Tom Percival: 'I had a pretty turbulent childhood'

Tom Percival might have been illustrating and writing children’s books for almost 20 years, but this will be his first Bologna Children’s Book Fair. Speaking from inside his writing shed, Percival sounds upbeat at the prospect of joining the molto bene throng inside the BolognaFiere Exhibition Centre. “I’m hoping it’ll be a big jolly and I can sit around and eat ice cream, but my diary is looking pretty full,” he says.

Samantha Harvey's Orbital leads Booker shortlist sales surge

Orbital by British author Samantha Harvey (Jonathan Cape) remains the sales leader among the six books shortlisted for the Booker Prize, shifting almost 29,000 copies this year. The winner of a prize worth £50,000—among a list dominated by the highest number of women in the prize’s 55-year history—will be announced tomorow night (12th November). Sales of Harvey’s novel, which follows six astronauts aboard the International Space Station as they orbit  Earth, increased 86% from the almost 3,500...

Hardback sales for bestselling authors down on previous release as readers 'wince' at higher cover prices

The volume of hardback books sold in the first week of publication by some of the bestselling authors is down compared to their previous titles, despite the fact that in some cases revenues have either remained flat or gone up marginally, analysis of Bookscan data reveals. Some within the publishing industry have put this trend down to the rising prices of hardbacks, leaving customers "wincing" at the tills.
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