- This year's Booker prize shortlist breaks sales records. Given that most of these books probably would have sold well anyway, I'm not sure this is great news. What about all those — dare I say "literary" — novels that could have done with a push and some attention?
- Next week the ITV Crime Thriller Awards will be announced. Brighton-based author Peter James has agreed to buy fish'n'chips for any fans that show up on Brighton Pier if he wins as a way to celebrate. That sounds like a tasty deal to me!
- If you like lists and data, you'll love the Guardian's Book Power 100 list. (The interactive version is particularly fun.)
- Looking for review copies? Then sign up for GlocalPen. (I've not used it myself, so can't vouch for how it works, but there are rules listed on the website you might like to consider first.)
- Litfy, a new website offering free eBooks, has launched. It's currently in Beta form, but is free to register and the layout is lovely and clear. (I've had a play.) At the moment you can only read the books online but apps for iPhone, iPad and Android are planned so that you can read them offline, too. There are supposedly 10,000-plus books on the site, with an additional 5,000 to be added shortly.
- You've got the Kindle (or maybe you haven't). Now you need to turn it into a Fire. Amazon has launched a tablet PC called exactly that.
- Amazon has also launched a new imprint for foreign books in translation. It's called Amazon Crossing and is worth a browse, but note that many of the titles aren't yet available. (Via BookSexy.)
- Oh, and just in case you missed my Tweet on Sunday, Amazon (sorry, I seem to keep plugging them; it's not deliberate) is offering selected Hilary Mantel Kindle books for just £2.99 (that's a non-affiliated link, in case you were wondering). I highly recommend Eight Months on Ghazzah Street and her memoir Giving Up the Ghost.
