Thursday 5 November 2026. 13 stories from across the book trade, about 4 minutes to read. Every link is free to read.
The short version
Events: Edmund Richardson’s Alexander: God, King, Man wins the £50,000 Baillie Gifford prize
Market Developments: French fantasy publisher Rivka is closing after seven years
Deals & Acquisitions: Lerner Publisher Services will distribute UK children’s publisher Child’s Play in North America
People News: Janosch, creator of The Trip to Panama and Tiger and Bear, dies at 95
Industry Buzz: Oxford University Press tests putting its books and journals inside ChatGPT Edu
The lead
Edmund Richardson’s Alexander: God, King, Man wins the £50,000 Baillie Gifford prize
It is the first ancient history book to win the nonfiction award since it began in 1999, beating a shortlist that included Patrick Radden Keefe’s London Falling. Chair of judges Kirsty Lang called it ’blockbuster history’. Richardson, a Durham classics professor, spent more than a decade on the research and translated sources from 12 ancient languages himself, reports Emma Loffhagen for The Guardian.
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Market Developments
French fantasy publisher Rivka is closing after seven years
The independent house, a 2022 Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire winner, blames weakened bookshops, changing buying habits and the ever shorter shelf life of books. Its catalogue stays on sale until 31 December 2026 while stocks last, reports Hocine Bouhadjera for ActuaLitté.
Read at ActuaLitté (France)
French book festivals now work year-round, a ministry study finds, as inflation bites
The culture ministry survey of 230 festivals and fairs, presented at La Sofia’s États généraux, found 92% run activities beyond their main event and 70% work all year, led by school visits. Funding is rising but inflation is eroding it, reports Nicolas Gary for ActuaLitté.
Read at ActuaLitté (France)
Books-A-Million opens another 2nd & Charles store in Texas
The used and new books chain will open a 27,400-square-foot shop in Humble in early December, adding to Beaumont, Lubbock and Conroe, with Plano opening on 10 December, reports Shelf Awareness.
Deals & Acquisitions
Lerner Publisher Services will distribute UK children’s publisher Child’s Play in North America
Lerner takes on the full Child’s Play backlist from 1 January and its frontlist from 1 August. Founded in 1972, Child’s Play publishes inclusive books for children from birth to nine, reports Shelf Awareness.
People News
Janosch, creator of The Trip to Panama and Tiger and Bear, dies at 95
The German author and illustrator Horst Eckert created more than 150 books, translated into over 30 languages. His best-selling Oh, wie schön ist Panama paid for his move to Tenerife in 1980, where he died peacefully, his publisher Bernhard Feil announced, reports Gaby Reucher for DW.
Yannick Haenel wins the Prix Femina a day after missing out on the Goncourt
Haenel won on the second ballot for La solitude des professeurs est infinie (Gallimard), about a 22-year-old teacher starting out in a suburban Paris school. Gallimard took two of the three Femina awards and Le Seuil one, reports Hocine Bouhadjera for ActuaLitté.
Read at ActuaLitté (France)
Former Paris book festival director Jean-Baptiste Passé takes over Dargaud
Passé, who ran Éditions Michelin, succeeds Stéphane Aznar at the comics house. Média-Participations moves Aznar to Éditions Anne Carrière and asks him to build a new group division for mainstream fiction and nonfiction, reports Hocine Bouhadjera for ActuaLitté.
Read at ActuaLitté (France)
Events
China Miéville wins the Goldsmiths Prize for his 1,200-page novel The Rouse
The £10,000 prize rewards fiction that ’breaks the mould’. Jury chair Francis Spufford said The Rouse was the shortlisted book that ’broke most explosively with expectation’ in ambition, use of history, linguistic experiment and scale. It beat books by Polly Barton, Doireann Ní Ghríofa, Keith Ridgway, Aea Varfis-van Warmelo and Missouri Williams, reports Drew Broussard for Literary Hub.
Read at Literary Hub (US)
Industry Buzz
Oxford University Press tests putting its books and journals inside ChatGPT Edu
A three-month pilot at Harvard Library, Wharton and the University of Oxford lets users get ChatGPT answers drawn from OUP content their institution already licenses, with citations and links to Oxford Academic. OUP built its own MCP server with Silverchair and wants to learn whether known-publisher citations drive click-throughs, reports Ed Nawotka for Publishers Weekly.
France’s culture minister orders a full review of support for struggling bookshops
Days after Decitre closed its last shops, Catherine Pégard told the Senate culture committee that work is under way on the aid available. Senator Laure Darcos noted the CNL got an extra €1.5 million for bookshops against the €10 million its president wanted, and asked why €5 million at IFCIC has never been spent, reports Antoine Oury for ActuaLitté.
Read at ActuaLitté (France)
US libraries won big at the polls, passing 41 ballot measures
According to the political action committee EveryLibrary, voters backed library levies, millages and parcel taxes in states including Michigan and Ohio and in Austin. More than 90% of library funding is set by state houses or city councils, reports Brittany Allen for Literary Hub.
Read at Literary Hub (US)
The American Booksellers Association publishes its AI policy and guiding principles
The ABA says it wants to sell books by humans and backs strong copyright, but supports each store’s choice on whether to use AI and admits it uses AI itself. It also released 10 guiding principles, advocacy priorities and policy templates for members, reports Bookselling This Week.