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News stories from the book world in January 2011

2011

Good news from children's publishing

28 November 2011

A review of the UK children’s publishing scene by Caroline Horn in this week’s Bookseller provides an interesting picture of a part of the publishing business which is in pretty good shape. There is a strong feeling in the trade that the focus has shifted to bestsellers, bestselling authors and brand-name series.

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Hardbacks have another chance

21 November 2011

Many of us who have worked in the publishing business have long expected hardbacks to be superseded by paperbacks. But over the years hardbacks have been surprisingly durable in their grip on the book-buyer, with various come-backs affecting how much they are produced.  Read more

Genre fiction booms

14 November 2011

Certain genre areas of fiction publishing seem to be coming into their own in a big way at the moment, which is good news if that’s the area you write in.  Read more

OFT rubber-stamps Amazon acquisition

31 October 2011

Amazon has been much in the news this last week. After the announcement of its first big purchase for its new publishing arm at the Frankfurt Book FairWorld's largest trade fair for books; held annually mid-October at Frankfurt Trade Fair, Germany; First three days exclusively for trade visitors; general public can attend last two., which sent tremors through the publishing world, it is now consolidating its position on e-books. The deal in question may have garnered the book for Amazon because of the high ebook royalty offered.  Read more

Older writers turn to memoir

24 October 2011

There is an increasing trend for older people to write their own memoir and then to self-publish it, sometimes in a nice gift edition.  Read more

News from the Frankfurt Book Fair

17 October 2011

'On the surface, there is little to distinguish this year's Frankfurt Book FairWorld's largest trade fair for books; held annually mid-October at Frankfurt Trade Fair, Germany; First three days exclusively for trade visitors; general public can attend last two. from any other but beneath the frantic meetings, crowded aisles and over-priced hotels the subtle shades of digital are stealing across the landscape...  Read more

Historical fiction and non-fiction

10 October 2011

The Historical Writers' Association

Novelist Manda Scott has recently formed the [no-glossary]Historical Writers' Association[/no-glossary] as a forum for writers and to promote the genre. The internet-based group already boasts around 100 members including authors, agents and editors, is open to writers of historical fiction and non-fiction.

, which we reported on last year, seems to have marked the coming of age of the genre of historical fiction. This has long been popular and many classic writers, such as Norah Lofts, Mary Renault, Rosemary Sutcliffe and Henry Treece, were opening up the past through their novels 40 or 50 years ago.  Read more

The ebook revolution

26 September 2011

A new Harris poll has revealed that the number of Americans reading ebooks has doubled in the last year. One in six Americans who do not have an ebook reader are planning to buy one in the next year.  Read more

Author fires publisher

12 September 2011

Last week saw the unusual spectacle of an author leaving her publisher because she thought the covers they put on her new book were inappropriate. Polly Courtney said the image was too racy - and she wanted her novel to be taken more seriously.  Read more

'Women's fiction'

5 September 2011

Following an appeal by two female customers from Tonbridge in the English county of Kent, the bookseller W H Smith has agreed to remove all references to 'women's fiction' in its shops from October. The two women, Clare Leigh and Julia Gillick, complained that the women's fiction section was 'very light, with lots of pink fluffiness' and there were no classic authors.  Read more

The hardback/paperback gap

29 August 2011

The advent of ebooks and consumers' reluctance to accept the high price of hardbacks are having an impact on the traditional relationship between hardback and paperback publication.  Read more

World Book Night becomes more global

8 August 2011

Now it's beginning to look as if World Book Night may shortly become just that, rather than an aspirational name for the adult version of the UK's World Book Day. The United States is to partner the UK, launching World Book Night in 2012.  Read more