M2 Best Books articles from December 2005

M2 Best Books archives from December 2005

Four staff to go at Simon & Schuster UK.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Publishing house Simon & Schuster UK has announced that it is to cut the jobs of four of its staff and will reduce its adult publishing programme from 350 to 250 titles per year. The...

Kate Atkinson wins Scotland's top literary award.(Saltire Society's Book of the Year)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The winner of the Saltire Society's Book of the Year award was announced on Wednesday (30 November), with Kate Atkinson taking the top award. According to The Scotsman, Atkinson is the...

Children's author assaults former aide of Brazil's President - report.(Yves Hublet, Jose Direceu)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Yves Hublet, a 67-year-old author of children's books, allegedly struck a former aide of Brazil's President over the head with a stick on Tuesday (29 November). Hublet allegedly hit Jose...

iPod Garage columnist releases new e-book.(Stephan Fassmann, So You Wanna Learn How to Podcast: A Step-by-Step Guide to Podcasting)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Stephan Fassmann, a columnist for iPod Garage, has launched a new e-book entitled So You Wanna Learn How to Podcast: A Step-by-Step Guide to Podcasting. The e-book, which is aimed at the...

Gyldendalske Boghandel, Nordisk Forlag A/S upgrades full-year expectations.
December 2, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The Danish publishing house Gyldendalske Boghandel, Nordisk Forlag A/S said on Thursday (1 December) that it had adjusted upward its expectations for the full year. The company said that...

Amazon.com appoints Brian McBride as managing director for UK.(Brief Article)
December 2, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Online retailer and bookseller Amazon.com (Nasdaq:AMZN) announced on Thursday (1 December) the appointment of Brian McBride as managing director for Amazon.co.uk, effective January 2006. ...

Board changes announced at Foyles.(appoints Vivienne Wordley, John Browne )(Brief Article)
December 2, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD UK-based bookseller Foyles has announced that it is to make a number of changes to its board of directors. Following the departure of the company's chief executive Mike McGinley the...

Winner of the 2005 John Llewellyn Rhys prize announced.(Brief Article)
December 2, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The winner of the GBP5,000 John Llewellyn Rhys prize was announced on Thursday (1 December), with Jonathan Trigell taking the award for his debut novel Boy A. Trigell's novel tells the...

New Osama bin Laden book released by Verso Books.(Messages to the World: The Statements of Osama bin Laden)(Brief Article)
December 2, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD UK-based publisher Verso Books has published a new book entitled Messages to the World: The Statements of Osama bin Laden, which includes a selection of 24 interviews, videotaped statements...

Winner of the Bad Sex in Fiction award announced.(Giles Coren )(Brief Article)
December 2, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The winner of the 13th Literary Review Bad Sex in Fiction award was revealed on Thursday (1 December), with author Giles Coren taking the award for his novel Winkler. The award, which...

Further Borders stores to be opened by Berjaya Books.(Berjaya Books Sdn. Bhd.)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD A further eight to 10 Borders bookstores are to be opened by Berjaya Books Sdn Bhd in Johor Baru, Penang and Ipoh, Malaysia. According to the company, the new stores are scheduled to be...

Crime Writers Association announces new sponsor for crime fiction award.(Duncan Lawrie Private Bank)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The Crime Writers Association (CWA) has announced that Duncan Lawrie Private Bank is to be the new sponsor for its annual prize for crime fiction. The award, which is currently called...

Ottakar's takeover offer extended for the third time by HMV.(HMV Group Plc)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD UK-based retail group HMV Group Plc (LSE:HMV), which owns the chain of HMV music stores and the Waterstone's bookshops, has revealed that it has extended the offer period for its proposed...

Winner of the 2005 Cervantes Prize announced.(Sergio Pitol)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The winner of the 2005 Cervantes Prize was announced on Thursday (1 December), with Mexican author Sergio Pitol taking the top award. The award, worth USD105,000, has been made on an...

Latest Potter adaptation holds on to the top spot at US box office.(Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire)(Brief Article)
December 6, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD For the third week in a row the latest Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, is number one at the box office in the United States and Canada. The movie adaptation of...

Lady Mills dies aged 94.(Brief Article)(Obituary)
December 6, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Novelist and playwright Mary Hayley Bell, otherwise known as Lady Mills, the wife of actor Sir John Mills, died on Thursday (1 December) at the age of 94. Bell was perhaps best known for...

Austrian author Milo Dor dies aged 82.(Brief Article)(Obituary)
December 6, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Milo Dor, the Austrian novelist, died on Monday (5 December) at the age of 82. Dor passed away whilst in hospital in Vienna after previously suffering a heart attack earlier this year. ...

Lulu.com enables authors to publish their own hardcover books.(Brief Article)
December 6, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Self-publishing company Lulu has revealed that it can now enable authors to publish their own work in the form of a hardcover book. Utilising print-on-demand technology Lulu is now able...

Shares in Ottakar's fall after lapse of HMV bid.(Brief Article)
December 7, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The UK's Office of Fair Trading referred HMV's bid for bookseller Ottakar's to the Competition Commission on Tuesday (6 December), causing shares in the company to fall to GBP3.38. The...

Hospital admittance for Harold Pinter.(playwright)(Brief Article)
December 7, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Harold Pinter, a UK playwright and winner of the 2005 Nobel Prize for Literature, has been admitted to hospital in London with an undisclosed illness. The playwright has been battling...

Reverb offers novel for free download.(Brief Article)
December 7, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD UK-based fiction publisher Reverb have announced that it is to make CM Taylor's first novel, Light, available as a free PDF download. The launch of the new download has been scheduled to...

'Books on prescription' scheme launched in Poole, Dorset.(Brief Article)
December 7, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Under a new "books on prescription" scheme that has been launched in Poole, Dorset, UK, patients visiting their GP, counsellor or psychologist are being offered books instead of medication....

Potter adaptation is number one at UK box office.(Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire box office hit)(Brief Article)
December 8, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD For the third week in a row the latest Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, is number one at the UK box office. In second place at the box office was Jodie Foster's new...

Real Awareness now available as downloadable e-book.(by Helen McLean)(Brief Article)(E-book Review)
December 8, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD A new e-book entitled Real Awareness is now available as a downloadable e-book from http://www.realawareness.com. The book has been developed by Helen McLean, a UK-based Gestalt...

New publishing house launched in Edinburgh, Scotland.(Ampers and Press)(Brief Article)
December 8, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Ampers and Press, a new publishing firm formed by Lynn Michell, a writer and editor, was launched on Wednesday (7 December) in the Scottish capital of Edinburgh. The publishing house...

History of MI6 to be authored by Professor Keith Jeffery.(Brief Article)
December 8, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Professor Keith Jeffery, a Belfast-born academic from Queen's University, has been selected to write an official history of MI6. His book, which is to be published in 2009 to mark MI6's...

Finalists for The Story Prize announced.(Brief Article)
December 8, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The finalists for The Story Prize were announced on Wednesday (7 December), with US authors Jim Harrison, Maureen McHugh and Patrick O'Keeffe all making the final cut. The award...

Premiere of Disney's Narnia movie.(The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion The Witch movie world premiere)(Brief Article)
December 8, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The world premiere of the Disney version of CS Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe had its world premiere on Wednesday (7 December) at London's Royal Albert...

Bill Bryson named as winner of EU Descartes Prize for Science Communication.(Brief Article)
December 8, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Bill Bryson has been named as one of the winners of the EUR50,000 European Union Descartes Prize for Science Communication for his book A Short History of Nearly Everything. According to...

New female playmate for Pooh.(Walt Disney Company introduces new cartoon character)(Brief Article)
December 9, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The Walt Disney Company has revealed that it is to provide AA Milne's Winnie the Pooh with a new female companion. According to USA Today, Pooh's new friend is to replace Christopher...

Winner of Guardian First Book Award announced.(Alexander Masters wins Guardian First Book Award )(Brief Article)
December 9, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The winner of the Guardian First Book Award was announced on Thursday (8 December), with Alexander Masters taking the award for his biography Stuart: A Life Backwards. According to The...

Whitbread to end its book awards sponsorship.(Whitbread Book Awards)(Brief Article)
December 13, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Whitbread, a hotel and restaurant company, has announced its decision to stop sponsoring the annual Whitbread Book Awards, established in 1971, because it no longer sees the sponsorship as...

Twin Connections requests stories for new book.(Debbie LaChusa)(Brief Article)
December 13, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Debbie LaChusa, the creator of the Twin Connections website which focuses on the bond between twins, has asked for unique twin stories to be submitted for use in a forthcoming book. ...

Richard and Judy reveal Book Club 2006 titles.(Brief Article)
December 13, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The ten books to be featured by the 2006 Richard and Judy Book Club during the couple's UK television show on Channel 4 have been selected from more than 500 submissions from publishers. ...

Girl writes book to help other children cope with parents' divorce.(Libby Rees, Help, Hope and Happiness)(Brief Article)
December 14, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD A young girl in the UK has written a book for other children on how to cope when their parents separate. Libby Rees, who is now ten, was nine when she wrote the book. It has been...

Ottakar's reveals fall in sales.(Brief Article)
December 14, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD UK book retailer Ottakar's has revealed that its sales have been adversely affected by a price war in the period leading up to Christmas. The company referred to "unprecedented levels of...

Trial of Turkish novelist delayed.(Orhan Pamuk)(Brief Article)
December 16, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The high-profile trial of Turkish author Orhan Pamuk was suspended soon after it started on Friday (16 December). The novelist is facing charges of insulting Turkey's character following...

Penguin to bring A Christmas Carol to podcast.(Charles Dickens, Penguin Books Inc.)(Brief Article)
December 16, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD 'A Christmas Carol' by Charles Dickens is to be made available as a free podcast for MP3 players, read by actor Geoffrey Palmer, who appeared in British sitcoms such as Butterflies and Time...

Winner of the Nestle Children's Book Prize announced.(Sally Gardner)(Brief Article)
December 19, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The GBP2,500 21st Nestle Children's Book Prize has been won by Sally Gardner for her adventure story I Coriander. Gardner, who is dyslexic, and according to The Independent did not learn...

Borders announces expansion plans for Australia, New Zealand and Asia.
December 19, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Bookseller Borders has announced that it is to expand its presence in Australia, New Zealand and Asia. The company has appointed Tim Macmillan, a former executive of retailer Woolworths,...

Simon & Schuster announces new publisher at Pocket Books.(Julie Wright)(Brief Article)
December 19, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Publishing house Simon & Schuster has announced that it has appointed Julie Wright, the current books trading controller at WH Smith Travel and a WH Smith buyer and manager, to the newly...

Literary firm Chorion enters into an agreement with EMI.(EMI Group PLC)(Brief Article)
December 19, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD EMI, a record label, has announced that it has entered into a partnership with Chorion, a literary firm that holds the rights to work from authors such as Agatha Christie and Enid Blyton. ...

New Updike novel to deal with terrorism.(John Updike)(Brief Article)
December 19, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Terrorist, the new novel from author John Updike, is to deal with the controversial subject matter of a US-born terrorist. Updike is perhaps best known for his Pulitzer Prize winning...

Judging panel for the Orange Prize for Fiction announced.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The panel of judges for the 2006 Orange Prize for Fiction has been announced today (19 December) with Martha Kearney, political editor of BBC Two's Newsnight, chairing the panel. ...

Colombian Nobel Prize winning author participates in peace talks.(Gabriel Garcia Marquez)(Brief Article)
December 19, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the Colombian-born Nobel Prize winning author, has revealed that he has been participating in peace talks being held in Cuba between Colombia and one of the country's...

Facet publishes 'Digital Copyright' e-book.
December 20, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Facet Publishing, a publisher of books for the library and information profession, owned by CILIP (the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals), has published its first...

Survey reveals The Snowman as children's favourite Christmas story.(Raymond Briggs)(Brief Article)
December 20, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD A new survey conducted by NOP for UK book chain Waterstone's has found that Raymond Briggs' children's classic The Snowman is the top story for Christmas. According to the Independent,...

Hershey files lawsuit against Simon & Schuster over book's dust jacket.
December 20, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD A federal lawsuit has been actioned by confectionery manufacturer Hershey Co over a picture of a chocolate Hershey's Kiss on the cover of a new book about the company's founder by Michael...

Rodney William Whitaker dies aged 74.(Brief Article)(Biography)
December 20, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Author Rodney William Whitaker died in the UK on Wednesday 14 December of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at the age of 74. The writer is most well-known under the pseudonym...

Paul Torday's debut novel acquired by Weidenfeld & Nicholson.(Brief Article)
December 20, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Publisher Weidenfeld & Nicolson has announced that it has acquired the rights to Paul Torday's debut novel, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen. According to the publisher, the novel tells the...

UK Government to draw up new proposals to deter officials from publishing their memoirs.(Brief Article)
December 21, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The profits from books which have been authored by former political advisers and civil servants could be seized by the UK Government under new proposals that are being drawn up. ...

Famous Five take number 1 spot in YouGov poll.(Enid Blyton's children's book)(Brief Article)
December 21, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Enid Blyton's Famous Five series of books has been voted as the favourite children's book in a YouGov poll of 2,688 adults. The poll, which was commissioned to launch a drive by the...

Security guard who stole Potter books admits to threats.(JK Rowling's Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince stolen)(Brief Article)
December 21, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Aaron Lambert, a security guard at a UK-based book distribution centre in Corby, Northamptonshire, has reportedly admitted in court that he tried to blackmail a publisher and threaten a...

2005's top 10 out of print books revealed by Bookfinder.com.(Brief Article)
December 21, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD A list of the top ten most searched-for out of print books for 2005 has been published by online book search facilitator Bookfinder.com. According to Bookfinder.com's listings the most...

Victoria and Albert Museum to display Book of Hours.(Brief Article)
December 22, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD A 15th century book that was written for King Louis XII of France is to be placed on display in February at London's Victoria and Albert Museum. The Book of Hours was so called due to...

Schofield Publishing acquires SB Communications Group.
December 22, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Schofield Publishing, part of Schofield Media Group, has announced that it is to acquire SB Communications Group, a specialist healthcare publisher, in a bid to expand its existing...

Turkish publisher to face trial.(Abdullah Yildiz )(Brief Article)
December 22, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD A court case is being brought against Abdullah Yildiz of publisher Literatur in Turkey after the publication of a book that is allegedly insulting to the nation. Yildiz faces charges for...

Fines for Turkish writer and publisher.(Zulkuf Kisanak and Aziz Ozer )(Brief Article)
December 23, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Turkish writer Zulkuf Kisanak and publisher Aziz Ozer have been fined by a court in Istanbul, Turkey for insulting the Turkish state. Kisanak was fined TRY3,000 (USD2,200) for his...

Galleon Holdings acquires publishing rights to Skunk Fu!
December 23, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Galleon Holdings Plc has announced that it has acquired the English language publishing rights to Skunk Fu!, an animated television series for children, from Imagineire, a children's...

Wilkie Collins novel to be republished.(The Dead Alive )(Brief Article)
December 23, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Wilkie Collins' 1874 novel The Dead Alive is to be reissued at the request of Rob Warden, the executive director of the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University's law school....

UK teacher awarded GBP800,000 for debut novel in deal with Orion.(Diane Setterfield )(Brief Article)
December 28, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD A French teacher from Harrogate in Yorkshire, northern England, has been awarded a publishing deal valued at GBP800,000 by UK-based publishing house Orion after the completion of a...

JK Rowling talks of seventh and final Potter book.(Brief Article)
December 28, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD In a diary posting made on her official website JK Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter books, has revealed her feelings at the prospect of starting work on the seventh book in the Potter...

Science journal critical of CSIRO diet book.( Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation)(Brief Article)
December 28, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD A new diet book devised by government scientists in Australia, entitled the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet, has reportedly met with criticism from science journal Nature. The diet, which was...

Formula for book success may be flawed.(developed by Dr Alvai Winkler)(Brief Article)
December 29, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD A team of statisticians led by Dr Alvai Winkler, a former academic at Middlesex University, has developed a formula for Lulu.com, a self publishing website, to help the site's customers...

Allegations of falsified data force South Korean scientist's books off the shelves.(Hwang Woo-suk)(Brief Article)
December 29, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Books written by stem cell and cloning research scientist Hwang Woo-suk have been removed from the shelves by publishers in South Korea this Christmas after the scientist found himself at the...

Hershey settles lawsuit with Simon & Schuster over book's dust jacket.
December 29, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD A federal lawsuit has been settled by confectionery manufacturer Hershey Co over a picture of a chocolate Hershey's Kiss on the cover of a new book to be published by Simon & Schuster Inc...

Artemis Fowl to be translated into Irish.(Brief Article)
December 30, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The first Artemis Fowl book from Irish author Eoin Colfer is to be translated into Irish by Maire Nic Mhaolain, the translator responsible for the Irish versions of the Harry Potter books....

Author of CSIRO diet book hits back at critics.(Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation)(Brief Article)
December 30, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Manny Noakes, the co-author of the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet and CSIRO nutritionist Peter Clifton have hit back at the book's criticism in science journal Nature. The diet, which was...

Mark Shoemaker to head Book Services Division at GGS.(G G S Information Services)(Brief Article)
December 30, 2005... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD GGS Information Services, a provider of information services to the technical publication and book and magazine publishing markets, announced on Thursday (29 December) that is has named Mark...