The TV Book Club

From the team behind the hugely successful Richard & Judy Book Club comes a brand-new book show called The TV Book Club. The show will be broadcast from 17 January 2010 on Sunday evenings on More4 and repeated on Mondays during the day on Channel 4. The series will run for 10 weeks, and each episode will be 30-minutes long.

The selected titles will be announced at the end of December, but you can get your orders in now!

Email Jim Bickerstaffe on james.bickerstaffe@holtjackson.co.uk with how many sets you would like to order and we’ll do the rest!

Promotional material is available from the Reading Agency website using this link.

*The TV Book Club replaces the now obsolete Richard and Judy Book Club. However, old Richard and Judy orders will be deleted and TV Book Club orders will need to be placed as above.*

Mueller Nobel Prize for Literature

German author Herta Mueller has been awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize for Literature, the academy in Stockholm has announced.

The Romanian-born writer follows last year's French winner Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio, while British writer Doris Lessing won in 2007.

Mueller, born in 1953, is renowned for her depiction of the harsh conditions under Nicolae Ceausescu's regime.

Man Booker Prize for Fiction Winner

Hilary Mantel has been named the winner of the £50,000 Man Booker Prize for Fiction for Wolf Hall.

Wolf Hall has been the bookies' favourite since the longlist was announced in July 2009.

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel was picked from a shortlist of six titles. A.S. Byatt, J.M. Coetzee, Adam Foulds, Simon Mawer and Sarah Waters were all shortlisted for this year's prize.

James Naughtie, comments ‘Hilary Mantel has given us a thoroughly modern novel set in the 16th century. Wolf Hall has a vast narrative sweep that gleams on every page with luminous and mesmerising detail."

Was Wolf Hall your winner?

Hodge suggests "Amazon-style" home delivery service

Culture minister Margaret Hodge has said that libraries should think of selling books as well as lending them. However publication of the full DCMS Library Review and the results of the Wirral Inquiry are to be delayed yet further.

Speaking at the Public Library Authorities (PLA) conference in Brighton, Hodge gave advance hints of the Review's findings, confirming earlier press reports that she was considering an "Amazon-style" home delivery service for libraries, with readers ordering books online and paying "a small fee" to have it delivered to their home. She also suggested that libraries should sell as well as lend: "How about a tie in with Amazon: 'You've borrowed the book, now send a brand new copy to a friend'".

A library ticket for every new born baby to last them through life was also on the cards, as are loyalty cards rewarding book reads with free DVD hires. "We need to offer young people something new and distinctive."

As librarians do you think this could work?

Joint Academic Consortia Book Agreement

Holt Jackson is pleased to announce success in our bid for the Joint Academic Consortia Book Agreement for the supply of English Language Materials.

Contract Manger, Jaqui Holborn comments "The Joint Academic Consortia is a welcome addition to our academic portfolio and we are developing our existing web services and 'shelf ready' offering to ensure we provide a first class service that is second to none".

Samuel Johnson Prize - Winner Announced

Leviathan by Philip Hoare was announced as the winner of the BBC Samuel Johnson Prize 2009.

It's the story of a man's obsession with whales, which takes him on a personal, historical and biographical journey - from his childhood to his fascination with Moby-Dick and his excursions whale-watching.

The award celebrates diverse and thought-provoking writing in non-fiction, including current affairs, history, politics, science, sport, travel, biography, autobiography and the arts. The award has now been running for 11 years and is the world's most valuable non-fiction prize, worth £30,000 to the winner.

Under the Spotlight - Kazuo Ishiguro

With the recent publication of Nocturnes, Holt Jackson has once again joined with Faber to promote the fantastic work of Kazuo Ishiguro.

To celebrate, Faber are running a review competition for reading groups. Simply submit the review and if it is used on the Faber website www.faber.co.uk, the reviewer will receive a complete set of Ishiguro novels! Reviews should be sent to gemmal@faber.co.uk

For full details on all the titles visit our homepage http://www.holjackson.co.uk/ and click on the promotions page

Scottish Book of the Year - Winner Announced

James Kelman has won Book of the Year 2009 in the Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust Book Awards for his novel Kieron Smith, boy.

Commenting on his award James Kelman said ‘There are good writers working in this country and it is an honour to be awarded the SMIT-SAC Book of the Year 2009. '

Along with the award he takes away the £30,000 prize.

Wales Book of the Year 2009 - Winner Announced

Deborah Kay Davies has won the Wales Book of the Year 2009 for her debut collection of short stories Grace, Tamar and Laszlo the Beautiful.

She received the £10,000 prize from judge Mike Parker.

Orange Prize for Fiction - Winner Announced!

Marilynne Robinson, an American author, has won the 2009 Orange Prize for Fiction for her novel Home.

Chair of judges, Fi Glover has said 'This year's Orange Prize winner has a luminous quality to it that has drawn all of the judges to a unanimous decision. The profound nature of the writing stood out, as has the ability of writer to draw the reader into a world of hope expectation, misunderstanding, love and kindness.'

Robinson accepted a cheque for £30,000 at the Royal Festival Hall in London after the jury praised her work as a “kind, wise, enriching novel, exquisitely crafted”.

Victoria Hislop visits Holt Jackson

Best selling author Victoria Hislop ‘popped in’ to Holt Jackson during a visit to the north-west on Thursday.

Arriving at midday and after a short tour of the building, Victoria sat down for an exclusive book signing! Staff were given the opportunity to get their copies of The Island and The Return personally signed. She spent some time chatting about her current books and we got a sneak preview of her thoughts for the next novel.

On leaving, Victoria wrote in the Holt Jackson Showroom visitors book "Thank you for making me so welcome! I have very much enjoyed meeting everyone. I hope to ‘Return’!"

A fantastic afternoon had by all. Thanks to Jim Gross for organising it.

And, we have signed copies to give away, so watch this space!

Richard & Judy Summer Reads 2009

It’s that time of year again………

If lucky enough to be going to sunnier climes or just getting away, then Richard and Judy Summer Reads are one of the best ways to make the most of your free time.

This years titles are –

Mystery Man - Colin Bateman
Guernica - Dave Boling
Palace council - Stephen Carter
The great lover - Jill Dawson
Mr Toppit - Charles Elton
Past imperfect - Julian Fellowes
The piano teacher - Janice Lee
The Senator's Wife - Sue Miller

For more information on all the titles, visit the COTW list here. or contact Jim Bickerstaffe on Jbickerstaffe@holtjackson.co.uk

Under the Spotlight - Faber Firsts

Holt Jackson is celebrating with Faber and Faber during their 80th anniversary year!

They are showcasing a delightful collection of ten outstanding first novels, all with new covers designed to reflect classic eras of Faber’s design history. There are reading guides for all the books and reading groups will have the chance to win limited edition Faber bags full of books plus every novel Faber is publishing in this anniversary year.

Download the competion details here for a chance to win.

Have a look at the titles on this flyer, and you can visit the list on COTW here.

If you would like any further information, contact Gemma Fiorello on gfiorello@holtjackson.co.uk, or visit the Faber and Faber website at http://www.faber.co.uk/

Join the celebrations and order your new copies today!

Under the Spotlight - For Dummies!

Holt Jackson has teamed up with Wiley to offer you a fantastic mix of books For Dummies!

There’s something for everyone, and you can have any of the titles listed in any combination, it’s totally up to you!

Simply pick at least 15 volumes from the titles on the flyer and you will receive your FREE For Dummies dumpbin and poster along with pens, notepads, post-it-notes and bags to put all the goodies in!

Download the form here, fill it in and send it back to Gemma Fiorello at gfiorello@holtjackson.co.uk and we’ll do the rest!

For more information click here, and you can visit the list on COTW here.

Under the Spotlight

The Big day is nearly here, the 5th of March marks World Book Day 2009!

To support the current list of World Book Day Quick Read titles we have provided the backlist for you to promote.

There’s something to suit all tastes that will hopefully encourage everyone to pick up a book!

To take a look at the huge list of titles, click here!

Costa Book Award - Overall winner announced!

This year’s Costa Book of the Year has been awarded to Sebastian Barry for his novel The Secret Scripture.

He has scooped the £25,000 prize money after missing out on the Man Booker Prize for Fiction in October last year.

Chair of the final judges, Matthew Parris, said: "Sebastian Barry has created one of the great narrative voices in contemporary fiction in The Secret Scripture. It is a book of great brilliance, powerfully and beautifully written."

The Holt Jackson Quarterly Newsletter!

Due to the great response to the National Year of Reading quarterly newsletter, we have decided to carry it on!

The Holt Jackson’s newsletter will be released every 3 months, and will provide recommended reads, important dates and activities for the coming months.

We hope that you’ll find them useful!

For the January/February newsletter, click here.

Richard & Judy Book Club 2009

The first book in Richard and Judy’s new Book List for 2009, Jesse Kellerman’s The Brutal Art will be featured on 21st January. The other nine titles will be featured on a weekly basis.

Richard Madeley said: "Judy and I are always intrigued by each new list, we really enjoy reading along with the public. We're very proud of the Book Club and we're delighted it has made the transition with us to Watch."

Here is a full list of featured titles:

Kate Atkinson - When Will There Be Good News?

Beatrice Colin - The Luminous Life of Lilly Aphrodite

Andrew Davidson - The Gargoyle

David Ebershoff - The 19th Wife

Steven Galloway - The Cellist of Sarajevo

Jesse Kellerman - The Brutal Art

Joseph O'Neill - Netherland
Frances Osbourne - The Bolter

Kate Summerscale - The Suspicions of Mr Whicher

Elizabeth H Winthrop - December

For more details please visit the subject list on COTW by clicking here.

Costa Book Award – Winners Announced

The winners of the five categories for this years Costa Book Awards have been revealed. Each winner has been shortlisted for the grand prize announced later this month.

The category winners are –

Biography: Somewhere Towards the End by Diana Athill
Poetry: The Broken Word, by Adam Foulds
Children's: Just Henry, by Michelle Magorian
Novel: The Secret Scripture, by Sebastian Barry
First novel: The Outcast, by Sadie Jones