British Books Today Blog

Aharon Appelfeld scoops Independent foreign fiction prize

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Scott) — Sat, 19 May 2012 10:16:00 +0000

Inspired by his experiences during the Holocaust, a novel by the 80-year-old Israeli author Aharon Appelfeld has won the Independent foreign fiction prize. Blooms of Darkness is loosely based on his childhood during the second world war. The author was deported to a labour camp at Transnistria at the age of seven, later escaping and ending up in Palestine in 1946, aged 14. Although the author grew up speaking German, he chooses to write instead in the Hebrew he learned from the age of 14, calling German "the language of the murderers"

Karen Russell's 'Swamplandia!' wins New York Public Library's Young Lions award

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Scott) — Sat, 19 May 2012 10:14:00 +0000

Karen Russell's 'Swamplandia!' wins New York Public Library's Young Lions award. The prize, which has been awarded annually since 2001 to a writer under 35, comes with a $10,000 pot. Russell is 30 years old.

2012 Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award longlist

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Scott) — Sat, 19 May 2012 08:45:00 +0000

2012 marks the eighth year of the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award. The award, run in partnership with Asda and in association with the Daily Mirror, was created to celebrate the very best in crime writing and is open to British and Irish authors whose novels were published in paperback over the previous twelve months. Crime writing's most wanted accolade, the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award, returns to highlight the cream of the crop of crime novels published by British and Irish authors over the last year.The winning author receives a cash prize of £3000 an a handmade, engraved beer barrel provided by Theakstons Old Peculier. 2012 longlist:

Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch (Gollancz)
Darkside by Belinda Bauer (Corgi)
Now You See Me by SJ Bolton (Corgi)
Where the Bodies Are Buried by Chris Brookmyre (Abacus)
The Burning Soul by John Connolly (Hodder Paperback)
The Calling by Neil Cross (Simon & Schuster)
The Hanging Shed by Gordon Ferris (Corvus)
Bryant and May and the Memory of Blood by Christopher Fowler (Bantam)
Blue Monday by Nicci French (Michael Joseph)
The Fear Index by Robert Harris (Arrow)
The Retribution by Val McDermid (Sphere)
The End of the Wasp Season by Denise Mina (Orion)
Black Flowers by Steve Mosby (Orion)
Collusion by Stuart Neville (Vintage)
The Impossible Dead by Ian Rankin (Orion)
Mice by Gordon Reece (Pan Books)
Agent 6 by Tom Rob Smith (Simon & Schuster)
Before I Go To Sleep by SJ Watson (Black Swan)

2012 Shortlist Announcement and Readers’ Online Vote
The names of the six shortlisted titles will be announced on Thursday 5 July 2012 and YOU – the readers – will be able to help decide which of the six short-listed authors will take home the most coveted title in crime fiction, by casting your vote online at www.theakstons.co.uk. The result of the online vote will be counted alongside the votes of the expert judging panel in order to determine the 2012 winner

Wolfson History Prize (2011) winners

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Scott) — Fri, 18 May 2012 09:19:00 +0000

The winners of the Wolfson History Prizes in 2011, awarded at a reception and dinner on 8 May 2012, were:

Mrs Susie Harries for Nikolaus Pevsner: The Life (Chatto & Windus)

Professor Alexandra Walsham for The Reformation of the Landscape (Oxford University Press)

The winners received £25,000 each. The judges were Sir Keith Thomas FBA (Chairman), Professor Sir David Cannadine FBA FSA FRSL, Professor Richard Evans FBA, and Professor Julia Smith FRSE. The Wolfson History Prize, established in 1972, is awarded annually to promote and encourage standards of excellence in the writing of history for the general reading public

Hilary Mantel introduces Bring up the Bodies

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Scott) — Fri, 18 May 2012 09:18:00 +0000

Hilary Mantel talks about her new book Bring up the Bodies, the sequel to the Man Booker prize-winning Wolf Hall. The story of Thomas Cromwell continues. In the final days of Anne Boleyn, no one is left unscathed ...Bring up the Bodies will be published May 10th 2012 by Fourth Estate

The Wales Book of the Year Award 2012 short list

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Scott) — Fri, 18 May 2012 09:18:00 +0000

The short list for The Wales Book of the Year Award 2012 has been announced

Book Review: The Secret History Of Our Streets - London

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Scott) — Fri, 18 May 2012 09:17:00 +0000

It's pretty much impossible to get a thorough handle on the vast social history of London. Unless you're Roy Porter. And you're not, because he's sadly no longer with us. It's much easier, however, to grasp the ups and downs of an individual street. Such is the hunch of this new book, to accompany a forthcoming BBC2 series. Authors Joseph Bullman, Neil Hegarty and Brian Hill investigate six London roads: Reverdy Road in Bermondsey, Deptford High Street, Arnold Circus in Shoreditch, Caledonian Road in Islington, Portland Road near Notting Hill and Camberwell Grove

James Tait Black shortlist announced

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Scott) — Fri, 18 May 2012 09:16:00 +0000

Finalists for the University of Edinburgh's £10,000 James Tait Black Prizes have been named. Winners will be announced August 25 during the Edinburgh International Book Festival. This year's shortlisted titles are:

Biography
Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention by Manning Marable
Ben Jonson: A Life by Ian Donaldson
The Last Pre-Raphaelite: Edward Burne-Jones and the Victorian Imagination by Fiona MacCarthy
Nikolaus Pevsner: The Life by Susie Harries

Fiction
Snowdrops by A.D. Miller
Solace by Belinda McKeon
You and I by Padgett Powell
There But For The by Ali Smith

Ian Fleming's estate signs new James Bond book deal

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Scott) — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 18:32:00 +0000

Ian Fleming's back catalogue of James Bond stories is to be relaunched after his estate signed a 10-year deal with Random House to publish the books in print and e-book format. Vintage, a division of Random House, will take over publishing of print books from Penguin. The estate, which has been publishing e-books, said the deal was "a significant step change" for the work. Fleming's 14 Bond books have sold more than 100 million copies worldwide

Man Booker Prize judges take part in Woodland Trust's Jubilee Woods Project

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Scott) — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 18:31:00 +0000

The judges of the 2011 Man Booker Prize for Fiction travelled to Hainault Forest, an ancient hunting forest on the edge of London, to plant saplings. This is the fourth year that the Man Booker Prize has collaborated with the Woodland Trust, in a symbolic gesture to compensate for the trees felled in order to produce the hundred-plus books submitted for the prize each year. This year's planting took on extra significance as it formed part of the Woodland Trust's Jubilee Woods project. To mark the Jubilee year, the judges planted 13 oak trees taken from one of the Royal estates. The trees will become a living commemoration of the 'Booker Dozen' - the 13 titles chosen for the 2011 longlist - including that year's winner, The Sense of An Ending by Julian Barnes

Two Madeley novels for S&S

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Scott) — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 18:30:00 +0000

Simon & Schuster has acquired two novels by broadcaster and Richard & Judy Book Club founder Richard Madeley. Publishing director Suzanne Baboneau bought world English-language rights from Luigi Bonomi at LBA. Madeley's début novel, Some Day I'll Find You, to be published in 2013, begins during the Second World War in France. S&S published Madeley's memoir, Fathers & Sons, in 2008

Collins collars Radio 4 "New Elizabethans" tie-in

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Scott) — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 18:29:00 +0000

Collins has acquired a tie-in to the upcoming BBC Radio 4 flagship series "The New Elizabethans", written and narrated by James Naughtie, which will air every weekday between June and September. Collins publishing director Iain MacGregor pre-empted world rights in all languages from Felicity Bryan at the Felicity Bryan Agency and Emma Trevelyan at the BBC. The book will be published in hardback in the autumn. The series will look back over the reign thus far of Queen Elizabeth II, profiling the 60 "Elizabethans" who have played a significant role in shaping the era, and whose achievements look likely to outlast the age

World Book Night titles unveiled (UK)

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Scott) — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 12:39:00 +0000

Pride and Prejudice and The Alchemist are among the 25 titles that will be given away on World Book Night in 2012. One million books will be distributed at venues including hostels, pubs and hospitals in a bid to boost reading. Now in its second year, the event will move from March to 23 April, marking both Unesco's International Day Of The Book and Shakespeare's birthday. Some 20,000 members of the public will be chosen to give away copies of their favourite title from the list

TS Eliot prize 2011 shortlist (UK)

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Scott) — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 12:37:00 +0000

The shortlist for the TS Eliot prize 2011 has been announced:

* Black Cat Bone by John Burnside
* The Bees by Carol Ann Duffy
* Profit and Loss by Leontia Flynn
* Night by David Harsent
* Armour by John Kinsella
* Grace by Esther Morgan
* Tippoo Sultan's Incredible White-Man-Eating Tiger Toy-Machine!!! by Daljit Nagra
* November by Sean O'Brien
* Farmer's Cross by Bernard O'Donoghue
* Memorial by Alice Oswald

Bedford Square Books launches with six titles

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Scott) — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 15:55:00 +0000

Bedford Square Books, the new e-book and Print on Demand venture coming from the Ed Victor Literary Agency, has gone live with all six launch titles now available to the public. In addition, Ed Victor confirmed that the company will publish its first original work, a novel by entrepreneur Louise Fennell, wife of jewellery designer, Theo. Fennell's debut novel, Dead Rich, is a contemporary black comedy. It will be published on February 8 2012 in e-book and POD formats

Writeidea Reading Festival 2011 (UK)

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Scott) — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 15:54:00 +0000

This is the third year of Writeidea - East London's free reading festival - and it is now established as a highlight in the cultural calendar in the capital. In contrast to many other literary festivals across the country, all our events are free, as we think that everyone should have the opportunity to meet and engage with our best writers and hear them talking about their work - 11 - 19 November - London, UK

Novelist Catherine Fisher named young people's laureate (Wales)

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Scott) — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 15:53:00 +0000

A writer from Newport is to be named Wales' first Young People's Laureate later. Catherine Fisher, a former primary school teacher and archaeologist, is an award-winning author of fantasy novels for children. She will be asked to inspire young people to read and be involved in creative writing. Her appointment by writers' body Literature Wales will be unveiled by singer Charlotte Church later

Julian Barnes wins Man Booker Prize 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Scott) — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 15:52:00 +0000

Julian Barnes has been named the winner of this year's £50,000 Man Booker Prize for Fiction for The Sense of an Ending, published by Jonathan Cape. London-based Barnes has been the bookies' favourite to win since the shortlist announcement on 6 September. The source of the description of the prize as 'posh bingo', Barnes has been shortlisted three times in the past for Arthur and George (2005), England, England (1998) and Flaubert's Parrot (1984)

The Fourth Brook Green Book Festival 2011 (UK)

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Scott) — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 15:52:00 +0000

The Fourth Brook Green Book Festival 2011 sponsored by Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Brook Green. The aim of the Festival is to bring together West London writers and local people - 17-21 October, 2011

Galaxy National Book Awards 2011 shortlist categories

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Scott) — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 15:51:00 +0000

The shortlist categories for the Galaxy National Book Awards 2011 have been announced

2011 Independent Booksellers Week (UK)

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Scott) — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 15:59:00 +0000

Independent Booksellers Week is part of the IndieBound campaign for independent bookshops, which promotes independent bookshops, great books, strong reading communities, and the idea of shopping locally and sustainably. An exciting new development for 2011 is the inclusion of National Reading Group Day on the second Saturday of IBW, Saturday 25th June. National Reading Group Day is one of BA President Jane Streeter's key objectives for 2011. It's not necessarily about booksellers starting reading groups, or even running groups in the shop, but about capitalising on the current huge grassroots affection for Reading Groups in the UK - 18 to 25 June 2011. RSS Feed

The British Library and Google to make 250,000 books available to all

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Scott) — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 15:56:00 +0000

The British Library and Google have announced a partnership to digitise 250,000 out-of-copyright books from the Library's collections. Opening up access to one of the greatest collections of books in the world, this demonstrates the Library's commitment, as stated in its 2020 Vision, to increase access to anyone who wants to do research. Selected by the British Library and digitised by Google, both organisations will work in partnership over the coming years to deliver this content free through Google Books and the British Library's website. Google will cover all digitisation costs. This project will digitise a huge range of printed books, pamphlets and periodicals dated 1700 to 1870, the period that saw the French and Industrial Revolutions, The Battle of Trafalgar and the Crimean War, the invention of rail travel and of the telegraph, the beginning of UK income tax, and the end of slavery. It will include material in a variety of major European languages, and will focus on books that are not yet freely available in digital form online

The Publishers Association Bulletin - 20 June 2011 (UK)

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Scott) — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 15:54:00 +0000

The Publishers Association Bulletin - 20 June 2011 - is now available online

Andrea Levy wins Walter Scott Prize for The Long Song (Scotland)

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Scott) — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 15:53:00 +0000

The second Walter Scott Prize for historical fiction has been awarded to Andrea Levy for her slavery novel The Long Song. The £25,000 prize was awarded at one of Scotland's top literary events, the Borders Book Festival in Melrose. The author accepted the award from the Duke of Buccleuch, sponsor of the prize, at a ceremony hosted by festival patron Rory Bremner

Book Grocer: 22-28 June 2011 (UK)

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Scott) — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 15:53:00 +0000

Book Grocer: 22-28 June 2011 - The week ahead in literary London from the Londonist blog