Reading for pleasure

Writers and critics are raising questions over the role that agents and estates play in managing archives and limiting access to biographical material.

Fresh worries have been fuelled by the continuing fiasco over the publication of Philip Roth: The Biography, with accusations that access to the famed US author's archival material is being unfairly constrained.

Unlike regular book sales or library borrowing, authors do not receive a penny from the sale of secondhand editions of their works - but a new scheme dreamed up by used booksellers is set to change this for the first time.

Publishers WeeklyInternational news website of book publishing and bookselling including business news, reviews, bestseller lists, commentaries http://www.publishersweekly.com/'s inaugural U.S. Book Show kicked off this morning with a presentation by the publishing industry's biggest booster: Oprah Winfrey. In her keynote, Winfrey's tone was classic Oprah-and pitch-perfect for this year's virtual gathering of the book world.

In April, Kate Claxton was revealed as the winner of the children's category of the 2021 Selfies Awards. Her picture book, the joyous My Mum's a Tiger, is illustrated by Angela Mayers. We asked her about her inspiration, her writing process and why she decided to self-publish.

Eric Carle, the US author of best-selling children's book The Very Hungry Caterpillar, has died aged 91.

He died last Sunday, his family said.

"In the light of the moon, holding on to a good star, a painter of rainbows is now travelling across the night sky," a family statement said.  Read more