Frank Cottrell Boyce was named the Guardian Award winner for his book The Unforgotten Coat, which he originally wrote for charity. He was commissioned to write the story (of a Mongolian schoolgirl whose family was taken forcibly from their home by immigration authorities), by the Reader Organisation, which gave away 50,000 copies of the book. The Guardian Award which is in its 45th year, is given for a book for children’s fiction in Great Britain, and is judged by other writers. For more information see: http://www.guardian.co.uk/childrens-books-site/2012/oct/24/guardian-childrens-fiction-prize-winner?CMP=email .
Random House and Penguin publishers are negotiating a merger. Pearson, the British media company that owns Penguin, said it was discussing a potential deal with Random’s owner, Bertelsmann of Germany. If the merger goes through, the new combined company would control nearly 25 percent of the United States book market. For more, go to: http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/25/pearson-and-bertelsmann-in-talks-about-combining-random-house-and-penguin/?emc=eta1 .
Newbery-winning author Lois Lowry has a new interview with Entertainment Weekly magazine, focusing on her new book Son. The fourth and final book in series that began with The Giver, Lowry’s interview touches on several pop culture topics: http://shelf-life.ew.com/2012/10/02/giver-sequel-lois-lowry/ .
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