The British Book Awards - The Booksellers

 Today Panzer went to The British Book Awards post(s) at The Booksellers site.

 

The site has videos of the program for the presentation of the British Book Awards for the Book of the Year and Trade Awards. There's a link in the Welcome message to view individual author and illustrator interviews in the Nibbles Studio. Below the first 2021 program video is the author and illustrator interviews as one video. After the second 2021 program video is The Winners section. If you click on either the "Book of the Year" or the"Trade Awards," you'll be taken to the finalist list with a description of each one.

Okay. Where's my tuna popcorn?

 

Note: Since this is a collection of videos, it's a very l-o-n-g post. However, since it is videos, you can take a break whenever you want. Bring popcorn, pop, your slippers, a blanket to get comfortable and enjoy the videos..

 

To watch the videos tootle over to British Book Awards

CMA launches merger investigation into PRH and S&S deal - The Bookseller

 Panzer was cleaning out the glove box in the Panzermobile when he found a wadded up post in there. Smoothing it out, he discovered it was a post from The Bookseller site about an investigation into the merger of book publishers PRH and S and S. A couple of months ago Panzer told you about the Authors Guild's requested investigation of the merger by the U.S. Department of Justice.

 

According to the post by Mark Chandler at The Bookseller site, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is looking into the Penguin Random House (PRH) merger with Simon and Schuster (SS). This investigation would be similar to the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) investigation. Both would be looking to see if the merger would in any way stifle competition in the book publishing industry.

 

I'm not getting down.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... It looks like there will be one really big pit bull and a bunch of teacup poodles left."

 

Note: This is a long-medium length post. Bring a large mug of cocoa and a muffin for today's reading selection.

 

To read the post tootle over to merger investigation

To read Panzer's earlier post tootle over to Authors Guild 

Welsh bookshops set to reopen in April as lockdown eases - The Bookseller

 Today's trip into the Catosphere took Panzer to The Bookseller site. There our intrepid kitty traveler found a post about Welsh bookshops.

 

According to Mark Chandler's post, Wales will start a step-by-step reopening beginning March 15. As long as COVID-19 cases continue to decrease during the beginning phases, Welsh bookshops will reopen on April 12.

Be safe out there.

Panzer says, "Everybody needs to be very careful so people can get back to buying books and reading them."

Note: This is a short post. Bring a cup of tea for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to Welsh bookshops

BA calls for bookshops to be classified essential retailers - The Bookseller

When Panzer was cleaning out the Panzermobile today, he found a wadded up post under the passenger seat. Flattening it out, he discovered it was a post from The Bookseller site about re-opening bookstores during the UK's pandemic lockdowns. Panzer told you about French bookstores efforts to re-open during France's lockdown.

 

Books are essential.

According to the post by Mark Chandler, the UK's Booksellers Association (BA) has sent a letter to government officials requesting bookshops be allowed to re-open during the Covid-19 lockdown. While the BA and it's members agree the lockdown is necessary, the group feels bookshops and the books they sell are important to maintaining people's health. It's also important to maintain that part of the country's economy as well. Although bookshops are closed for the lockdown, other retailers (garden centres and food shops) are open and allowed to sell books. A copy of the letter is at the end of the post.

 

Panzer says, "Other countries consider bookstores essential retailers."

 

Note: This is a huge post. Bring a thermos of cocoa, three muffins, two sugar cookies (biscuits), and one brownie for today's reading.

 

To read the post tootle over to UK booksellers

To read Panzer's previous post about French bookstores, tootle over to  France

Wales and Ireland close non-essential shops in new lockdowns - The Bookseller

 Today as Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere he heard crying and sobbing outside. Following all the noise took our kitty pilot to The Bookseller site. With just a little digging in the posts, he discovered one about new Covid-19 lockdowns in Ireland and Wales.

 

According to the post by Mark Chandler, Wales and Ireland are closing all non-essential shops, including bookstores in a new lockdown. Wales' lockdown will last for two weeks and Ireland's lockdown will last for six weeks. Bookstores can still sell online and by telephone.

 

Books are essential.

Panzer says, "That virus thingy just isn't going away."

 

Note: This is a long-medium length post. Bring a cup of tea and two muffins for today's reading selection.

 

To read the post tootle over to Wales and Ireland lockdown

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Waterstones cuts 16 head office roles including for publisher-facing staff - The Bookseller

Panzer has been on a cleaning frenzy today. Sweeping out the inside of the Panzermobile, he found a post under the pilot seat floor mat. Pulling it out, he discovered it was a post from The Bookseller * site about Waterstones bookstores.

 

It's that virus thingy.

According to the post by Mark Chandler, Waterstones is making some employee changes effective immediately. The company announced it has made 16 head office staff positions redundant. (That's the polite way of saying they were terminated from their jobs.) The company cited the downturn in trade sales and foot traffic.

Panzer says, "Look what happened to Macmillan's soon-to-be ex-CEO John Sargent after he made some staff positions redundant."

Note: This is a medium length post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to Waterstones

To read about Macmillan tootle over to John Sargent

 

 

* Be aware The Bookseller has an "article" reading limit each month after which you'll be asked to register.

Nigel Roby Sells the UK's 'The Bookseller' to Stage Media Company - Publishing Perspectives

Mr. Roby really loved The Bookseller..

Today, Panzer made a quick trip to the Publishing Perspectives site. With a little digging in the posts, our speedy kitty found one about the sale of the UK's The Bookseller.

According to the post by Porter Anderson, Nigel Roby has sold  The Bookseller  to Stage Media Company for an undisclosed amount. Under Nigel Roby's ten year ownership The Bookseller staged annual conferences and two book prize awards. All the company's operations and employees will be moved to the Stage Media Company's offices.

Panzer says, "This little kitty hopes the new owner doesn't make too many changes to The Bookseller."

Note: This is an elephantine humongous length post. Bring a gallon of tea, six muffins, 4 chocolate chip cookies (biscuits), and 2 brownies for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to The Bookseller sale

Eason to close its seven Northern Ireland stores - The Bookseller

Panzer hasn't been to The Bookseller site for a while, so he decided to make a quick stop there today. With no digging at all our adventuresome kitty found a post about the Eason bookstore chain.

I hate it.

According to Mark Chandler's post, Eason is closing all seven of its Northern Ireland bookstores. The stores have been closed since March because of Covid-19 and will not re-open. The company blames sagging store sales worsened by the coronavirus (Covid-19) for the closures. Eason's 53 bookstores in Ireland have already re-opened and won't be affected by the Northern Ireland closures.

Panzer says, "That virus thingy is still causing trouble."

Note: This is a medium length post. Bring a cup of tea and a chocolate chip cookie (biscuit) for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to Eason Northern Ireland bookstores

Latest CIPFA stats reveal library numbers still falling - The Bookseller

Panzer was taking his after lunch nap when he was thrown from his kitty bed by crying and shouting coming from the Catosphere. Hopping in the Panzermobile our brave kitty boy followed all the hullabaloo to The Bookseller site. Digging in the posts, he found one about the closing of libraries in the UK.

A post in The Bookseller by Mark Chandler says England, Wales and Scotland's libraries are having financial problems. According to the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) which released statics for the year ending March 2019, 35 libraries closed. Also included is the fact that since 2014 the number of library employees is down by 15.1 percent. As a result libraries are relying more on volunteers whose numbers are up by 24.3 percent. Libraries are also cutting services.

Only 8 days until Christmas.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... Why don't these humans support their libraries?"

Note: This is a medium length post. Bring a cup of cocoa and a muffin for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to library spending

Audible rolls out text captions feature to read while you listen - The Bookseller

Mom can read it to me.

As Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere today, he decided to make a stop at The Bookseller site. There our adventuresome kitty boy found a post about Amazon's Audible audio book service.

According to Mark Chandler, Audible is releasing a new feature called Captions. Audible Captions will be a $14.95 subscription service available in the U.S. The feature will show the text of the audio book being listened to. Audible says the feature was primarily developed for children.

Panzer says, "This little kitty wants to know how they'll decide which books will have the feature."

Note: This is a short post. Bring a cup of tea for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to Audible Captions

HarperCollins unveils 'dynamic' new digital-first division One More Chapter - The Bookseller

Today as Panzer entered the Catosphere he felt the Panzermobile start to reverberate from all the clapping and cheering coming from outside. Following all the hullabaloo took our brave kitty pilot to The Bookseller site. There with a little digging in the posts he discovered the one about HarperCollins that was causing all the noise.

Hmm ... Ebook format only. Interesting.

According to Heloise Wood, HarperCollins (yes, that is the correct way to write it) has gathered the company's three digital publishing divisions together under one new brand called One More Chapter. Charlotte Ledger will be the editorial director of the new division. Chosen submissions will appear in ebook format only first. There's an email address included in the post to contact the new division about submissions.

Panzer says, "Be sure to read the Comments section. There's only one there, but it has a lot of important questions."

Note: This is a medium length post. Bring a chocolate chip cookie (biscuit) and a cup of lemonade for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to HarperCollins

Publishers warn of increasing visa trouble for authors - The Bookseller

Today, Panzer made a trip to The Bookseller site. With no digging at all our traveling kitty boy found a post about trouble visiting authors are having getting visas.

Cats don't need visas to go anywhere.

The post by Heloise Wood concerns the problems authors are having getting their visa applications okayed to enter certain countries. Specifically mentioned are India, Gaza and the UK. There are extensive quotes from representatives from Comma Press and Saqi Books concerning the inability of their authors and an illustrator to get visas to enter the UK and India.

Panzer says, "This little kitty wonders what will happen with author visas after Brexit."

Note: This is a long-medium length post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to author visa problems

Dutchman wins Welsh bookshop in raffle draw - The Bookseller

Panzer's trip into the Catosphere today took him to The Bookseller site. There with a little digging around he found a post about a raffle for a bookstore.

According to the post by Charlotte Erye, Dutchman Ceisjan Van Heerden won the Bookends bookshop in a raffle. The raffle ticket drawing was held on September 1 for the Cardigan, Wales bookshop and its inventory. On November 5 Ceisjan Van Heerden will take possession of the store.

Just imagine. He won all those books, too.

Panzer says, "He won a bookstore? Cats don't usually gamble ... but this little kitty wishes he'd known about this raffle ... because this bet would have been worth it."

Note: This is a short post. Bring a cup of tea for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to bookshop raffle

Waterstones buys Foyles - The Bookseller

Panzer's trip into the Catosphere today took him to The Bookseller site. With a little digging around our traveling kitty found a post about the UK's Waterstones.

According to Benedicte Page and Philip Jones, Waterstones has acquired Foyles bookshops. Waterstones cited the incursion of Amazon's online presence selling books and ebooks into the UK as the reason for the purchase of the 115 year old Foyles bookstores. Both stores believe in the importance of continuing the personal interaction between bookstores and book buyers. Foyles will maintain its name and employees.

A person to help you find a book is good, too.

Panzer says, "This little kitty agrees with Waterstones and Foyles. There's nothing like strolling into a bookstore and feeling a real book between your paws."

Note: This is a medium length post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to Waterstones

Pottermore to allow free e-book library loans - The Bookseller

Panzer's trip into the Catosphere today took him to The Bookseller site. There our intrepid kitty pilot found a post about free Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone ebook loans from UK libraries.

According to the post by Heloise Wood, Pottermore will be allowing UK libraries to do unlimited loans of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. To celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the book's publication library patrons have from June 26 through July 9 to get the digital copy. Pottermore has also set up a Twitter account and a new free Wizarding World Book Club site to celebrate the anniversary. The Bookseller post includes a link to the Twitter account.

Whew! That was a lot of digging.

Panzer says, "I did some digging and discovered where the Wizarding World Book Club signup site is. Mom included it at the bottom of my post."

Note: This is a shortish post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin for today's reading selection. If you plan to sign up for the Twitter follow and the Wizarding World Book Club, bring an extra cup of tea.

To read the post, tootle over to Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

To join the Wizarding World Book Club, tootle over to Pottermore WWBC

Amazon 'hunting for high street sites in London' - The Bookseller

Today, Panzer made a quick trip into the Catosphere. Our adventurous kitty stopped in at The Bookseller site. There he found a post about Amazon's rumored foray into the U.K.

A mouse, a bug, some catnip ...

According to the post by The Bookseller's staff, Amazon is looking at expanding its physical presence to London. Quoting from a post on the Sunday Times site, The Bookseller reports Amazon is looking for a location for one of their Amazon Go grocery stores. Patrons of the Amazon Go store give Amazon access to purchasing information as they shop in the store. When they exit the store the money for their purchases is automatically deducted from their account. There is no mention of a bricks-and-mortar book store. A link is included in The Bookseller post to the Sunday Times post.

Panzer says, "Umm ... Do you really want everybody to know what you eat?"

Note: This is a short post. Bring a cup of tea for today's reading selection. If you follow the link to the Sunday Times, add a muffin.

To read the post, tootle over to Amazon

Hachette to bring in new royalty statement system in 2018 - The Bookseller

Is it really that bad?

Today when Panzer was cleaning out the Panzermobile our fastidious kitty happened to look under the passenger seat and found a post from last week at The Bookseller site. The post is about Hachette's plans for a new royalty reporting statement system.

According to the post by Katherine Cowdrey, Hachette CEO Tim Hely Hutchinson sent his annual letter to all the company's authors. In the letter Mr. Hely Hutchinson says the company will begin issuing new author royalty statements. He says the new statements will be "better, clearer and more detailed." The post also details the declines in Hachette's book and ebook sales and the possible effect Brexit may have on book sales.

Panzer says, "Mr. Hely Hutchinson's letter doesn't paint a very good picture of ebook and book sales."

Note: This is a l-o-n-g post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin for today's reading selection.

To read the post, tootle over to Hachette

Retail sales up despite Brexit - The Bookseller

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere today when he decided to make a stop at The Bookseller site. There he found a post about how retail sales are doing in the UK after the Brexit vote.

Sales look pretty good.

According to the post by Lisa Campbell, retail sales are up by 1.1 percent across the board even after the Brexit vote. All the way at the very end of the post we learn that UK print book sales for July 2016 are also up by 4.3 percent over July of last year. There is no mention of ebook sales figures.

Panzer says, "I guess we know where the retail market places the importance of print book sales ... at the very bottom of the list. ... And ebook sales ... no where."

Note: This is a short post. You won't even need a muffin for today's reading selection, just bring a cup of tea.

To read the post, tootle over to book sales

Waterstones cuts e-book deal with Kobo - The Bookseller

Kobo scores again.

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere enjoying himself today. After reading various blog post headlines, our inquisitive kitty boy found an interesting one at The Bookseller site.

According to the post by Lisa Campbell, the book store chain Waterstones will no longer sell ebooks from their website. Waterstones will, instead, have visitors to their website make their ebook purchases at Kobo. Customers with libraries of already purchased ebooks at Waterstones' site will be able to move them to the Kobo site.

Panzer says, "None of this is surprising to this little kitty. Waterstones' website never generated enough ebook sales to justify maintaining it."

Note: This is a medium post. You'll need a cup of tea and a small muffin for today's reading selection.

To read the post, tootle over to Kobo

Self-published titles '22% of UK e-book market' - The Bookseller

Ahhh ... A nice quiet day.

Panzer took a nice relaxing trip in the Catosphere today. Our happy kitty pilot didn't hear any arguing or snarling or crying or disruptive behavior anywhere. After just enjoying the quiet for a while he stopped in at The Bookseller site to find something interesting for you.

According to a post at the site by Lisa Campbell, some good news for indie authors was discussed at the Nielsen BookInsights Conference last week. Although growth of ebooks in the UK is not what it was 2 or 3 years ago, growth of self-published ebooks is growing. Self-published ebook sales for 2015 were 22 percent of all digital ebook sales compared to 16 percent for 2014. And where do all those self-published ebooks come from? According to Steve Bohme of Nielsen Book UK, it's Amazon self-published ebooks. Also covered in the post are audiobook sales, print book sales and tablets and other ebook reading devices impact on sales.

Panzer says, "Indie ebooks are being recognized by readers for their value in the marketplace."

Note: This is a l-o-n-g post. You'll need a cup of tea and two muffins for today's read.

To read the post, tootle over to e-book market