NOTES ON PUBLISHING

WEEK 11-17 JANUARY, 2021

WHAT HIT THE SHELVES LAST WEEK? – HIGHLIGHTS

ON PUBLISHERS AND AGENCIES
• Bonnier Books UK’s new imprint, Embla Books, will focus on commercial fiction. (Read The Bookseller article.) • After its rebrand in autumn, Midas, the cultural communications agency, has acquired The bks Agency. (Read The Bookseller article.)

ON BOOKSHOPS
• Bookshops are starting to feel the effects of Brexit. Waterstones has paused deliveries to mainland Europe, Turkey and Canada, while Blackwell’s is suffering delays. Goldsboro Books mention the lack clarity on how to act from now on when sending books to the EU. (Read The Bookseller article.)

ON AWARDS
• Bluemoose Books novel *Leonard and Hungry Paul* by Ronan Hession has been chosen Dublin’s Book of the Year for 2021. (Read The Bookseller article.) • The shortlist for the Slightly Foxed Best First Biography Prize 2020 has been announced, and includes three biographies by PRH. (Read the list here.) • Sevastian Volkov has won the Impress Prize for New Writers for *Orris and the Shadow Maiden*. He will receive, among other things, a cash prize and a publishing contract with one of the Untold Publishing’s imprints. (Read The Bookseller article.)

ON AWARDS

• Bluemoose Books novel Leonard and Hungry Paul by Ronan Hession has been chosen Dublin’s Book of the Year for 2021. (Read The Bookseller article.)
• The shortlist for the Slightly Foxed Best First Biography Prize 2020 has been announced, and includes three biographies by PRH. (Read the list here.)
• Sevastian Volkov has won the Impress Prize for New Writers for Orris and the Shadow Maiden. He will receive, among other things, a cash prize and a publishing contract with one of the Untold Publishing’s imprints. (Read The Bookseller article.)

HIGHLIGHTS AROUND THE GLOBE
•The US has found a substitute for BookExpo, which used to be the largest book fair until it was cancelled last December. The US Book Show will take place virtually at the end of May. Each day will count with around five hours of programmed content so publishers from around the world can tune in despite the different time zones. (Read the Publishing Perspectives article here.) • Germany closes the year with a plummet on sales. Despite being up to 45% during the first two weeks of December, the overall sales couldn’t recover after the COVID-19 crisis. (Read the Publishing Perspectives article here.) • French’s print book sales dropped 2% compared to 2019 numbers. However, Vincent Montagne, president of the French Publishers Association, seems optimistic, and adds that comic books have grown by a 6%. (Read The Bookseller article.)

HIGHLIGHTS AROUND THE GLOBE

•The US has found a substitute for BookExpo, which used to be the largest book fair until it was cancelled last December. The US Book Show will take place virtually at the end of May. Each day will count with around five hours of programmed content so publishers from around the world can tune in despite the different time zones. (Read the Publishing Perspectives article here.)
• Germany closes the year with a plummet on sales. Despite being up to 45% during the first two weeks of December, the overall sales couldn’t recover after the COVID-19 crisis. (Read the Publishing Perspectives article here.)
• French’s print book sales dropped 2% compared to 2019 numbers. However, Vincent Montagne, president of the French Publishers Association, seems optimistic, and adds that comic books have grown by a 6%. (Read The Bookseller article.)

ON COMMISSIONS AND ACQUISITIONS
• Weidenfeld & Nicolson is to publish *The Awokening* by Ayishat Akanbi, who has been described as ‘one of the most exciting thinkers and writers of her generation’, in August 2021. The book will cover how in a time when people are starting to socially ‘awake’ that awareness has turned into polarisation instead of unification. (Read The Bookseller article.) • The Borough Press has commissioned a non-fiction book on Nigeria. Of This Our Country will include short memoirs and essays where writers such as Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie will share personal stories of Nigeria and what they hope for it. The publisher is also looking for unpublished and un-agented Nigerian writers. (Read The Bookseller article.) • Hardie Grant has acquired world rights to *Max’s Picnic Book: An Ode to the Art of Eating Outdoors* by Max Halley and Benjamin Benton. (Read The Bookseller article.) • Headline Review has secured UK and Commonwealth rights for *The View Was Exhausting* by Mikaella Clements and Onjuli Datta. The story has been branded as swoon-worthy and utterly modern, and will tell the fake love story of an actress and a millionaire. The book will hit the shelves next July. (Read The Bookseller article.) • *When America Stopped Being Great* by Nick Bryant has been acquired by Bloomsbury Continuum. The book will explore how America’s decline led to Trump’s rise as President of the US, leaving the country vulnerable and facing one of the greatest challenges of the last decades. (Read The Bookseller article.) • Stacey Abrams, author of the NYT bestselling Our Time Is Now, is publishing her new book, *While Justice Sleeps, with HarperFiction. The story will revolve around a political conspiracy in Washington, and it’s expected to be released in May. (Read The Bookseller article.) • Daunt Books Publishing* has secured *Ordinary Notes* by Christina Sharpe. In this non-fiction book Sharpe will visit places of memorial and remembrance, and will question how we remember and engaged with history and the legacies of racism and slavery. You’ll be able to read the book in spring 2022. (Read The Bookseller article.) • *The Familiars* and *The Foundling* author, Stacey Halls, will release in June her new novel, *Mrs England* with *Manilla Press. (Read The Bookseller article.) • Firefly Press* is to published the first book of a projected series by book blogger Jo Clarke. *Parisian Puzzle* is expected to hit the shelves in April next year. (Read The Bookseller article.) • Muswell Press will publish Jon Ransom’s *The Whale Tatto.* This riveting novel will be released in February 2022. (Read The Bookseller article.) • FABER & FABER IS PUBLISHING SALLY ROONEY’S THIRD NOVEL IN SEPTEMBER: BEAUTIFUL WORLD, WHERE ARE YOU. (Read The Bookseller article.) • *My Sneezes Are Perfect, Rakhshan Rizwan’s* first poetry book, is to be published by The Emma Press in February. The poetry collection is aimed for children and will deal with the pandemic. (Read The Bookseller article.) • Puffin is publishing an *A Different Sort of Normal, an illustrated novel by Abigail Balfe* on growing up with autism. (Read The Bookseller article.) • Wren & Rook (Hachette UK) has secured rights for a Billie Eilish photo book. The e-book will be released with an audio companion next May. (Read The Bookseller article.) • Sarah Ferguson’s debut novel, *Her Heart for a Compass, has been acquired by Mills & Boon. The novel, which will be published in August, will tell the story of Lady Margaret Montagu Douglas Scott, her great-great-aunt. (Read The Bookseller article.) • Scholastic UK* will publish a children’s book by Stephen Mangan and Anita Mangan. Escape the Rooms is aimed for middle-graders and will be published in June. (Read The Bookseller article.) • Boiler House Press, University of East Anglia publisher, will release a short story collection, which stories have been branded as ‘unsettling, original and occasionally monstrous’. Ben Pester’s Am I in the Right Place? will arrive in May. (Read The Bookseller article.) • October will welcome Dame Eileen Atkins’ memoir. *Will She Do?* Will be published by Virago and will tell the story of how she always aspired to be an actress. (Read The Bookseller article.) • Jeffrey Archer is returning to HarperCollins with a three-book deal. The first novel, *Over my Dead Body* will be part of the William Warwik series. (Read The Bookseller article.) • Lora Davies has landed a deal with Bookouture for two historial novels, the first one, *That Which Is Hidden, is set in London in the 1820s, and will be published next summer. (Read The Bookseller article.) • Simon & Schuster UK* has acquired the rights to *The Yellow Kitchen* by Margaux Vialleron, a story of female friendship, love, food and identity. (Read The Bookseller article.) • Ben Aitken has landed a two-book deal with Icon Books, publisher of two of his previous books. *There’s Something about Wendy, the first of the new two titles, will be released in 2022, and will tell the story of a 34-year-old man and an 84-year-old woman who moved in together during lockdown. (Read The Bookseller article.) • Fourth Estate* is to publish the debut novel from Keiran Goddard, *Hourglass. The book will revolve around the trajectory of a relationship, from the exciting early days, to its painful end. (Read The Bookseller article.) • Bloomsbury* will publish Anya Hindmarch’s *If in Doubt, Wash Your Hair. The book will include advice on careers, relationship and how to build up your confidence, while she shares what she has learnt and what still worries her. (Read The Bookseller article.) • Mudlark* (HarperCollins) has secured the rights for Nina Burton’s next nature memoir: *Notes from a Summer Cottage. The non-fiction book will arrive to bookshops in July. (Read The Bookseller article.) • Kyle Books* has acquired *Together, an illustrated book by Luke Adam Hawker* that will deal with the events occurred in 2020. The book will hit the shelves in March. (Read The Bookseller article.) • Avon’s Marketing Manager, Ellie Pilcher, will publish her debut novel *What Planet Can I Blame This On* with Hodder Studio. This romantic comedy will be released on the 3^rd of June. (Read The Bookseller article.) • Hero Press is publishing a non-fiction book by activist and footballer Lilian Thuram. *White Thinking* will be released in October 2021. Le Monde has brand it as ‘well-researched and extremely instructive’. (Read The Bookseller article.) • James Corbett’s debut novel, *The Outsiders,* is to be published in May by Lightning Books. The story will be set in Liverpool in the early 1980s, around the Toxteth riots. (Read The Bookseller article.) • amish Hamilton is publishing a second novel by Avni Doshi. *Protection* is set in India and America and will tell the story of a close-knit but unhappy family, and the effects that patriarchy, tradition and trauma have on a family. (Read The Bookseller article.) • Bella Osborne has extended her contract with Avon to 2022 after signing for two more novels, the first one being title *The Promise of Summer. (Read The Bookseller article.) • Raven Books* has acquired *People Like Them, the first novel in English by French-Algerian writer Samira Sedira. The book has been described as ‘brutal, shocking and thought-provoking’. (Read The Bookseller article.) • Dead Ink Books* has secured the rights for Missouri Williams’s *The Doloriad*, a dystopian story set in the aftermath of an apocalypse and around a family that has survived through incest. (Read The Bookseller article.)

ON COMMISSIONS AND ACQUISITIONS

• Weidenfeld & Nicolson is to publish The Awokening by Ayishat Akanbi, who has been described as ‘one of the most exciting thinkers and writers of her generation’, in August 2021. The book will cover how in a time when people are starting to socially ‘awake’ that awareness has turned into polarisation instead of unification. (Read The Bookseller article.)
• The Borough Press has commissioned a non-fiction book on Nigeria. Of This Our Country will include short memoirs and essays where writers such as Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie will share personal stories of Nigeria and what they hope for it. The publisher is also looking for unpublished and un-agented Nigerian writers. (Read The Bookseller article.)
• Hardie Grant has acquired world rights to Max’s Picnic Book: An Ode to the Art of Eating Outdoors by Max Halley and Benjamin Benton. (Read The Bookseller article.)
• Headline Review has secured UK and Commonwealth rights for The View Was Exhausting by Mikaella Clements and Onjuli Datta. The story has been branded as swoon-worthy and utterly modern, and will tell the fake love story of an actress and a millionaire. The book will hit the shelves next July. (Read The Bookseller article.)
• When America Stopped Being Great by Nick Bryant has been acquired by Bloomsbury Continuum. The book will explore how America’s decline led to Trump’s rise as President of the US, leaving the country vulnerable and facing one of the greatest challenges of the last decades. (Read The Bookseller article.)
• Stacey Abrams, author of the NYT bestselling Our Time Is Now, is publishing her new book, While Justice Sleeps, with HarperFiction. The story will revolve around a political conspiracy in Washington, and it’s expected to be released in May. (Read The Bookseller article.)
• Daunt Books Publishing has secured Ordinary Notes by Christina Sharpe. In this non-fiction book Sharpe will visit places of memorial and remembrance, and will question how we remember and engaged with history and the legacies of racism and slavery. You’ll be able to read the book in spring 2022. (Read The Bookseller article.)
• The Familiars and The Foundling author, Stacey Halls, will release in June her new novel, Mrs England with Manilla Press. (Read The Bookseller article.)
• Firefly Press is to published the first book of a projected series by book blogger Jo Clarke. Parisian Puzzle is expected to hit the shelves in April next year. (Read The Bookseller article.)
• Muswell Press will publish Jon Ransom’s The Whale Tatto. This riveting novel will be released in February 2022. (Read The Bookseller article.)
• FABER & FABER IS PUBLISHING SALLY ROONEY’S THIRD NOVEL IN SEPTEMBER: BEAUTIFUL WORLD, WHERE ARE YOU. (Read The Bookseller article.)
• My Sneezes Are Perfect, Rakhshan Rizwan’s first poetry book, is to be published by The Emma Press in February. The poetry collection is aimed for children and will deal with the pandemic. (Read The Bookseller article.)
• Puffin is publishing an A Different Sort of Normal, an illustrated novel by Abigail Balfe on growing up with autism. (Read The Bookseller article.)
• Wren & Rook (Hachette UK) has secured rights for a Billie Eilish photo book. The e-book will be released with an audio companion next May. (Read The Bookseller article.)
• Sarah Ferguson’s debut novel, Her Heart for a Compass, has been acquired by Mills & Boon. The novel, which will be published in August, will tell the story of Lady Margaret Montagu Douglas Scott, her great-great-aunt. (Read The Bookseller article.)
• Scholastic UK will publish a children’s book by Stephen Mangan and Anita Mangan. Escape the Rooms is aimed for middle-graders and will be published in June. (Read The Bookseller article.)
• Boiler House Press, University of East Anglia publisher, will release a short story collection, which stories have been branded as ‘unsettling, original and occasionally monstrous’. Ben Pester’s Am I in the Right Place? will arrive in May. (Read The Bookseller article.)
• October will welcome Dame Eileen Atkins’ memoir. Will She Do? Will be published by Virago and will tell the story of how she always aspired to be an actress. (Read The Bookseller article.)
• Jeffrey Archer is returning to HarperCollins with a three-book deal. The first novel, Over my Dead Body will be part of the William Warwik series. (Read The Bookseller article.)
• Lora Davies has landed a deal with Bookouture for two historial novels, the first one, That Which Is Hidden, is set in London in the 1820s, and will be published next summer. (Read The Bookseller article.)
• Simon & Schuster UK has acquired the rights to The Yellow Kitchen by Margaux Vialleron, a story of female friendship, love, food and identity. (Read The Bookseller article.)
• Ben Aitken has landed a two-book deal with Icon Books, publisher of two of his previous books. There’s Something about Wendy, the first of the new two titles, will be released in 2022, and will tell the story of a 34-year-old man and an 84-year-old woman who moved in together during lockdown. (Read The Bookseller article.)
• Fourth Estate is to publish the debut novel from Keiran Goddard, Hourglass. The book will revolve around the trajectory of a relationship, from the exciting early days, to its painful end. (Read The Bookseller article.)
• Bloomsbury will publish Anya Hindmarch’s If in Doubt, Wash Your Hair. The book will include advice on careers, relationship and how to build up your confidence, while she shares what she has learnt and what still worries her. (Read The Bookseller article.)
• Mudlark (HarperCollins) has secured the rights for Nina Burton’s next nature memoir: Notes from a Summer Cottage. The non-fiction book will arrive to bookshops in July. (Read The Bookseller article.)
• Kyle Books has acquired Together, an illustrated book by Luke Adam Hawker that will deal with the events occurred in 2020. The book will hit the shelves in March. (Read The Bookseller article.)
• Avon’s Marketing Manager, Ellie Pilcher, will publish her debut novel What Planet Can I Blame This On with Hodder Studio. This romantic comedy will be released on the 3^rd of June. (Read The Bookseller article.)
• Hero Press is publishing a non-fiction book by activist and footballer Lilian Thuram. White Thinking will be released in October 2021. Le Monde has brand it as ‘well-researched and extremely instructive’. (Read The Bookseller article.)
• James Corbett’s debut novel, The Outsiders, is to be published in May by Lightning Books. The story will be set in Liverpool in the early 1980s, around the Toxteth riots. (Read The Bookseller article.)
• amish Hamilton is publishing a second novel by Avni Doshi. Protection is set in India and America and will tell the story of a close-knit but unhappy family, and the effects that patriarchy, tradition and trauma have on a family. (Read The Bookseller article.)
• Bella Osborne has extended her contract with Avon to 2022 after signing for two more novels, the first one being title The Promise of Summer. (Read The Bookseller article.)
• Raven Books has acquired People Like Them, the first novel in English by French-Algerian writer Samira Sedira. The book has been described as ‘brutal, shocking and thought-provoking’. (Read The Bookseller article.)
• Dead Ink Books has secured the rights for Missouri Williams’s The Doloriad, a dystopian story set in the aftermath of an apocalypse and around a family that has survived through incest. (Read The Bookseller article.)

WRITTEN BY B

'We live in the gaps between the stories' Margaret Atwwod