk van den Berg’s period novel Half of One Thing have been optioned by independent producer Neil Sonnekus of New Zealand production company Stinkwood Films.

The deal was negotiated by Aoife Lennon-Ritchie of the Lennon-Ritchie Agency.

“It’s a wonderful read,” Sonnekus said of the book. “I fell for the ‘historical record’ hook, line and sinker. It’s a great, great con. The characters become representative of real historical forces, and I like that – the con has the solid ring of truth about it.”

Gideon Lancaster, a New Zealand soldier fighting for the British, infiltrates a Boer commando. He soon finds himself entangled in a confusion of loyalties as he becomes better acquainted with the men.

Worse, he falls in love with Esther Calitz, a Boer woman of considerable mettle who demands his loyalty over every other allegiance. Commandant Jacob Eksteen is Lancaster’s taciturn rival in love, and a man of clear black-and-white convictions. So powerful are the conflicting demands of fidelity and love that Lancaster seizes a startling opportunity when a large British battalion is mobilised in what is to be the final triumph of the imperial forces.

The book is also available in Afrikaans as Halfpad Een Ding.

Van den Berg made his literary debut with a volume of Afrikaans short stories in 1989, followed by a historical novel. After moving to New Zealand in 1998, Van den Berg switched to writing in English. His crime novel, Nobody Dies, was published to considerable acclaim in New Zealand and saw an Afrikaans edition released as ’n Ander mens in South Africa in 2013. The book won the film category in the inaugural KykNet-Rapport book awards in 2014 and Van den Berg’s film script based on that book is currently being considered for production.

Book details

Half of One Thing by Zirk van den Berg
Book homepage
EAN: 9780143538622

Take-What-You-Want or Do-As-You-Please: Enid Blyton lives on

by Sarah Forster, The Read, Booksellers NZ, originally published on The Spinoff Who else can bring the world of everyday magic alive as well as Enid Blyton? I read the Faraway Tree books to my five-year-old, Dan recently, and he became an instant and avid fan. Soon after finishing the series with Dan, I saw Bill Manhire in the regional Fairfax papers saying that The Magic Faraway Tree ‘is the most exciting book I’ve ever read, and sits up there alongside the best of Dickens and Ursula Le Guin.’ And during the NZ Festival Writer’s Week, I attended Australian essayist Robert Dessaix's lecture about Enid Blyton’s influence on his childhood.  So what is it that Blyton had, besides an indefatigable ability to write children’s books – in the 1950s she was publishing up to 50 children’s books a year – that makes this series the most magically enduring of so many people’s childhoods? I read around, and talked to friends and staff from The Children’s Bookshop, and Melanee Winder from Hachette NZ about the enduring legacy of Enid Blyton. (600 million books sold, and counting.)

Top selling NZ titles this week

From The Read, Booksellers NZ

The Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2016 Shortlist Announced

Regional winners announced 4 May 4000 entries from 47 countries 26 writers on the shortlist First translated entry, from Bangladesh, on the shortlist  £15,000 in prize money Gillian Slovo © Charlie Hopkinson

Twenty-six “fresh and unexpected” stories make up the shortlist for this year’s Commonwealth Short Story Prize. In its fifth year, the prize is for the best piece of unpublished short fiction in English. The shortlist covers a wide range of subject matter, from rivalry between chefs, a community of puppeteers in Delhi, society and class in Jamaica, genocide and revenge, to an advertising campaign for chewing gum in India and the heartbreak of Alzheimers. Chair of the judges, South African novelist and playwright Gillian Slovo, said of this year’s shortlist: “As a novelist accustomed to the luxury of the long form it has been a treat to discover writers who manage to crystallise such different experiences into so few words.  The stories we have chosen for the shortlist are in turn comic, touching, poetic, mysterious but always fresh and unexpected.” The prize is judged by an international panel of writers, representing each of the five regions of the Commonwealth. The 2016 judges are Helon Habila (Africa), Firdous Azim (Asia), Pierre J Mejlak (Canada and Europe), Olive Senior (Caribbean) and Patrick Holland (Pacific). The regional winners will be announced on 4 May, and the winning stories will be published on Granta online. Commonwealth Writers is also working with the literary agents Aitken Alexander Associates Ltd to identify writers through this year’s prize, which is part funded by the Sigrid Rausing Trust.

Shortlist

Aabirah, Sophia Khan (Pakistan)          A Visitation, Jane Healey (United Kingdom) Black Milk, Tina Makereti (New Zealand) Charmed, Jane Downing (Australia) Children of the Zocalo, Don McLellan (Canada) Confluence, Nova Gordon-Bell (Jamaica) Cow and Company, Parashar Kulkarni (India) Dirty White Strings, Kritika Pandey (India) Eel, Stefanie Seddon (United Kingdom) Ethelbert and the Free Cheese, Lance Dowrich (Trinidad and Tobago) Exorcism, Lausdeus Chiegboka (Nigeria) Girdhar’s Mansion, Sumit Ray (India) Imbecile, Craig S Whyte (United Kingdom) Instant Karma, Vinayak Varma (India) Kurram Valley, Munib A Khan (Pakistan)Niroporadh Ghum (Innocent Sleep), Sumon Rahman (Bangladesh); Translator: Arunava Sinha Saving Obadiah, Enyeribe Ibegwam (Nigeria) Space Invaders, Stuart Snelson (United Kingdom) The Driver, Oyinkan Braithwaite (Nigeria) The Entomologist’s Dream, Andrew Salomon (South Africa) The Pigeon, Faraaz Mahomed (South Africa) This Here Land, Miranda Luby (Australia) This is How We Burn, Cat Hellisen (South Africa) Vestigial, Trent Lewin (Canada) When I Came Home, Mark Winkler (South Africa) Where Mountains Weep, Bonnie Etherington (New Zealand

Latest News from The Bookseller

Booksellers torn over National Living Wage hike tomorrow Independent bookshops are torn on how the introduction of the National Living Wage will impact them, with some saying it will be “catastrophic” while others believe it will be a positive move for staff.

Lee Child elbows Joe Wicks off the top spot for 14th number one Lee Child has claimed his 14th number one as Make Me (Bantam), the 20th Jack Reacher novel, swiped the top spot from Joe Wicks’ Lean in 15 (Bluebird).

Bryson, Ness and Donaldson on IBW Book Award longlist Kate Atkinson, Bill Bryson and Mary Beard are among the authors competing in the adult category for the 10th IBW Book Award.

Mina moves to Harvill Secker from Orion Denise Mina has moved to Penguin Random House imprint Harvill Secker for her next literary thriller based on a real-life serial killer Peter Manuel and set in 1950s Glasgow.

Textbooks 'central' to reducing teacher workloads Textbooks are central to minimising the strain put on teachers, a government report has found.

Channel 4 commissions Joe Wicks TV show Channel 4 has commissioned a TV series based on Joe Wicks’ bestselling cookery and fitness title Lean in 15 (Bluebird).

Saltire Society launches £50k fund for young artists The Saltire Society is marking its 80th anniversary by launching a £50,000 funding programme to support young and emerging Scottish artists.

Publishing Technology becomes Ingenta Software provider Publishing Technology is changing its name to Ingenta, with immediate effect.

Jacobson joins London Book & Screen Week The final events of the London Book & Screen Week have been announced, including a conversation between author Howard Jacobson and theatre actor Henry Goodman.

Bergstrom leaves S&S for Gleam Futures Abigail Bergstrom, former senior commissioning editor at Simon & Schuster, has been appointed to the role of publishing manager for talent management company Gleam Futures.

The Roundup with PW

MIT, Princeton & Yale Form Joint Sales Force
To better service independent and museum stores, three university presses are forming a joint U.S. sales force. Harvard, which had worked closely with MIT and Yale, intends to sign with Columbia for sales. more »

Klutz Focuses on Four-Year Olds with New Klutz Jr. Brand
Scholastic imprint Klutz is re-entering the preschool market with the launch of Klutz Jr. The new brand will focus on book-and-craft kits for kids ages four and up, and will debut in January 2017 with four titles. more »

Two New Books About Fat Shaming: The authors of ‘13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl’ and ‘Dietland’ address body image issues and more.

Tracking A Nazi Diary: A new book reveals the decades-long hunt for the diary of Alfred Rosenberg, a member of Adolf Hitler’s inner circle.

Top 10 Books on 1960s America: Check out a list of titles that center on the Flower Power generation, including 'Hellhound on His Trail' by Hampton Sides.

Novelist Imre Kertesz Dies: A Nobel Prize winner and Holocaust survivor, Kertesz died on Thursday at the age of 86.

A Tribute to Jim Harrison: The late novelist inspired a post entitled 'Jim Harrison's Poetry Saved Me from Thinking Poetry Was Boring.'

VIEW ALL »

Poetry Launch Invitation

hen I snuck up behind a sleepy John Coltrane and slowly unzipped his skin.' -from 'Giant steps', Memorandum of Understanding by Bill Nelson

Victoria University Press warmly invite you to the launch of Memorandum of Understanding by Bill Nelson on 6pm–7.30pm, Thursday 14 April, at The Guest Room, Southern Cross Garden Bar 39 Abel Smith St, Te Aro Memorandum of Understanding will be launched by Kate Camp. Copies of the book will be for sale courtesy of Vic Books. p/b $25. More information about Bill Nelson's debut poetry collection here

'The best must be made more widely available...'

'The best must be made more widely available...'

Dotti Irving: What’s the collective noun for a gathering of the great and the good of the contemporary cultural world? That was my question as I looked round the room at the top of the Royal Festival Hall last week. There must have been at least 300 people there, representing every aspect of the UK’s cultural scene, local and national, private and public alike. The occasion was the publication of the DCMS’s Culture White Paper, the first white paper for culture in more than 50 years and only the second ever published. Presenting the paper, Minister for Culture Ed Vaizey paid tribute to Jennie Lee, the originator of the 1965 paper which underlined the then government’s obligation to sustain the arts and ensure that ‘the best must be made more widely available’.     Read  More

11 Literary Novels That Sparkle With the Magical and Surreal

Off the Shelf By Caitlin Kleinschmidt    |   Thursday, March 31, 2016 Sometimes you’re in the mood for a touch of the fantastical. These wonderful novels push past the boundaries of realism and sparkle with elements of the magical, surreal, and dystopian. These entirely original creations will delight any fan of literary fiction.READ MORE

Robinson Wins Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction

Shelf Awareness

Marilynne Robinson

Author Marilynne Robinson has been named this year's recipient of the Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction, which will be awarded September 24 during the National Book Festival in Washington, D.C. The prize honors "an American literary writer whose body of work is distinguished not only for its mastery of the art but also for its originality of thought and imagination. The award seeks to commend strong, unique, enduring voices that--throughout long, consistently accomplished careers--have told us something new about the American experience."
Acting Librarian of Congress David S. Mao said of the selection: "With the depth and resonance of her novels, Marilynne Robinson captures the American soul. We are proud to confer this prize on her and her extraordinary work."

"American literature has been a kind of spiritual home to me for as long as I have been aware of it. So this award could not be more gratifying," noted Robinson, author of the novels Lila, Home, Gilead and Housekeeping. Her five nonfiction books include The Givenness of Things: Essays and The Death of Adam: Essays on Modern Thought.
"The writers that have always been most influential to me have been early American writers such as Walt Whitman and Melville," she told the Washington Post. "To a great extent, they have defined for me what language could do. So I really feel very much indebted to them and happy to be associated with them."

Are you a grammar pedant? This might be why

A new study reveals for the first time how different personality types react to spelling errors and grammatical mistakes. It’s all about arousal

‘I found myself asking: this is weird – why would it be the case that introverts care more?’ Photograph: Colin Underhill/Alamy

Tuesday 29 March 2016  The Guardian - David Shariatmadari

When you picture a “grammar nazi”, what does that person look like?
Are they old or young? Male or female? Professorial or blue-collar?

A new study suggests they could be any of those things. In an experiment involving 80 Americans from a range of backgrounds, linguists Julie Boland and Robin Queen found no significant links between a judgmental attitude towards “typos” and “grammos” and gender, age or level of education.

Typos are mistakes that can be attributed to a slip of the finger, like “teh” or “abuot”. Grammos are errors involving knowledge of the rules of language – for example “there” for “their”, or “you’re” instead of “your”.

As Oxford Dictionaries comes under fire for sexist definitions, the history of terms that refer to women shows how deep negative attitudes go

So you can’t tell if someone hunts down misprints and writes letters to editors just by looking at them. If you know something about the way they experience the world, though, you might be able to take an educated guess   MORE

Watership Down movie 'would be rated PG today' says BBFC head

Book2Book Wednesday 30 Mar 2016

The U-rated 1978 film Watership Down would be classified PG were it released today, the new head of the British Board of Film Classification has said.
BBFC director David Austin told BBC Radio 5 live its violence was "arguably too strong" for it to be rated U now.
He added the film also contains language that would be "unacceptable" in a film rated U under 2016 criteria.


BBC

Sydney Writers' Festival 2016 Lineup

Book2Book Thursday 31 Mar 2016

Feminist powerhouse Gloria Steinem will grace Australian shores in May for the Sydney writers' festival, where she will be joined by other literary bigwigs, including novelist Jonathan Franzen, 2015 Booker Prize winner Marlon James, author of A Little Life, Hanya Yanagihara and beat poet Kate Tempest.


Guardian

2015 VIDA Count Reveals Progress on Gender, an Early Reckoning on Intersectionality

By Sarah Seltzer March 30, 2016  - Flavorwire

For six years now, VIDA: Women in Literary Arts has been “counting” gender bylines at literary and intellectual publications and watching progress either stall out or creep forward on the way to parity. For the first few rounds, there was little encouraging news to be documented, except at notable publications like Tin House and, later, the New York Times Book Review when it was taken over by  female editor. But this year’s count, released today, suggests that progress on the gender front is actually beginning to take hold on a larger scale.
…Read More