Blown Away: The Perfect Picture Book for A Blustery Spring Day

Rob Biddulph has won the 2015 Waterstones Children’s Book Prize with his debut picture book Blown Away. The book, which also won the best illustrated book category, is only the second picture book to take home the £5000 Waterstones prize. 

It's the perfect book for spring, featuring a windy day, a brand-new kite and an unexpected flight that leads a penguin off on an adventure! Check out this fun short video that introduces some of the new friends this fearless penguin meets along the way!

Jeff Kinney is starting his own bookstore!

Jeff Kinney, #1 New York Times best-selling author of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, is opening up an independent bookstore in Massachusetts!

Why? Here's what he has to say: "Bookstores have always been such a big part of my life and my wife’s life, and we wanted to do something about it. We wanted to provide our kids and our community with a place where they could be exposed to new ideas, cultural events, and other people who love to read. This is not a vanity project. I think a lot of people are expecting me to create a Wimpy world, but we don’t want that. That wouldn’t serve the community very well. The reason that we wanted to create a bookstore in our town of Plainville is because, quite frankly, I feel angry that so many bookstores have gone away."

Read the full story over on The Telegraph!

Adult colouring books by Johanna Basford selling like hotcakes!

British illustrator Johanna Basford's whimsical adult colouring books, Secret Garden and Enchanted Forest, have sold over one million copies worldwide! ONE. MILLION. COPIES. These colouring books have been so successful that they've been translated in 14 languages all across the world. Check out the full story over at The Daily Mail.

The Guardian reviews The Sculptor by Scott McCloud

Rachel Cooke from The Guardian has just posted a rave review for Scott McCloud's graphic novel The Sculptor, which she describes as "philosophical inquiry meets hipster cool" and "utterly gripping." 
She also recommends The Sculptor to anyone who is a fan of David Mitchell's work!

Alan Kitching and Monotype

A very cool short film that goes behind-the-scenes at letterpress typographer and designer Alan Kitching's studio! His book Alan Kitching's A-Z of Letterpress comes out in April.


Alan Kitching and Monotype from Monotype on Vimeo.

The Improbable

The Improbable is a cool new collection of monthly reviews written by booksellers for booksellers. Some of the reviews come from indies such as 192 Books and Printed Matter in New York City, Green Apple Books in San Francisco, Seminary Co-op Bookstores in Chicago and Skylight Books in Los Angeles. To sign up for the monthly reviews go here. Enjoy!

Literary Hub - One Stop Spot for Book Lovers

Grove Atlantic will collaborate with a digital publisher for a new literary website similar to HuffPost but for book lovers.  One of the contributing editors will be Roxane Gay!  The site is scheduled to go live April 8 and it is called Literary Hub.  It will focus on literary fiction and nonfiction.  It will highlight personal essays, book excerpts and author interviews.
http://lithub.com