Latest News from The Bookseller

BEA debates 'power shift' to authors and readers The theme of the International Digital Publishing Forum conference on day one at Book Expo in New York was “Putting Readers First,” but whether power has shifted from publishers and retailers to readers - asserted in a keynote by Canelo Publishing’s Michael Bhaskar - was quickly challenged by Bloomsbury c.e.o. Richard Charkin, who says it “has transferred to authors.” For Charkin, the author is “our fundamental customer, and the next few years will be all about looking after the author. We’ve got a long way to go.”

Nicholls claims bestseller charts top spot Narrowly denied the top spot in the previous week’s charts, David Nicholls has bounced back to claim pole position in UK Official Top 50 with his seventh overall number one.

Watermark King's Cross to close Watermark Books in King’s Cross is to shut at the end of July. In announcing the closure Farah Taylor, buyer and manager of Watermark Books, also warned the government it needed to review business rates for small businesses. Watermark is closing so its parent company Lagardere Services Travel Retail UK & Ireland can “concentrate on building its duty free and fashion businesses”, said Taylor. Relay, a convenience store in Cannon Street train station, also run by LS Travel, will also shut. Both shops will close their doors on 31st July.

Erpenbeck wins Independent Foreign Fiction Prize German writer and director Jenny Erpenbeck has won the 2015 Independent Foreign Fiction Prize for The End of Days (Portobello Books), translated by Susan Bernofsky, in the prize’s 25th anniversary year. Erpenbeck and Bernofsky were presented with the £10,000 award, which they will share, at a ceremony supported by Champagne Taittinger at the Royal Institute of British Architects this evening (Wednesday 27th May).

Trigger Mortis revealed as title for Horowitz's Bond Anthony Horowitz’s forthcoming James Bond novel will be called Trigger Mortis (Orion), and the book will see the return of iconic Bond Girl Pussy Galore. Plot details for the book have also been revealed today (28th May), on what would have been James Bond creator Ian Fleming’s 107th birthday. It is the first time the plot of a new Bond novel has been revealed ahead of publication.

Launch of Open Access UCL Press University College London will next week launch UCL Press, the first “fully Open Access university press in the UK”. The in-house publishing arm, which will launch on 4th June, will focus on scholarly monographs, textbooks and journals. It will make all its books, journals and monographs freely available online, “creating a diverse and accessible global knowledge resource”.

New enterprise bill in Queen's Speech The government is to introduce a new enterprise bill which it says will cut £10bn of red tape, modernise the business rates appeal system, and help small businesses to resolve disputes faster. The bill was announced today (27th May) in the Queen’s Speech.

'Disappointing' 2014 for Publishing Technology Publishing Technology’s results for 2014 are “disappointing”, the company’s chairman Martyn Rose has said, but “highlight the degree of change” the firm has undergone. Results reported for the publishing software and services company show gross revenues were £14.4m in 2014, down 15% from £16.9m in 2013, while gross profit was £1.6m in 2014, down 72% from £5.8m in 2013. The company made a pre-tax loss of £4m, compared to a profit of £0.7m in 2013. In his report Rose said that 2014 was “a year of considerable change in our business”.

SAGE acquires Pion SAGE has purchased Pion Limited, an independent publisher of academic journals. The sale, which was brokered by Bertoli Mitchell LLP, was announced jointly by chairman for Pion, David Cohen and Ziyad Marar, SAGE’s global publishing director. The acquisition results in Pion’s entire publishing portfolio becoming a part of SAGE’s journal program.

'Hashtag' crowned kids' 'word of the year' Oxford University Press has chosen hashtag as its ‘children’s word of the year’ because of its significant use in the 500 Words 2015 competition. The 500 Words competition was launched by presenter Chris Evans on the BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show in 2011, and is for stories of 500 words or less by children aged 13 and under. Every year Oxford University Press analyses the stories children write for its competition to track changes in vocabulary.

Hicks made creative director at TRA Debbie Hicks has been appointed as creative director of The Reading Agency, charged with delivering the goals set out in the charity's 2015-2018 business plan. Hicks, a founder member of the Reading Agency, will start in the role in July 2015. She will also continue to be the strategic lead for the Reading Well: Books on Prescription programme, though stepping away from the day to day management of the scheme.

Bluemoose in Hebden Bridge bookshop takeover Yorkshire-based indie publisher Bluemoose Books will move into independent bookshop The Bookcase in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire for Independent Bookshop Week (20-27th June).