BTW News Briefs

National Book Foundation Names 5 Under 35 Honorees

The National Book Foundation has announced this year’s picks for the 5 Under 35 program, honoring some of the best fiction writers under the age of 35. The winners, who are chosen by a National Book Award finalist or winner, receive an award of $1,000.

This year’s winners are:

• Molly Antopol, The UnAmericans (W.W. Norton), selected by  Jesmyn Ward, National Book Award Winner in 2011 for Salvage the Bones
• NoViolet Bulawayo, We Need New Names (Reagan Arthur Books/Little, Brown), selected by Junot Díaz, National Book Award Finalist in 2012 for This is How You Lose Her
• Amanda Coplin, The Orchardist (Harper), selected by Louise Erdrich, National Book Award Winner in 2012 for The Round House
• Daisy Hildyard, Hunters in the Snow (Jonathan Cape, Random House UK), selected by Kevin Powers, National Book Award Finalist in 2012 for The Yellow Birds
• Merritt Tierce, Love me Back (Doubleday), selected by Ben Fountain, National Book Award Finalist in 2012 for Billy Lynn'’s Long Halftime Walk

Man Booker Prize Shortlist Revealed

The shortlist for the 2013 Man Booker Prize, announced Tuesday, September 10, narrows the longlist from 13 titles to six. The titles on the shortlist are:

• We Need New Names, by NoViolet Bulawayo (Chatto & Windus)
• The Luminaries, by Eleanor Catton (Granta)
• The Harvest, by Jim Crace (Picador)
• The Lowland, by Jhumpa Lahiri (Bloomsbury)
• A Tale for the Time Being, by Ruth Ozeki (Canongate)
• The Testament of Mary, by Colm Tóibín (Penguin)

The winner of the Man Booker Prize will be announced on October 15.

Travelers Prefer Print Books, Not E-Books

Good E-Reader reported that 71 percent of surveyed travelers at Heathrow Airport said they prefer to bring print books on trips rather than e-readers. Of the 2,000 respondents, one in 10 people said they wanted to leave technology behind when traveling, and 67 percent said they prefer the feel of a print book in their hands.

Additionally, 67 percent said they get book recommendations from friends and family, followed by librarians and booksellers at 22 percent. Thirty-three percent found online generated recommendations to be “too stereotyped” and 15 percent called them “dull.”

BISG Announces Lifetime Achievement Award Winner

The Book Industry Study Group has named Wendell Lotz, vice president of metadata for Ingram Book Group, the winner of its first annual Lifetime Achievement Award for outstanding work in furthering BISG’s mission over the course of a career.

BISG has also announced the shortlist for its first annual industry awards that recognize outstanding contributions and achievements in the publishing industry and efforts that reflect and further its mission. The awards will be presented at the BISG Annual Membership Meeting on September 27, 2013, in New York City. Categories include Friend of the Industry, Industry Innovation Award, Most Valuable Committee Participant, and Disruptor Award. See the full shortlist here.

New Promotions Champion European Bookstores

Europe is seeing bookstore marketing promotions spread, Publishing Perspectives reported this week.

The U.K.’s “Books Are My Bag” promotion, which kicked off on Monday, calls attention to bricks-and-mortar stores through printed tote bags designed by M&C Saatchi that are being given away in bookstores across the country. A media campaign also features photos of celebrities holding the bag.

Germany’s “Vorsicht Buch!” campaign, developed by the German Publishers and Booksellers Association, aims to promote the importance of books. Germany has fixed prices on books, so the program targets non-readers and does not include online retailers or e-books. Participants in the program (including more than 1,600 booksellers, publishers, and wholesalers) have access to marketing materials and events and promotions to reward customers.

BUY LOCAL, also in Germany, uses a logo of an orange squirrel to relay how the animal stores its food in the ground, locally, which then grows into trees and is enjoyed by all.

Holland’s Stichting Collectieve Propaganda van het Nederlandse Boek raises awareness of books, supporting bookstores, publishers, and libraries, and runs up to 30 campaigns each year. For Book Week, held every March, a free book is given to customers spending €12.50 during the event, and print runs for the free title have recently topped 750,000.

Judge Finalizes Restrictions for Apple

After being found liable for involvement in fixing e-book prices earlier this year, Apple has learned its punishment from U.S. District Judge Denise Cote, the New York Times reported.

Apple will be monitored by an external compliance officer for two years to evaluate its adherence to antitrust training of its employees. It will also be limited as to how it can make agreements with publishers in the future, specifically that it cannot contract with any of the five publishers (Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin, and Simon & Schuster) in a way that “restricts, limits or impedes Apple’s ability to set, alter or reduce the retail price of any e-book,” nor can it discuss publisher contracts with other publishers.

The Justice Department had proposed stronger restrictions but the recommendations were rejected by Cote. Apple plans to appeal Cote’s July ruling that found the company liable for colluding to raise e-book prices.