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News stories from the book world in January 2005

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2005

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The WOW factor

19 December 2005

Sarah Wray has won the children's novel competition launched by Waterstone's and the publisher Faber & Faber, seeing off 3,500 other writers to win the coveted prize of Faber publication and front-of-store display in Waterstone's when the book is published next September.  Read more

Waterstone's bid is referred to the Competition Commission

12 December 2005

The Waterstone's bid for Ottakar's has been referred to the Competition Commission by the Office of Fair Trading (see News Review 22 September). The surprise news has been received with relief by many publishers, authors and agents and the bodies which represent them).  Read more

Deep discounting as publishers cut lists

5 December 2005

There s mixed news from the UK book world as the trade moves into the crucial last few weeks before Christmas.  Read more

Daggers out!

28 November 2005

Recent events at the Crime Writers Association read a bit like the plot of a conspiracy thriller but behind it all may lurk no more than a preference to support British - or at least English language - talent. The Crime Writers Association, founded over 50 years ago, is after all a body representing published crime writers, who make up most of its 450-strong membership.  Read more

Irish writers tax exemption under threat

21 November 2005

Maria Dickenson's Dublin Notes column in Publishing Newshas recently highlighted the possibility that Irish writers, and other artists, may lose the tax exemption which has proved so encouraging to many writers' careers over the years. When it was introduced in 1969, no-one could have foreseen how successful it would be in encouraging Irish writers to stay in Ireland and other wri  Read more

Dan Brown sued for plagiarism

14 November 2005

When Dan Brown - showing great confidence - left his teaching job to write full-time because he'd read a Sydney Sheldon novel and felt that he could do better, no-one would have predicted great success was in store for him.  Read more

The next chapter in the Google wars

7 November 2005

Publishers are beginning to take the initiative in the Google Print wars, perhaps not before time, as they suddenly find themselves confronted by a digital future which is not somewhere off in the future but very much in the here and now. The hard lesson the Napster free downloads taught the music business has not been lost on the big publishers.  Read more

A new literacy initiative

31 October 2005

The plans for next year's World Book Day, on 2 March 2006, are becoming increasingly ambitious.  Read more

Frankfurt Book Fair 2005

24 October 2005

This has been the weekend of 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., rather later this year than usual and, with 7,223 exhibitors from 101 countries exhibiting 380,655 titles, the biggest ever.  Read more

The Man Booker - triumph or disaster?

17 October 2005

The result of the Man Booker Prize for Fiction this week was a surprise to everyone. In a year when the heavy hitters were there in force, the Prize has gone to a relatively obscure Irish writer who was first named as a Booker contender in 1989. His book, The Sea, was the one which was selling least well from all those on the shortlist.  Read more

Still working on saving our short story

10 October 2005

Perhaps surprisingly, it looks as if the Save Our Short Story campaign may actually have had some effect.  Read more

Making poetry fun

3 October 2005

This week sees a great outpouring of poetry in Britain’s schools, many of which will be celebrating National Poetry Day with a visit from a poet. These visits have brought poetry to millions of children, making them realise just how much fun it can be.  Read more