AbeBooks' Reading Copy

After mobile telecommunications brand Orange announced over the summer that it would no longer be sponsoring the fiction prize they have supported for 17 years, the future of the prize looked questionable. With sponsorship budgets already dedicated elsewhere, organizers were unable to secure a stable funding option in time for the 2013 prize, so happily, [...]

Chinese writer Mo Yan has won the 2012 Nobel Prize for Literature, reports the BBC.  Born Guan Moye, he writes under the pen name of Mo Yan, which translates as “don’t speak” in Chinese. The 57-year-old began writing while working as a soldier in the Chinese army and was first published in 1981. He is [...]

The shortlist has been announced for this year’s Man Booker Prize. The judges went from a list of 145 novels down to just 12 titles for the longlist, down to these six finalists. Narcopolis by Jeet Thayil Swimming Home by Deborah Levy Bring up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel The Lighthouse by Alison Moore Umbrella [...]

The longlist has been announced for this year’s Man Booker Prize. The judges managed to whittle a list of 145 novels down to just 12 titles for the longlist (a task I find simultaneously enviable and overwhelming to contemplate). There was much triumph of new and fresh this year, with four debut novelists making the [...]

Anna Funder’s debut novel All That I Am is the 2012 winner of the Miles Franklin Award. Presented annually since 1957, it is Australia’s most coveted literary prize, recognising excellence in big names and fresh faces alike. And to those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s an excellent starting point to delve into a [...]

It’s the first time ever that the same book has been awarded both the Carnegie Medal (for excellence in writing for children) and the Kate Greenaway Medal (for excellence in illustration for children). Each prize is conferred upon the winner by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) and consists of a gold [...]

Congratulations to Samuel Jang of Victoria, BC, who was the first place winner in the 2011-2012 National Book Collecting Contest for Young Canadians Under 30, of which AbeBooks was a proud sponsor. The requirements for the contest were simple – be Canadian, be under 30, and write an essay about your book collection – what [...]

The Nebula Awards have been recognizing and rewarding greatness in science fiction writing since 1965. Nebulas are handed out by the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America and their annual event celebrates the books of the previous year. The 2011 winners have just been announced: Novel Winner: Among Others by Jo Walton Novella Winner: [...]

The BC Book Prizes were handed out in Vancouver on Saturday evening. Victoria’s Esi Edugyan, who has probably built an extension to house all her trophies, won the fiction prize for Half-Blood Blues – a novel about jazz musicians in Germany. She had already won the Giller Prize, been shortlisted for the Booker Prize and [...]

The shortlisted nominees for the 2012 Orange Prize have been announced.