Highlights from around the globe

Maltese prime minister Lawrence Gonzi has praised a number of the winners at the country’s recent National Book Awards for their remarkable success despite not

Highly-acclaimed novelist Junot Diaz has revealed to the world his secret to being a great writer, and warns any aspiring authors that achieving success can be a

Novelists, poets and critics have been taking part in special events across Africa to mark an extraordinary year for the continent’s literary scene, as well as

With finalists for the award set to be revealed on January 9th, the judges for the Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction have now been

Hilary Mantel's Man Booker Prize-winning 'Bring Up the Bodies' has won the novel award in the biographies category of the Costa Book Awards, and is now being

Cuba's most prestigious literary title has been awarded to the novelist, essayist, journalist and critic Leonardo Padura, whose latest offering, called

Grant Young, director of the groundbreaking Cambridge Digital Library, has announced that plans are in place to link up with other libraries across the world in

The inclusion of Alan Sepinwall's 'The Revolution Was Televised' in the New York Times book of the year list has capped a superb 12 months for self-published

As Hollywood continues to produce film adaptations of our favourite books, one of its leading sons – James Franco – is now set to bring movies to the page by

A number of pre-modern Arabic texts have been translated for the first time and released in a new anthology by Geert Jan van Gelder, entitled Classical Arabic

One in seven children have never visited a bookshop, a new report from the National Literacy Trust has revealed. The Family Matters: The Importance of Family

BBC broadcaster Martha Kearney has been named among the judges for the 2013 Man Booker Prize for Fiction. Kearney, who has previously chaired the judging panel for

Amazon's selling tactics are more akin to those of supermarkets than high street retailers, according to a new report from Simon-Kucher and Partners.  In a

As many as 201 libraries across the UK closed in the past year, bringing the total to 4,265 compared with 4,612 two years ago.  That is according to the

An independent publishing house has collaborated with a coach company in a major marketing drive to complement the changing way readers consume books.  As

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey premiered in London's West End last night (December 12th), with hundreds of fans lining the streets to catch a glimpse of the

UK consumers are finally able to get their hands on Nook Video from Barnes & Noble, enabling them to access a wide range of film and TV content from one

Jamie Oliver has outpaced JK Rowling on weekly books sales for the first time since their publications hit the shelves on September 27th.  As the Guardian

Libraries appear to be the new hotspot for bedbugs looking to find a new home, according to a report.  The New York Times has published a piece on the

Philip Pullman has suggested teachers are guilty of tearing stories apart and ruining the pleasure of reading for children.  As the Daily Telegraph

JK Rowling's debut novel for adults, 'The Casual Vacancy', will be adapted for the small screen by BBC One in a series scheduled for release in 2014.  The

The congregation of a Boston church is considering selling two of the first books ever printed in the US in an effort to make much-needed repairs to the

EL James' chart-topping 'Fifty Shades of Grey' picked up the accolade for Specsavers Popular Fiction Book of the Year at the National Books Awards yesterday

X-Ray for books forms part of the Kindle app from Amazon that allows readers to "see the bones of the book" by enabling them to learn more about notable

Online retailer Amazon has unveiled fresh plans for a European publishing division in a bid to drive authors' exposure.  In a letter to literary agents,

The European publishing industry achieved total annual sales revenue of 22.8 billion euros (£18.5m) in 2011, according to the latest figures from the Federation

English-language books written by domestic authors have been approved for use across schools in Tanzania.  As IppMedia.com reports, titles published by

A reading initiative is set to be launched by the Jorvik Viking Centre and York libraries in an effort to motivate local youngsters' interest in history. The

A north-east Lincolnshire school is the first to debut an interactive reading system to raise literacy levels among teenagers.  As the Grimsby Telegraph

Simon & Schuster has teamed up with Author Solutions to launch a new self-publishing service to budding authors. Archway Publishing will offer a wide range of

The sales of ebooks are continuing to rise, according to the latest sales report from the Association of American Publishers (APA), which was released yesterday

The new English-language movie adaptation is going to have a very modern twist: it is going to be filmed using three dimension video technology.Dracula 3D does

Gerry Breen, the Lord Mayor of Dublin, officially revealed the nominees for the 2011 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award to the expected fanfare at

Atlas Shrugged: Part I will be the first of a series of three movies based on the author's 1,000-page celebration of individualism, reason and free-market

After three literary stabs at the Man Booker Prize, Leicester-born novelist Julian Barnes has finally scooped the award worth £50,000 for The Sense of an Ending.

Booksellers could have more freedom if a joint committee on the Draft Defamation Bill's proposed changes to the law is granted by government. The move could spell

Simon & Schuster have stepped up their game after launching its My Sales service where authors can access sales data on their latest release. This is alongside

Amazon has upped its stakes in the electronic publishing industry by launching its latest file format to replace the Mobi 7. Kindle Format 8, otherwise known as KF8,

It is down to Weidenfeld & Nicolson to secure the fate of a new writer when they publish her debut novel projected to be released in spring 2013. In a deal

A novel described as creating an image of Charles Dickens as 'unscrupulous' has been reinstated on library bookshelves following its ban in 1928. Portsmouth Central

A Taiwanese publishing house has hit record results after it launched China's translation of Apple giant Steve Jobs' biography written by Walter Isaacson.

HarperCollins Publishers is expanding its foray into the film-related book publishing industry through the acquisition of rights to the majority of titles published

After much debate about whether Stephen King's The Dark Tower would make it onto either the big or small screen it was finally confirmed HBO would showcase it as a

It seems the popularity of e-books is in many ways down to the fact that they allow readers to hide what they are reading from onlookers. Such is the indication of a

Traditionally blockbusters debut in the US well ahead of premieres across the Atlantic, however, Herge's heroic reporter Tintin hit European screens almost two months

Authors could find that electronic publishing proves more profitable than traditional print books. Such is the suggestion of writer Barry Eisler, who claims his

A film production company has been set up by the author of some of the most popular contemporary graphic novels, with a focus likely to be on movie adaptations of his

Publishers in China are to receive a boost from the government, under plans to increase public spending on the country's cultural sector. According to Xinhua, the