Amanda Hocking, who soldmore than one million copies of her self-published novels before turning to a traditional publisher, has sold another series to St. Martin’s Press…

Elizabeth Woodville’s sons where imprisoned in the Tower of London by their uncle Richard III. They were never seen again

When Edward died in 1483, Elizabeth’s world changed completely. Her twelve-year-old son was declared king Edward V, while his uncle Richard was appointed Protector. However, rumours surfaced that Elizabeth’s husband had made a previous betrothal which would have invalidated her marriage and made her children illegitimate. Richard took the throne and shut his nephew Edward and his younger brother in the Tower of London. They were never seen again and historians today still disagree about their fates.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Malaysian author Tan Twan Eng has won the Walter Scott Prize, which honors historical fiction writers, for his post-World War Two novel, “The Garden of Evening Mists.”

Tan, who was born in Penang, Malaysia, and lives in South Africa, accepted the prize on Friday at the Brewin Dolphin Borders Book Festival in Melrose, Scotland. It was presented by the Duke of Buccleuch, who established the award four years ago.

The duke is a distant descendant of the prize’s namesake, whose works include the 19th century historical novels “Waverly,” “Ivanhoe” and “Rob Roy.”

Tan is the first writer from outside the United Kingdom to win the award after new rules last year made books by authors from all Commonwealth nations eligible for the 25,000 pound ($33,364) prize.

Self-published titles make up 12% of all e-book sales, according to new findings from Bowker Market Research.

The popularity of self-published titles rises when looking at certain categories, with the self-published share of e-book volume sales more than 20% in areas such as crime, science fiction and fantasy, romance and humour.

The research is based on Bowker’s regular Books & Consumers survey, which holds monthly interviews with book buyers, questioning around 3,000 consumers each month. The findings were unveiled today (June 7th) at The Literary Consultancy Conference by Steve Bohme, UK research director at Bowker.

He said: “It’s one of the first times we have looked at self-publishing in this depth to find out what part it plays. It’s interesting to have this data, as it allows self-published writers to understand more about the market they are operating in.”

Read more.

Checking Out Romance: Focus on Romance 2013

Encouraged by reader demand, libraries stock up on romance novels

By Julie Naughton | 

Jun 03, 2013

It’s a love match between librarians and romance publishers. “Romance novels do better here than any other genre,” says Anna Mickelsen of the Springfield City Library in Springfield, Mass. “Romance makes up 35% of our more-than-5,000-item collection but accounts for over 43% of the circulation. On average, romance paperbacks circulate more than eight times, while items in other genres circulate fewer than six. The cost of romance novels is generally less than [the cost of novels from] many of the other genres, and with high circulations this results in a better return overall on the library’s investment.”

Publishers are just as smitten, recognizing how valuable librarians are in helping romance readers find the books they want. “Romance novels have always been extremely popular in the library market,” says Cindy Hwang, vice president and executive editor of Berkley. “Romance readers are some of the most voracious and—especially in tough economic times—the library allows those readers to enjoy as many books as they would like to read.”