10 BOOK MARKS

PARENTS’ NIGHTMARE

Publisher Paitkus has bought the rights to two thrillers from debut novelist Samantha King. The first, The Choice, tackles a nightmare scenario – what if you had to choose between your children?

MILLION SELLER

The Harry Potter And The Cursed Child Official Script Book has now sold 1,016,275 copies since July 31.

CRIME PAYS

Crime author Val McDermid (see our interview on page 12) is worth more than £2.6 million. McDermid has sold 11 million books worldwide.

PRESIDENT’S CHOICE

President Obama’s summer reading list includes Paula Hawkins’ The Girl On The Train and H Is For Hawk by Helen Macdonald.

WAR EFFORT

Ebury Fiction has bought a trilogy by Australian author Deborah Burrows. The first, Ambulance Girls, follows a group of female drivers brought together in the Second World War.

AMAZON

Amazon is to build a third warehouse in Doncaster. The move will create 500 new jobs, bringing its overall number of Doncaster employees to 1,000.

WORLD TOUR

Author of Diary Of A Wimpy Kid, Jeff Kinney, is to embark on a global tour to promote the release of book 11 in the series, Double Down. The tour, which kicks off on November 1, will include more than 20 stops on three continents.

BADDIEL’S BOOST

Harper Collins Children’s Books has revealed it will publish David Baddiel until 2019. The first book under the new deal, Ani-Malcolm, will be out in print, e-book and audio book (read by Baddiel) on September 29.

BOOKSHOP DAY

The Booksellers Association is holding the first Bookshop Day on October 8.

BOOK BENCHES

Book Benches – designed to encourage literacy – are back! 175 painted benches, shaped as open books, are on display in Birmingham.