From The Bookseller

LATEST NEWS Daunt speaks of Waterstones expansion drive under new owners Waterstones chief executive James Daunt has shared his hopes that the chain will continue to open fresh stores under its new ownership, as he conducted widespread interviews with the national media following the chain's sale to Elliott Advisors. Strange bedfellows: what Elliott Advisors wants with Waterstones Philip Jones reacts to the sale of Waterstones and the trade's concern that a private equity purchase of a book business rarely runs smoothly. Finalists Honeyman, Cocozza and Taneja to compete for 2018's Desmond Elliott Prize Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine (HarperCollins) by Gail Honeyman is one of three books in the running for the 2018 Desmond Elliott Prize for first-time novelists, alongside Paula Cocozza's How to be Human (Hutchinson) and Preti Taneja's We That Are Young (Galley Beggar Press). Foyles reaping benefits of new decentralised buying method An overhaul in the way Foyles buys books from publishers is already bearing fruit for the company, its chief executive Paul Currie has told The Bookseller. Zoffness wins £30k Sunday Times Short Story Award American writer Courtney Zoffness has won the 2018 Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award for her short story "Peanuts aren't nuts".  Amazon's sales up 43% in first quarter Amazon has reported a 43% rise in sales to $51bn (£36.9bn) for the first three months of 2018. Weekly E-Book Ranking: top two hold firm Gail Honeyman’s Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine and Helen Morris’ The Tattooist of Auschwitz have held first and second place in the Weekly E-Book Ranking for five weeks straight. Nosy Crow closes app department, makes three redundant Children’s publisher Nosy Crow is closing its in-house app department and making three members of staff redundant.  Judith Kerr and Philip Pullman join IBW celebrations Independent Bookshop Week (IBW) will feature the 50th anniversary of The Tiger Who Came to Tea as well as Philip Pullman exclusives and a nationwide poet tour from Carol Ann Duffy. T&F and CUP join Springer Nature blockchain pilot Academic houses Taylor & Francis and Cambridge University Press have joined a pilot project on using blockchain technology for peer review, announced by publisher Springer Nature and start-up Katalysis last month.  CrimeFest marks 10th anniversary with 4,000-book giveaway CrimeFest is celebrating its 10th anniversary by teaming up with publishers to give away 4,000 crime novels for free all over the country.  Eddo-Lodge title tops Academic Book Week poll Reni Eddo-Lodge's Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People about Race (Bloomsbury) has topped a people's poll of the books by women that have changed the world, conducted for Academic Book Week.