Costa Book Awards Announced

Indie publishers have scored highly on the shortlists for this year's Costa Book Awards, with three titles from Faber, plus Beautiful Books, Quartet and Welsh publisher Gomer in the running.

The First Novel Award category for the prize, which is for the “most enjoyable” books published between between 1st November 2009 and 31st October 2010, is dominated by indies with Kishwar Desai's Witness the Night (Beautiful Books), Nikesh Shukla's Coconut Unlimited (Quartet Books), Simon Thirsk's Not Quite White (Gomer Press) and Aatish Taseer's The Temple-Goers (Viking) in the running.

Paul Murray's Man Booker-longlisted Skippy Dies (Hamish Hamilton) is in the running for the 2010 Costa Novel of the Year Award, alongside Louise Doughty for Whatever You Love (Faber), Nigel Farndale's The Blasphemer (Doubleday) and The Hand That First Held Mine by Maggie O'Farrell (Headline Review).

The First Novel Award category is dominated by indies with Kishwar Desai's Witness the Night (Beautiful Books), Nikesh Shukla for Coconut Unlimited (Quartet Books), Aatish Taseer for The Temple-Goers (Viking) and Simon Thirsk's Not Quite White (Gomer Press) in the shortlist.

The Costa Biography Award shortlist comprises Sarah Bakewell for How to Live: A Life of Montaigne in one question and twenty attempts at an answer (Chatto), Michael Frayn for My Father’s Fortune (Faber) and Edmund de Waal for The Hare with Amber Eyes (also Chatto)


Jo Shapcott's collection Of Mutability (Faber) has made the poetry category, alongside Roy Fisher's Standard Midland (Bloodaxe), Robin Robertson's The Wrecking Light (Picador), and Sam Willetts' New Light for the Old Dark (Cape Poetry).

And in the children's category, two titles from Andersen Press, Sharon Dogar's Annexed and Jason Wallace's Out of Shadows are in the shortlist, alongside Bartimaeus: The Ring of Solomon by Jonathan Stroud (Doubleday) and Lucy Christopher's Flyaway (the Chicken House).

Galaxy National Book Awards Winners 2010

The winners of the Galaxy National Book Awards 2010, a celebration of the best of British publishing, have now been revealed at a star-studded awards ceremony at London's prestigious BBC Studios.

The winners are

TESCO BIOGRAPHY OF THE YEAR

The Fry Chronicles by Stephen Fry (Penguin Group)


TESCO FOOD & DRINK BOOK OF THE YEAR

Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi (Random House)


NATIONAL BOOK TOKENS NEW WRITER OF THE YEAR

The Hare with Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal (Random House)


MORE4 NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR

The Making Of Modern Britain by Andrew Marr (Pan Macmillan)


SAINSBURY'S POPULAR FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR

One Day by David Nicholls (Hodder & Stoughton)


WATERSTONE'S UK AUTHOR OF THE YEAR

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel (Harper Collins)


GALAXY INTERNATIONAL AUTHOR OF THE YEAR

Freedom by Jonathan Franzen (Harper Collins)


WH SMITH CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE YEAR

Zog by Julia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler (Scholastic)


OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Terry Pratchett


OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Martin Amis

Customer Announcement November 2010

The Holt Jackson Book Company Ltd
Customer Announcement November 2010

As our business continues to expand, our holding company The Little Group, has taken the decision to further strengthen our standing in the library supply market with the merger of The Holt Jackson Book Company Ltd and Askews Library Services Ltd. From March 1st 2011 the combined company, will be Askews and Holts Library Services Ltd, continuing to operate from Preston with staff from both companies coming together as one team.

In a time of budget constraints and spending reviews, this merger will have a positive effect for both Holt Jackson and Askews customers, with the enhanced combination of services, efficiencies and security that this merger offers. Our decision will bring together two specialist library supply companies that enjoy first class reputation for innovation and for exceeding customer expectations. The Directors and Senior Management of both companies are keen to start working closely together and to continue moving the business forward and drive the agenda in library supply. David Fisher and Andy Holland, supported by fellow directors Kathryn Pattinson, Jaqui Holborn and Tim Cotterall, will shortly be visiting all customers and taking the opportunity over the next few weeks and months to outline details of merging the two companies.

The merged company will be formally announced in Spring 2011 with a series of country wide road shows, which will highlight our combined services portfolio on offer, including the rollout of our eBook service.

If you have any questions or concerns in the meantime with regard to your current business, please contact your Sales Manager directly who will be happy to discuss them with you.

Kathryn Pattinson
Managing Director

November 2010

Quick Reads 2011

A brand new set of Quick Reads has been announced for World Book Day on Thursday 3rd March 2011

Adults' Quick Reads, 10 TITLES (nil discount plus normal servicing charges)

Children's WBD Titles, 11 TITLES (6 BOOKS) (nil discount plus normal servicing charges or a jacket only at a cost of 25p per book).

To guarantee prompt arrival of titles in time for World Book Day, orders placed using the form below will be prioritised at all stages.

To place your order, please complete this form and return to Gemma Fiorello by Friday 17th December 2010.

ANY ORDERS RECEIVED AFTER THIS DATE WILL BE TREATED AS STANDARD.

For more information on Quick Reads and other World Book Day initiatives, please click here

Please note - we will not be supplying promotional material. You can obtain free promotional packs from the Quick Reads website.