Industry & Advocacy News
September 20, 2018
Our round-up of key news affecting authors. In this week’s edition: Bookstores find creative ways to thrive, PRH changes ebook lending terms, and more…
The Board of a West Virginia Library Reverses Decision to Refuse ‘Fear’ The Washington Post “There are fearless libraries, and then there are libraries without ‘Fear.’” A West Virginia library refuses to carry Bob Woodward’s book Fear: Trump in the White House—and then reconsiders.
Uncommon Translations Bomb Magazine In an interview with Kyle Paoletta, literary translator Emma Ramadan discusses how she chooses which books to translate, pitching titles to publishers, ownership, and the drafting process.
Bookstores Find Creative Ways to Thrive Crain’s Independent booksellers are “reinventing the traditional brick-and-mortar bookshop model—and boosting profit margins—by increasing their assortment of non-book offerings and stepping outside their stores to sell books off-site.”
Sloan Foundation Programmer to Receive Honorary Book Award The Washington Post The National Book Foundation announced on Tuesday that Doron Weber, vice president and program director of the Sloan Foundation, will be presented with the Literarian Award during the National Books Award ceremony and benefit dinner on November 14.
Penguin Random House Changes Library E-book Lending Terms Publishers Weekly Penguin Random House has announced that it is changing its terms for library e-book lending, “moving from a perpetual access model (where libraries pay a higher price but retain access to the e-book forever) to a metered model (with lower prices on e-books that expire after two years).”
Red-Hot Book Sales Show Americans Love to Read About Trump NBC News Sales of political books are up 25% this year according to NPD Bookscan, and books about President Trump in particular have been topping the nonfiction bestseller charts this year.
Woodward Book Breaks 93-Year Publishing Record The Hill “Bob Woodward’s new book, ‘Fear: Trump in the White House,’ sold more than 750,000 copies through its first day of release, the most for any title in Simon & Schuster history, according to the 94-year-old publisher.”
The Man Booker Prize Announces 2018 Shortlist Man Booker Prize The Man Booker Prize announced its shortlist earlier today. Three of the nominees were from the U.K., two from the U.S., and one from Canada.
