Booker-prize winning novelist Hilary Mantel, 70, died of a stroke on Thursday at a hospital in Exeter, England. Her agent Bill Hamilton said to the New York Times, “She had so many great novels ahead of her” and noted that she’d been working on a new one. The author of the celebrated Thomas Cromwell trilogy, Mantel won the Booker for both Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies, and was longlisted for The Mirror and the Light. Joan Fusco, 83, former manager, remainders & overstocks at Abrams, died on September 14 after a stroke. Fusco joined the company in 2000. […]
Archives for September 2022
France Imposes Minimum Shipping Fee for Book Orders
The French government has set a minimum fee of €3 for online book orders of less than €35, Reuters reports. France has submitted the proposal to the EU and the fee will take effect six months after it is approved. In December of last year the government passed a law requiring a minimum shipping rate — aimed to level the playing field between independent retailers and Amazon, which offers shipping as low as one cent — but hadn’t determined what the rate would be.
Bookselling: B&N in Bellvue, WA
Barnes & Noble will open a new store at the Crossroads Shopping Center in Bellvue, WA on September 28, while closing their store at 106 Ave NE downtown. The old store will be razed to make way for a “three-tower, mixed use redevelopment.”
Amazon Tightens Ebook Return Policy
In a win for authors and publishers, Amazon will adjust its ebook return policy to restrict returns on books that have been more than 10 percent read. The Author’s Guild and the UK Society of Authors advocated for the change with Amazon’s senior executive team. The AG writes that the new policy will take effect by the end of the year: “Any customer who wishes to return an ebook after reading more than 10 percent will need to send in a customer service request, which will be reviewed by a representative to ensure that the return request is genuine and […]
People 9/22
Molly Birnbaum has joined Ten Speed Press as vice president and editor in chief, reporting to Aaron Wehner, evp publisher Clarkson Potter and Ten Speed Press. She was founding editor in chief of America's Test Kitchen Kids.
Baillie Gifford Prize Longlist
The Baillie Gifford Prize for Nonfiction announced its 2022 longlist, with the shortlist to be named on October 10.