Morning book news from The Bookseller

Record-breaking Christian Grey dominates charts E L James’ Grey (Arrow) has become the fastest-selling adult paperback in the UK since records began, smashing the previous record by almost 270,000 copies, while selling nearly 650,000 physical and digital units in just three days on sale.  Grey shifted 385,972 print units Thursday through Saturday last week through Nielsen BookScan’s Total Consumer Market, comfortably beating Dan Brown’s Inferno’s (Corgi) previous adult PB record of 118,230 copies, sold in its launch week in July 2010.

Daunt: 'higher energy booksellers' at Waterstones In the last four years, Waterstones has changed to a company which is more customer-focused, with booksellers who have more flexible working hours, more accountability and higher energy, according to the chain’s m.d. James Daunt was speaking on the subject of the value of booksellers in a changing world at the Oxfordshire Publishing Group’s Summer Conference on Tuesday (23rd June), and described how the company’s ethos and working culture had undergone a revolution since it was sold from the HMV Group in 2011 to Russian billionaire Alexander Mamut, to today.

Children's authors say curriculum hurts creative writing A group of children’s authors, including this year’s Carnegie winner Tanya Landman, is preparing a letter to the education secretary protesting against the way writing is taught in schools.

Pellerin extends loans to French indies French culture minister Fleur Pellerin has promised to extend from one year to five years the loans granted to independent booksellers with cashflow problems out of a €5m fund set up in 2014 as part of a wider plan to help shore up the sector. Speaking in Lille at the biennial conference of the French Booksellers Association (Syndicat de la Librairie Française, SLF) this week, Pellerin said that the fund had produced some results, but that “above all booksellers demand longer-term help to restructure their working capital and to modernize.”

Waterstones 'petitioned' to open in Welwyn Garden City Waterstones is set to open a store in Welwyn Garden City next month after being “petitioned” by the town’s residents. The chain will open a branch in Howardsgate on 25th July, with a special Peter Rabbit family fun day. The shop will include a cafe as well as a stock of close to 20,000 titles. Waterstones m.d, James Daunt, said: “We are very pleased to have found such a nicely sized and well positioned shop in which to restore to Welwyn Garden City a dedicated bookshop. “We have been assiduously petitioned over the last year by Welwyn readers to open in the town and it i

Crisp signs fantasy writer Hawke Julie Crisp has signed up her first author as a literary agent following her departure from Pan Macmillan. Crisp will represent Sam Hawke, an Australian fantasy writer from Canberra, who has written a novel called Proof, described as “intelligent fantasy concentrating on issues of race, gender and equality full of action, drama and original characters.”

Millennials 'least likely to buy e-books' Millennials are less likely to purchase e-books than any other age group, with 63% of 16-24 year-olds saying they have never bought one, according to a report from Deloitte. For its Media Consumer Report 2015, Deloitte surveyed 2,000 UK consumers about their media habits. It found that 25% of 16-24 year-olds had bought an e-book in the last 24 months, compared to 38% of 25-34 year olds.

Orion and Saltyard buy adult colouring books The natural world and Paris fashion are the themes of new adult colouring book acquisitions from Orion and Saltyard.

UK Twitter event for E L James E L James will be holding a live Q&A from the Twitter head office in London's Piccadilly next Monday (29th June). The bestselling author of the Fifty Shades of Grey series will hold the live #AskELJames Q&A at 6pm. The five best questions on the day will win a signed copy of the latest instalment, Grey: Fifty Shades of Grey as told by Christian (Cornerstone), and fans are also being given the opportunity to win a place for them and a friend at a meet and greet the author.

Wenlock Books apprentice wins national competition Jasmine Denholm has won a national competition for the best shop window display of longlisted titles for the Desmond Elliott award. The 19-year-old, an apprentice at Wenlock Books in Much Wenlock, has won an evening of champagne and canapés at Fortnum and Mason before attending the Desmond Elliott award for debut novel ceremony in London next week. Her prize-winning display included props that reflected important aspects of each of the books, from a shopping bag full of tinned peaches to tiny dolls house furniture.

Orenda signs psychological thriller by Jennings Orenda Books has signed world rights for bestselling author Amanda Jennings’ “dark, page-turning psychological thriller.” Karen Sullivan, publisher at Orenda Books, signed the rights to In Her Wake in a deal with Broo Doherty from the DHH Literary Agency. The thriller is described as a “dark, page-turning psychological thriller” which is also a “profoundly moving and dramatic story of one woman’s self-discovery, when a family tragedy reveals shocking news that changes her life forever.”

Harlequin launches reader rewards programme in US Harlequin is offering its readers in the US and Canada rewards such as autographed books via a new rewards programme. Readers can sign up to Harlequin My Rewards via the dedicated website www.harlequinmyrewards.com and earn rewards by buying books or sharing book information, including book reviews, online. As well as books, rewards include gift baskets and Skype conversations with Harlequin authors.