Record number of libraries hit million digital lend mark
Leading library service provider OverDrive this week reported that a total of 121 public libraries and consortia across seven countries and 37 U.S. states surpassed one million digital lends in 2021....
View ArticleLiterati acquires Follett Book Fairs
Literati, the Austin, Tex., subscription book box and online book club company, has purchased Follett Book Fairs. The fairs will be rebranded Literati Book Fairs and will continue to service PreK-8...
View ArticleUK publishers' fears intensify as print prices rocket by up to 40%
Independent publishers in the UK are becoming increasingly worried about hikes of up to 40% in printing costs, with some considering outsourcing to Europe and China to keep prices down, and others...
View ArticleTennessee school board bans Pulitzer prize-winning Holocaust novel, Maus
A Tennessee school board has banned a Pulitzer prize-winning novel from its classrooms over eight curse words and an illustration of a naked cartoon mouse. The graphic novel, Maus: A Survivor's Tale...
View ArticleU.S. book sales up 12 in 2021
Total net book sales in 2021 in the U.S. rose 12.2%, to $15.4 billion, compared to 2020, representing sales of 1,369 publishers and distributed clients as reported to the Association of American...
View ArticleBookTok giving bookshops a boost not seen since Rowling
BookTok is seeing more young people embrace reading than ever before, translating into shops "full of teenagers and young adults" in a trend not seen since the heyday of J K Rowling and Harry Potter,...
View ArticleWordle bought by New York Times
The inventor of word game sensation Wordle has spoken of being overwhelmed by its success, following a sale to the New York Times. Software engineer Josh Wardle released the free simple online game in...
View ArticlePublishers, agencies start receiving subpoenas as DoJ-PRH case ramps
As Penguin Random House and the Department of Justice continue to prepare for an August trial in which PRH hopes to block the government's effort to kill its acquisition of Simon & Schuster,...
View ArticleTexas book ban prompts school librarians to launch #FReadom Fighters
In response to Texas Rep. Matt Krause's published list of 850 books on race and sexuality that he targeted for their subject matter —many of which were pulled from school library shelves—a group of...
View ArticleOscar nominations based on books
The Power of the Dog and Dune led the nominations for the 94th Academy Awards, which featured several movies based on books or with book connections. Others include: Drive My Car, based on a short...
View ArticleShining a spotlight on the art of translation
Jennifer Croft, who translates the Nobel Prize-winning Polish novelist Olga Tokarczuk, is leading a push for her peers and their work to receive more recognition. Olga Tokarczuk's "Flights" was a...
View ArticleI'll fight to overturn US ban on my 'Queer Bible', says British author
A British writer, presenter and former model says he is shocked to find himself at the centre of an unprecedented wave of book banning in the US. A Mississippi mayor has told the Madison County...
View ArticleCourt blocks Maryland's library ebook law
In a rebuke to Maryland state legislators, a federal judge has granted the Association of American Publishers' motion for a preliminary injunction, blocking Maryland officials from enforcing the...
View ArticleBook bans and 'gag orders': the US schools crackdown no one asked for
...Republicans in several states have launched efforts to ban books pertaining to race and LGBTQ+ issues from classrooms, while some legislatures are pushing to introduce laws which would ban teachers...
View ArticleVeritas Capital buying Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for $2.8 billion
Private equity firm Veritas Capital is buying educational publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for $2.8 billion in cash, HMH announced yesterday. The sale comes a little less than a year after Houghton...
View ArticleEuropean book trade condemns Russia's attack on Ukraine
European book trade bodies have condemned Russia's attack on Ukraine and issued statements in solidarity with the Ukrainian people, the Bookseller reported. Describing the attack as a "threat not just...
View ArticleRussia's war of words with Ukraine
Russia's declaration of war against, and invasion of, Ukraine this week is certain to have consequences for the international publishing industry. While it is too soon to say exactly what the impact...
View ArticlePublishers looking for answers to paper shortages
If the early days of 2022 have been any indication, paper shortages and rising distribution costs are challenges that the industry will likely face throughout year. The seeds of the current problems...
View ArticleBooks across borders: rebuilding the Gaza bookshop destroyed by bombing
On May 18, 2021, a beloved bookstore in Gaza was destroyed by Israeli bombing. The bookshop had contained around 100,000 books, and owner Samir Mansour says the financial losses were estimated at...
View ArticleWaterstones acquires Blackwell's, the UK's biggest independent bookseller
The UK's largest book chain, Waterstones, has acquired the country's largest independent bookseller, Blackwell's, ending 143 years of family ownership and signalling a further concentration of the...
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