Latest from The Bookseller

Girl on the Train breaks Brown’s Original Fiction record Paula Hawkins’ The Girl on the Train (Doubleday) passed the 800,000 unit mark across all formats in the UK and Ireland last week as it became the first book since Nielsen BookScan records began to earn 20 Original Fiction number ones. Hawkins’ run of 20 non-consecutive numbers ones broke the record of 19 weeks set by Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol (Bantam) over the autumn and winter of 2009 and 2010.

New Man Booker International Prize a 'huge boost' Publishers and booksellers have enthusiastically welcomed the merger of the Man Booker International Prize and the Independent Foreign Prize for Fiction, saying it will create a prize with "a new stature", making "a good counterpoint" to the Man Booker itself.

Headline: Evans promoted, Savitt joins Headline’s publishing director for fiction, Mari Evans [pictured], has been appointed as deputy m.d. of the publishing group, while Sarah Savitt joins the company after eight years at Faber & Faber. Evans’ brief will be to “build on the success” of Headline’s fiction, non-fiction and Tinder Press lists. She will continue to report to Headline Publishing Group m.d. Jane Morpeth. Evans has been publishing director of fiction at Headline since 2013, and has published authors including Harriet Evans, Alison Weir and David Duchovny.

Consumer website from Quarto The Quarto Group has launched a new consumer-facing website to promote its global publishing programme, and will start selling direct to customers in the UK this autumn.

French subscription providers forced to scrap unlimited offer Amazon and a further five French e-book subscription service providers have all agreed to scrap their unlimited e-book offer in order to comply with the 1981 fixed book price Lang Law that was extended to digital in 2011. Two subscription companies have already taken steps to adopt one of three possible mechanisms to restore the price prerogative to publishers and the other four have to the end of the year to follow suit.

HC authors celebrated at London's V&A David Walliams [pictured, with India Bromley, daughter of The Bees author Laline Paull] joined Fern Britton, Michael Bond, Paddy Ashdown, Judith Kerr and many more among a crowd of HarperCollins authors and their agents at the publisher's annual author party, held yesterday (7th July) at London's Victoria & Albert Museum.    The festive event had the added draw this year of a coveted pass to the dramatic Alexander McQueen "Savage Beauty" exhibition, sold out to the public.

Peters gives sponsorship to Comics Laureate Library and school supplier Peters Books & Furniture is to fund the role of the UK’s first Comics Laureate in a two year deal. The company, which supplies books and furniture to schools, academies and public libraries, struck a “significant” sponsorship deal with Comics Literacy Awareness (CLAw), a charity which aims to improve literacy levels of UK children through the medium of comics and graphic novels, and to raise the “profile, image and respectability of comics and graphic novels as both a valid art form and as works of literature”.

Harpley to join Atlantic Mike Harpley is to leave Oneworld to take up a newly created role at Atlantic as editorial director for non-fiction. He will report to publishing director Margaret Stead, starting in the post on 1st September. Atlantic m.d. and publisher Will Atkinson called it a "historic moment" for the publishing house. "We are renowned for publishing non-fiction of the highest quality. Mike has a superior track record in commissioning major writers on big topics and in spotting the less obvious projects and making successes out of these. The fit could not be more perfect,” he said.

S&S takes the Flack Simon & Schuster UK has signed the autobiography of TV presenter Caroline Flack, with the publisher promising an "extraordinary and tumultuous life story". Head Over Heels will be published in hardback in October. S&S commissioning editor Abigail Bergstrom bought world rights directly from John Noel at John Noel Management in a pre-emptive six-figure deal for two books.

Pear Cafe cookbook to HarperThorsons HarperThorsons has bought a debut recipe book by Pear Café owner and 5:2 follower Elly Pear [pictured]. Editorial director Carolyn Thorne acquired UK and Commonwealth rights in Fast Days and Feast Days from Sheila Crowley at Curtis Brown.

Arratoon joins Pan Mac Sarah Arratoon is to join Pan Macmillan as marketing manager for fiction. Arratoon was previously at Penguin Random House, where she worked across the Dorling Kindersley, Cornerstone and Michael Joseph divisions. Most recently she has worked on campaigns for Lesley Pearce, Liane Moriarty, Jane Shemilt and Rachel Khoo. Arratoon begins her new role on Monday 27th July, and will report to Emma Bravo, communications director, fiction and partnerships.

Totally Entwined launches Pride Publishing Totally Entwined Group, owner of erotic romance publisher Totally Bound Publishing, has launched a new division called Pride Publishing. Pride Publishing will publish work featuring GLBTQI (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, questioning, and intersex) characters and give “our GLBTQI authors and readers the platform and community they deserve to express themselves”. All GLBTQI titles published by Totally Bound Publishing will now be published by Pride Publishing.