Saturday Summary #3

A hopefully wholesome Saturday Summary for you today as - by the time you read this - we'll be somewhere on the Ceredigion coast seeking stories and bookish respite. Mixed news on Monday. The fallout from Independent Bookshop Week was thankfully positive indeed. Meryl Halls of the Booksellers Association said the event was now what was "always envisioned", this years was the biggest yet, and a "wonderful spectacle" was produced.

This came alongside news from the Read On. Get On coalition that 40% of boys on free school meals lacked language skills when compared to those better off (by the age of five). For girls the figure is 27%.

Chris Riddell, Children's Laureate shared this post on his Facebook page this week. It may or may not be related to the Read On. Get On report, but any parent reading to any child is, in our opinion, awesome.

Tuesday, the news that Dr. Henry Marsh picked up the PEN Ackerley Prize found us very happy indeed. It's a top title.

Apple, it seems, lost its appeal to challenge the claim that it fixed prices of ebooks, and Amazon - the company Apple's ebook approach no doubt targets - launched one day deliveries for those in certain parts of London. The service will reach other cities at later dates, but only for Prime members.

Annnd finally, the author of The Tree Climber's Guide to London has agreed a deal with Harper Colling's non-fiction department. The deal will see the tantalising title out in Spring next year. But, more importantly, author Jack Cooke wants to arrange a business meeting with our Kevin Pocock mid-canopy.

Exciting times!