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UK audiobook downloads up 17% last year, Publishers Association data shows

theguardian.com – Wednesday May 8, 2024

The number of UK audiobook downloads increased by 17% between 2022 and 2023, according to new data from the Publishers Association (PA).

Revenue from audiobooks rose 24% across the same period to £206m in 2023, reflecting an increase in the number of audiobook downloads from 50m to 59m, the trade body said.

Over five years, UK audiobook revenue has more than doubled. “It’s fair to say that audio is now a really serious part of the publishing portfolio,” said the PA’s chief executive, Dan Conway. “Audiobooks have established themselves as a major route to market for consumers of books in this country”.

These figures reflect the way the audiobook market has evolved. Spotify made audiobooks available to its Premium subscribers in October, while Audible has expanded from single-narrator audiobooks to those with large, starry casts and sound effects. Sam Mendes-produced audiobooks of David Copperfield and Oliver Twist featuring Ncuti Gatwa, Helena Bonham Carter and Nicola Coughlan were released in the past two years, and there are plans to release new audiobooks of all seven Harry Potter titles, voiced by a cast of more than 100 performers.

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BookTok’s influence on publishing is set to last

ft.com – Tuesday May 7, 2024

The bursting of the pandemic sales bubble has been sharp and painful for sectors such as online retail. In publishing, an unlikely source — social media — has helped avoid a hard landing.

Social media should, in theory, be an enemy of the publishing industry given the competing pressures on consumers’ time. Since the pandemic, though, it has produced growth for once-niche genres such as fantasy and propelled authors who were little known to mainstream audiences on to bestseller lists. This will not be a fleeting phenomenon.

BookTok is a community within the video app TikTok in which influencers post content such as reviews of their favourite books. Similar groups can be found on YouTube or Instagram. Yet it is BookTok that has shaken up the sometimes fusty literary world, turbocharging sales of authors such as Sarah J Maas, Colleen Hoover and Alice Oseman among younger readers.

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Channel 4 seeks Northern TV writers

prolificnorth.co.uk – Tuesday April 30, 2024

The Channel 4 Writing for Television Awards and Channel 4 Northern Talent Network: Script Hubs are both open for entry until June 4, 2024.

The awards offer new television writers based in the North of England unique opportunities with independent production companies Bonafide Films (Mood, The Last Post), Rollem Productions (Love Lies & Records, Girlfriends) and Red Production Company (It’s a Sin, Happy Valley), which rejoins the programme in 2024 having been one of the inaugural production company partners when the awards were launched in 2014.

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The State of the Crime Novel, Part 1: Writing Life

crimereads.com – Tuesday April 30, 2024

Once again, the Edgar Awards are upon us, and once again, I’ve had the privilege of asking dozens of great writers to contribute to our annual roundtable discussion on the state of the genre. This year’s roundtable, like in previous years, is divided into two parts: the first, running today, is focused on craft advice and the writing life, while the second, running tomorrow, will address issues in the genre and the future of crime writing. Thanks so much to the more than 30 nominees who sent in thoughtful, fascinating, and often hilarious responses. The award ceremony is this Wednesday night, and you’ll be able to follow along on social media as winners are announced or take a look at CrimeReads first thing on Thursday morning.

WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE FOR WRITERS WHO ARE JUST STARTING OUT? AND WHAT’S THE BEST PIECE OF WRITING ADVICE YOU’VE EVER GOTTEN?

William Kent Krueger (nominated for Best Novel – The River We Remember): First piece of advice: Write every day, and write because you love it, not because you hope you’ll get rich and famous from the effort. Second piece of advice: Marry someone with a good job.

The best piece of advice given to me when I was about to become a published author was to get to know the booksellers. If the booksellers like you and appreciate your work, they’ll sell you like crazy and spread the word. I found this to be true.

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The one-man-band literary review that’s outpacing the monthly magazines

inews.co.uk – Tuesday April 30, 2024

Ed Needham edits and publishes Strong Words almost singlehandedly from a room in his west London home

Strong Words is an extraordinary magazine about books. Each edition runs to 84 pages and 45,000 words, including reviews of up to 35 new novels and volumes of non-fiction. This writing and reading is done, almost entirely, by one person.

“It is a seven-day-a-week job,” says Ed Needham, who edits and publishes Strong Words from a room in his west London house. “I worked out that it’s the equivalent of writing The Great Gatsby every issue and reading the equivalent of War and Peace every week.”

Such is Needham’s devotion to literature that he has followed this punishing schedule for six years and Strong Words has reached its 50th issue, which is testimony to the quality of the publication and the validity of its founding mission: to write about books in the engaging format of a popular magazine.

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Major International Publisher Acquires Chelsea Green Publishing

sevendaysvt.com – Saturday April 20, 2024

Rizzoli International Publications, the New York City-based subsidiary of Italian publishing house Mondadori Group, will acquire Chelsea Green Publishing, the 40-year-old White River Junction company known for its titles on the politics and practice of sustainable living.

Mondadori announced on April 15 that Rizzoli will pay $5 million for the Vermont company and its London subsidiary, Chelsea Green Publishing UK Ltd. The deal is expected to close by June 30.

"This partnership aligns perfectly with our vision of promoting meaningful content that resonates with global audiences while addressing crucial issues related to sustainability and eco-friendly living," Rizzoli's CEO and president Stefano Peccatori said. Rizzoli International publishes illustrated books about fashion, interior design, art, architecture, photography, travel, sports and food. The company began in 1964 as a New York City bookstore, which still operates.

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Literary mag launches new writing prize for short stories

quillandquire.com – Saturday April 20, 2024

Attention, short story writers: Montreal-based literary journal yolk is launching the Montreal Fiction Prize.

The prize, open to Canadian writers of stories up to 4,000 words long, carries a $2,000 purse, with two $500 awards for the second- and third-place stories.

Giller Prize-winning author Souvankham Thammavongsa will be the guest judge for the prize’s inaugural year.

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A look ahead to The 2024 Bournemouth Writing Festival

greatbritishlife.co.uk – Saturday April 20, 2024

Dominic Wong, director of the Bournemouth Writing Festival, reveals how this event helps both aspiring and established writers to network and gain valuable skills.

The Bournemouth Writing Festival returns this April after its hugely successful inaugural launch last year. Set to be bigger, better and more inclusive, over 80 events and activities are due to take place over the three-day weekend (April 26-28) with the aim to improve and progress people’s writing – and help them to get published!

A mix of free and ticketed events, involving nearly 100 experienced writers and professionals, have been curated by the Bournemouth Writing Festival team to foster inspiration, networking and stimulate creativity. New for 2024 will be 1-2-1 sessions with literary agents and writing professionals, a free Poetry Hub and a photography studio to get those all-important headshots for book covers and publicity.

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S&S UK to Launch Summit Books U.K. with Ravi Mirchandani at the Helm

publishersweekly.com – Thursday April 18, 2024

On the heels of Simon & Schuster's recent revival of Summit Books, headed up by former Little, Brown editor-in-chief Judy Clain, Simon & Schuster UK has announced it will relaunch the imprint in the U.K., tapping Picador editor-in-chief Ravi Mirchandani as publisher.

Mirchandani has helmed Picador in the U.K. since 2019, and has spent the past decade at the Pan Macmillan imprint. There, his authors include Patrick Radden Keefe, Douglas Stuart, and Hanya Yanagihara. His publishing career has spanned nearly 40 years, and prior to Picador, he served as editor-in-chief of Atlantic Books, publishing director of William Heinemann, and editorial director at Penguin Books. At Summit Books UK, Mirchandani will report to Suzanne Baboneau, managing director of Simon & Schuster UK’s adult publishing division, effective September 2.

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Trade debates shift towards shorter books for children

thebookseller.com – Thursday April 18, 2024

A notable shift towards shorter children’s books is being reported by publishers, agents and librarians, with many welcoming what they see as a challenge to the idea of length as “a marker of merit”, particularly in relation to middle-grade titles. The development is also seen as a way of getting reluctant readers “back into reading” following the pandemic and its impact on comprehension and enjoyment levels.

Discussions at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair around declining reading levels, exacerbated by the pandemic, were accompanied by discussions about book length, difficulty level, and what some see as “unrealistic expectations” around middle-grade titles. One attendee told the Bookseller that “there is a real feeling that books are too long and need to be shortened as attention spans and comprehension decline".

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