Growing up in the West Midlands, I turned my back on reading books and even visiting libraries for many years. When I start to think back to why this was happening, I realised that not seeing Asian representation within publishing and at libraries was a key factor.
Sally Rooney’s Beautiful World, Where Are You finds the top spot
Sally Rooney's Beautiful World, Where Are You (Faber) has debuted in the UK Official Top 50 number one spot, selling 46,065 copies in its first week on sale, making it the fastest selling Adult Fiction title since sales figures returned in March.
Illustrations revealed for J K Rowling’s Christmas Pig
Two illustrations from J K Rowling's forthcoming children's book The Christmas Pig (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers) have been revealed.
2021 Booker Prize Shortlist Announced

The 2021 Booker Prize Shortlist has been announced! Chosen from 158 novels, this year’s shortlist is comprised of 6 novels that span the globe, from South Africa to Sri Lanka to Cardiff and the United States. While novels by notable authors Kazuo Ishiguro and Rachel Cusk did not make this year’s shortlist, this year does marks Damon Galgut’s third time making the list with The Promise and Richard Powers second time with Bewilderment. They are joined by exciting newcomers to the Booker, Anuk Arudpragasam, Nadifa Mohamed, Maggie Shipstead, and Patricia Lockwood. First awarded in 1969, the Booker Prize is open to writers of any nationality writing...
Booker Prize shortlist dominated by PRH titles as Ishiguro left out
Anuk Arudpragasam, Damon Galgut, Patricia Lockwood, Nadifa Mohamed, Richard Powers and Maggie Shipstead have been shortlisted for this year's Booker Prize, in a selection dominated by PRH titles but with the notable absence of previous winner Kazuo Ishiguro.
Pearson Education sues Chegg, alleging ‘massive’ copyright Infringement
Sep 14 2021 Pearson Education this week filed suit against textbook service Chegg for copyright infringement, alleging that Chegg's popular subscription study service illegally appropriates Pearson’s end-of-chapter textbook questions. In a complaint filed September 13 in federal court in New Jersey, lawyers for Pearson said the scale of Chegg’s infringement was “staggering.” Source: Publishers Weekly More News Stories
Cugnoni leaves Vintage after publisher role made redundant
Vintage publisher Rachel Cugnoni is leaving the company with immediate effect after her role was made redundant.
Hodder bags Burr’s ‘stunningly written’ debut in two-book deal
Hodder & Stoughton has bagged two crime novels by Australian writer Shelley Burr, including her debut Wake.
Lean leaves PRH for YMU Books
Millie Lean is joining YMU Books as junior literary agent, specialising in children’s publishing.
Greenwich launches UK’s first fully biodegradable library cards
Libraries in the London Borough of Greenwich are the first in the country to move to fully biodegradable library cards that are made in the UK from ethically sourced materials.