BookBrunch

BookBrunch Your daily serving of news and views, promising unrivalled publishing perspective and knowledge.

The Orion Publishing Group is holding the first-ever Muslim Romance Festival at its Carmelite House offices on 16 Septem...
11/08/2025

The Orion Publishing Group is holding the first-ever Muslim Romance Festival at its Carmelite House offices on 16 September.

The line-up will include Adiba Jaigirdar, Laila Rafi, Soraya Bouazzaoui (pictured), and Tahmina Begum, and the evening is described as ‘a joyful celebration of love, culture and community’.

The Polari Prize is beset by complications as a number of longlisted authors have withdrawn, due to self-described ‘terf...
11/08/2025

The Polari Prize is beset by complications as a number of longlisted authors have withdrawn, due to self-described ‘terf’ John Boyne’s longlisting. Judge Nicola Dinan announced her withdrawal last week. Her fellow Polari First Book Prize judge, book blogger Bob Hughes, has now also withdrawn.

See BB today for all the details.

Congratulations to Najma Finlay, who joins Curtis Brown Heritage as an agent in the Book Department alongside head of he...
11/08/2025

Congratulations to Najma Finlay, who joins Curtis Brown Heritage as an agent in the Book Department alongside head of heritage Norah Perkins.

She takes up the role on 1 October.

Full story on BB

Her publisher Bloomsbury released a statement: ‘We’re heartbroken to share the news of the death of our author, Dame Ste...
07/08/2025

Her publisher Bloomsbury released a statement:

‘We’re heartbroken to share the news of the death of our author, Dame Stella Rimington.

‘Leading an extraordinary life, Dame Stella was the first female Head of MI5, a Booker Prize Chair, and the author of thirteen books.

‘She passed away surrounded by her loving family and dogs.’

She joined MI5 in 1968, and was appointed Director General in 1992 before retiring in 1996. She worked in roles including counter-subversion, counter-espionage and counter-terrorism. Her autobiography, Open Secret, was published in 2001, followed by a series of novels set in the world of espionage.

In a brilliant move Comics Youth launches the UK’s first Youth Comics Laureate.Nominations for the role are now open and...
07/08/2025

In a brilliant move Comics Youth launches the UK’s first Youth Comics Laureate.

Nominations for the role are now open and the inaugural Laureate will be revealed at the Lakes International Comic Art Festival.

Get all the details on BB today.

The team at HQ has travelled up and down the UK to drop proofs of The Ending Writes Itself by Evelyn Clarke to as many b...
06/08/2025

The team at HQ has travelled up and down the UK to drop proofs of The Ending Writes Itself by Evelyn Clarke to as many bookshops as possible within 72 hours.

In the book, six authors are invited to the private Scottish island of bestselling author Arthur Fletch and given just 72 hours to write the ending to his unfinished final manuscript. Whoever writes a fitting conclusion wins two million dollars and a new publishing contract, but will everyone make it to the end?

The identity of Evelyn Clarke is a subject of speculation: it is a pen name for two writers, both of whom have been published for more than a decade.

Morgan has published a number of Sunday Times, New York Times, and Kindle bestsellers in her career, and worked with aut...
06/08/2025

Morgan has published a number of Sunday Times, New York Times, and Kindle bestsellers in her career, and worked with authors including Abigail Dean, Holly Bourne, Cara Hunter, and Lucy Score. Prior to Hodder & Stoughton, she worked at HarperCollins and Octopus.

Perminder Mann, CEO of Simon & Schuster UK and International, said: “I’m delighted to welcome Phoebe Morgan as our new Executive Publisher for Commercial Fiction. Phoebe is one of the most exciting and admired publishers in the industry – sharp, creative, and commercially astute, with a brilliant eye for talent and a real passion for publishing books that connect at scale.”

Full story on BB today.

Newsflash! SPCK has signed Staying Faithful, the debut book by the winner of The Traitors second series, Harry Clark. Se...
05/08/2025

Newsflash! SPCK has signed Staying Faithful, the debut book by the winner of The Traitors second series, Harry Clark. Set for publication on 30 September.

Praise be for Will Atkinson! The former head of Atlantic Books will be joint CEO of Wilton Square alongside Eye Books fo...
05/08/2025

Praise be for Will Atkinson! The former head of Atlantic Books will be joint CEO of Wilton Square alongside Eye Books founder Dan Hiscocks. Wilton Square aims to start trading by mid-August.

Full story on BB today.

The Independent Publishers Guild has revealed the programme and opened bookings for this year’s Autumn Conference, which...
04/08/2025

The Independent Publishers Guild has revealed the programme and opened bookings for this year’s Autumn Conference, which takes place on 16 September. The theme is ‘Making Sense of What Matters’, and the programme is ‘dedicated to helping publishers navigate the current opportunities and challenges’.

For all the details, see today’s BookBrunch.

Thank goodness she did it! The Deadline (Pan Macmillan) author tells BookBrunch about the inspiration behind her debut n...
04/08/2025

Thank goodness she did it! The Deadline (Pan Macmillan) author tells BookBrunch about the inspiration behind her debut novel and the joy of being part of the crime writing community.

As the world celebrates Jane Austen’s 250th birthday, she is more popular than ever. In the first 28 weeks of 2025, more...
01/08/2025

As the world celebrates Jane Austen’s 250th birthday, she is more popular than ever. In the first 28 weeks of 2025, more than 78,000 copies of Austen’s novels were sold. This week, Netflix announced the casting of their new P&P adaptation. (Eyebrows were raised. Reticules rattled.) The Folio Society are producing a limited artisan edition of Austen’s six complete novels - which will retail for £925.

BookBrunch explores Austen’s enduring appeal, with the help of - Jane Austen’s bookshop, and some fellow Austenites (aka proud Austen geeks): who has recast Jane as sleuth in her bestselling series; and Austentatious’ who rescues Charlotte Lucas from post-marriage obscurity in her forthcoming novel.

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