Minoa Books, Beşiktaş Akaretler/Istanbul, Turkey, has won the London Book Fair International Excellence Award for Bookstore of the Year. The judges called Minoa Books "an exemplary bookstore, as well as a beautiful 'must-see' tourist attraction in Istanbul. The panel agreed that Minoa is 'a labour of love, serving their community through a team that is valued by both Minoa's owners and its customers.' The bookstore, located in the Akaretler district, was also praised for its event space, cafe, and used-book library."
Winners in the other three International Excellence Award categories are:
Audiobook Publisher: Macmillan Audio (U.S.). Judges were impressed with "the breadth of [Macmillan Audio's] publishing and their commitment to diversity and new voices and highlighted the U.S. company's casting workshops and dedication to building careers for audiobook narrators as particularly inspiring."
Inclusivity in Publishing: Bonnier Books (U.K.). Judges said that the company has "embedded inclusivity in their values and genuinely invested in making an impact across their organisation" and lauded Bonnier Books for "improving access to those from lower socio-economic backgrounds to the sector, their efforts to remove financial barriers for those starting out and to increasing equity in family policies."
Sustainability Initiative: Bloomsbury Publishing (U.K.). Judges praised the company's "holistic approach... which covers their operations and their influence within staff, suppliers and through the content they publish" as well as Bloomsbury's "solar-powered office and passionate staff who appear eager to embrace the changes needed to achieve net zero."
The winners will be celebrated along with Klaus Flugge, recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award, on April 19 during the London Book Fair.
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BookNet Canada has released The Canadian Book Market 2022, a guide to "understanding the Canadian book market, making business decisions, identifying trends, opportunities for growth, and more." In 2022, BookNet tracked sales for 855,076 unique ISBNs, which translated to almost 52 million physical books sold at a total value of C$1.1 billion (about US$822 million). Among the highlights in this year's edition:
Combined, the sales of juvenile and YA subjects accounted for the majority of the market share at 41%, followed by nonfiction (32%) and fiction (26%). In the French-Canadian market, juvenile & YA also had the biggest portion of sales throughout 2022, accounting for 43% of the trade market.
Colleen Hoover dominated book sales this year: It Ends with Us and It Starts with Us were the top-selling titles across all categories and formats. The top 10 paperback titles in the fiction category include six of her books, as do the five top selling paperback titles in the fiction/romance category.
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Germany is joining several other European countries, including France, Italy, and Spain, with the launch of its KulturPass in June. Booksellers "are hoping for an additional windfall during the summer thanks to KulturPass, an initiative by the government to support culture and the arts," the Bookseller reported.
Under the initiative, all German teenagers celebrating their 18th birthday this year will be able to claim a one-time cash gift of €200 (about $215) to be spent within a two-year period on books, music, theatre, and other cultural-related activities of their choice.
An estimated 750,000 young people will be eligible for the pass, which they can access through an app on their phones. The German government is providing €100 million (about $109 million) in funding. KulturPass aims to connect users with local venues and bookshops. Online platforms and streaming services such as Amazon and Netflix have been excluded. --Robert Gray