Random House chairman and chief executive Gail Rebuck presented Freedom From Torture, the company’s staff-nominated charity of the year, with a cheque for £24,500 this week.Development manager Christine Harris and volunteer therapist Anne Elton from Freedom From Torture joined Gail and Random House staff at Vauxhall Bridge Road to celebrate the fundraising total, which was achieved thr...

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Chris Wormell's beautifully illustrated Scruffy Bear and the Six White Mice has won the category for Younger Children at The Red House Children's Book Awards 2012.A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness won the award for the older category as well as the overall Red House Children's Book Awards 2012 while Liz Pichon's The Brilliant World of Tom Gates clinched the Younger Readers' category.Chris Wormell and shortlisted RHCB author & illustrator Kali Stileman (Peely Wally) attended the ceremony and took part in a Q&A panel discussion on stage. Both shared their inspirations behind their work, their favourite books and how they felt to be shortlisted for the award. Chris Wormell even acted out ...

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Anthony Quinn's acclaimed novel Half of the Human Race (Cape/Vintage) is among the five titles selected for the shortlist of the Cricket Society and MCC Book of the Year Award 2012. The novel was selected from a longlist of 24 titles and is the only fiction title on the shortlist - Joseph O'Neill's Netherland was previously shortlisted for the award. The competition, run by The Cricket Society since 1970 and in partnership with MCC since 2009, is for books nominated by MCC and Cricket Society members and not publishers and is highly regarded by writers and publishers .  The winner, to be announced at an awards evening in the Long Room at Lord's on Monday 16 Apri...

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Robin Etherington, one half of the dynamic duo, The Etherington Brothers has just returned from a trip to Rwanda where he went to spread the joy of storytelling and comic books. He visited school children in Remera Catholique 2, a large primary school in the Remera district. The trip had been organised by Kate Haines and Stephen Mugisha, the founder and president of the Rwanda Book Development Ini...

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Harvill Secker author Joseph O'Connor has been awarded the Irish PEN  for literature 2012. The highly prestigious prize was given at a gala reception in Dublin. PEN honours outstanding achievements in literature and shines a light on the plight of persecuted writers across the world. Joseph's most recent novel is Ghost Light, described by Colm Toibin in the Telegraph as 'displaying an astonishing command of voice, using tones that are both tender and powerfully emotional.'

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The Crime Writers Association has announced that Frederick Forsyth is the winner of this year's prestigious Diamond Dagger award.Chair of the CWA Peter James said, "Frederick Forsyth is a hugely deserving recipient and The Day of Jackal remains one of the greatest thrillers of our times.  He has set a new standard of research-based authenticity with his writing, which has had a major influenc...

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Transworld's Alison Barrow and Ben Willis, and Ebury's Ed Griffiths all celebrated wins at last night's Publishers Publicity Circle (PPC) Awards.  The PPC award publicists who they believe are responsible for the industry's best PR campaigns of 2011.Alison and Ben's campaign for S J Watson's thrilling debut Before I Go to Sleep won the Hardback Fiction Award, whi...

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Celebrated North Yorkshire born Transworld author Kate Atkinson is delighted at becoming an MBE for producing a series of best-selling and critically acclaimed books. The award-winning novelist from York said the honour was a boost for the arts and a personal tribute to her efforts over more than 15 years as a published writer.Speaking after the receiving the honour from the Prince of Wales at Buc...

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Today saw the announcement of Katie Fforde’s first direct to digital fiction title, The Undercover Cook (available from 2nd February 2012).  The short story which is only available as an ebook, features exclusive extra content including the first chance to read the opening chapter of Fforde’s new book, Recipe For Love, due to be published in hardback 1st  March 2012 (ISBN: 9781846056529).Katie’s next book carries all the core values we’ve long associated with her novels: heart, warmth, romance and the most tangible feel-good factor.  Recipe For Love is set around a TV cookery competition so we’re publishing a digital short which also has cooking a...

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Bastien Vivès' Polina (to be published by Cape in June 2013) was awarded l'Association des critiques de Bandes Dessinées. Polina recounts the joys and torments of a young Russian ballerina in the world of classical and contemporary ballet.  A Taste of Chlorine was published to much critical acclaim in the UK. The Observer described it as 'extraordinarily beautiful' and the Independent wrote 'Every once in a while, a graphic novel comes along that warrants the kind of attention more typically bestowed upon the likes of the Booker shortlist. Bastien Vivès's A Taste of Chlorine is one such book.'Guy Delisle's Jerusalem (to be published by Cape in August 2012)...

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