Latest book news from The Bookseller

Trade has mixed views on Shamsie's Year of Publishing Women Author Kamila Shamsie is “right to draw attention” to gender inequality in publishing, but her suggestion of a year in which only books by women are published has been greeted with mixed views by the trade. Writing in the latest issue of The Bookseller, Shamsie [pictured] said 2018 – the 100th anniversary of women getting the vote – should be a year in which the UK only published new titles by women.

Palgrave Macmillan to continue unchanged in UK The Palgrave Macmillan imprint based in the UK will continue unchanged, the company has announced, despite the Palgrave imprint in the US is being closed. Last week St Martin’s Press in the US announced it would be retiring the Palgrave imprint, a boutique imprint that publishes 45-50 original titles per year. The imprint has been specifically for Palgrave Macmillan’s trade non-fiction list for serious non-fiction, aimed at a general audience.

Publishers need to be braver on diversity Publishers should “be braver, be too brave” when it comes to taking on new writing if they want to become more diverse, poet and writer Salena Godden told the Stoke Newington Literary Festival. Godden was joined on yesterday’s (7th June) panel, focussing on diversity in the industry, by writer Courttia Newland, children’s publisher Sarah Odedina, and Crystal Mahey-Morgan, from Zed Books. Godden said publishers needed to “think about the fact that you’re making books for the next 100 years, not just for now”.

Vaizey to review Harrow library closures Libraries minister Ed Vaizey will review the decision to close four libraries in Harrow, after being challenged on the subject in the Houses of Parliament. Vaizey has said he would review the council's plans, "as I do with every authority that seeks to close libraries".

Kay on Potter illustrations: 'extraordinarily difficult' Ever since Bloomsbury announced in 2013 that it was going to publish illustrated editions of all seven of J K Rowling’s Harry Potter novels, award- winning illustrator Jim Kay has been working flat out to bring the Harry Potter world to life. Kay, a self-confessed control freak, said illustrating the first book was an “extraordinarily difficult” task: “It was not so much the act of doing it but the pressure. Every time I sat in front of a blank piece of paper I felt hand-shaking pressure!”

'Us' to be adapted for BBC David Nicholls’ Us (Hodder & Stoughton), which was longlisted for last year’s Man Booker Prize, is being adapted into a drama for the BBC. The novel is being adapted by Drama Republic, who recently produced “The Honourable Woman” for BBC2, according to Broadcast.

Kellie Maloney book released two months early Blink Publishing has moved the release of Kellie Maloney’s biography forward by more than a month, as the spotlight is on “the issue of transgender” now. Frankly Kellie: Becoming A Woman In A Man’s World tells Kellie’s story, from being born a boy named Frank who went on to become a boxing promoter to revealing in 2014 that she was undergoing gender realignment surgery.

SoA launches Writers as Carers Group The Society of Authors (SoA) has launched a Writers as Carers Group to coincide with National Carers Week, which begins today (8th June). The group will help writers with caring responsibilities to carry on writing. Members will be able to share trips and advice, as well as share and discuss their writing in a private, online environment. The group was founded by author Jim Green, who is a carer for his wife.

Templar expands 'Museum' series Templar Publishing will welcome more readers through its museum doors this autumn with the release of Historium, the second title in its Welcome to the Museum series.  Following on from last year’s acclaimed Animalium (Big Picture Press), which explores 160 animal specimens, Historium (September) features a vast collection of objects from ancient civilisations. Written by Jo Nelson and illustrated by Richard Wilkinson, it is part of a wider move by BPP to expand its Welcome to the Museum brand.

A&U to publish history of the redhead Allen & Unwin is publishing Red: A Natural History of the Redhead by Jacky Colliss Harvey in September (£16.99).

Three-quarters of young fathers don’t read to kids Only 25% of young fathers aged between 15 and 24 in the UK read to their child every day, according to BookTrust. The charity released data today (8th June) from a survey of 2,415 parents, taken between January and March this year, that showed young mothers of the same age are much more likely share books with their children, with 61% saying they read with them every day. Taking all ages into account, data from 2014 showed that 50% more mothers read with their child at 0-11 months, and a quarter more mothers read with their five-year-olds compared to fathers.

MacInnes revealed as SCL president-elect Neil MacInnes has been announced as the president-elect of the Society of Chief Librarians (SCL), taking over the post in June 2016. MacInnes is the head of libraries, information and archives at Manchetser City Council, a position he has held since 2010.