Fifty Shades boosts UK book sales

Fifty Shades boosts UK book sales

1 May 2013 Last updated at 08:55

The Fifty Shades trilogy took the top three spots in the 2012 best-sellers chart

British publishers have reported record sales for 2012, despite the recession and the rise of e-readers.

Total spending on printed and digital books rose 4% to £3.3bn last year, the Publishers Association said.

Digital spending rose by 66% to £411m. But it does not appear to have led to a marked decline for print, with physical book sales down by just 1% at £2.9bn.

EL James's Fifty Shades trilogy were the best-selling titles in 2012, with combined sales of 10.5 million.

The series took the top three spots in the 2012 best-sellers chart, according to figures released by sales tracker Nielsen at the end of the year.

The rise of such e-readers as Amazon's Kindle has sparked a surge in digital sales in recent years. But fears they would kill off physical books have so far proved exaggerated.

Publishers Association chief executive Richard Mollet said the figures proved that publishers had reacted quickly to the changes in the industry and the move towards e-readers.

He said British publishing was "a healthy industry which continues to grow".

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"What publishers were very quick to do [was] to make works available," he told the BBC.

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BBC News joined the Camden Girls Book Group to get their take on Fifty Shades of Grey

"That's the key to succeeding in the digital world - having them capable of being read on any device on any platform.

"That's what readers said they wanted and that's what publishers have been able to provide. It's now the case that a quarter of all fiction is read on e-readers."

Mollet said the Publishers Association was working closely with high street booksellers and would soon launch a scheme to help them overcome challenges in the physical books market.

"At the moment we are concerned that independent book shops are finding it tough. Everybody wants there to be a range of ways of getting books, online and on the high street."

Philip Jones, editor of industry magazine The Bookseller, said shops such as Waterstones were seeing a "rebound" in sales of physical books, thanks to children's and non-fiction areas and the "growing" market of books such as Fifty Shades of Grey.

The 'death' of the physical book was a long way off, he continued, pointing out that physical book sales still made up around 80% of the overall market.

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"Digital is overtaking it in some areas but not all areas, so I think the physical book is going to be with us for a long time," he told the BBC.

"The premium physical book, the £20 hardback... attracts a certain type of person who wants to keep that book on their shelves."

Fifty Shades boosts UK book sales
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Street star Roache in rape arrest

Street star Roache in rape arrest

1 May 2013 Last updated at 11:57

William Roache has played Coronation Street's Ken Barlow since 1960

Coronation Street star William Roache has been arrested on suspicion of the rape of an under-age girl in the 1960s.

An 81-year-old man, from Wilmslow, Cheshire, is being questioned at a Lancashire Police station, the force confirmed.

The offences are alleged to have been committed in Haslingden between April and July 1967, officers said.

Neither Mr Roache, who has played Ken Barlow in the soap since 1960, nor his representatives have commented.

A Coronation Street spokesman said: "Given that a police investigation is under way it would not be appropriate to comment."

A spokesman for Lancashire Police said: "An 81-year-old man from Wilmslow in Cheshire has this morning, Wednesday May 1 2013, been arrested by Lancashire Constabulary on suspicion of rape.

"The man will be interviewed at a police station in Lancashire during the course of the day."

Mr Roache has an award from Guinness World Records for being the world's longest-serving soap actor, having played Ken Barlow since Coronation Street's first episode.

Street star Roache in rape arrest
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Film star Deanna Durbin dies at 91

Film star Deanna Durbin dies at 91

1 May 2013 Last updated at 10:02

Deanna Durbin was awarded with a Juvenile Academy Award at the age of 18

Deanna Durbin, one of Hollywood's biggest box-office stars in the 1930s and early '40s, has died aged 91.

Her son, Peter H David, made the announcement in a newsletter to her fans, saying she died "a few days ago".

In 1947 she was the highest-paid star in the United States. But she retired from the business the following year when she was just 27.

Durbin made her film debut in the 1936 MGM short Every Sunday, in which she appeared alongside Judy Garland.

Born Edna Mae Durbin in Winnipeg, Canada in 1921, Durbin was nurtured and promoted by producer Joe Pasternak.

Her first movie for the Universal studios, Three Smart Girls, was nominated for the best picture Oscar in 1937.

Durbin starred in the Oscar-nominated Mad About Music which opened in 1938

Durbin auditioned for the part of Snow White in 1936. But Walt Disney turned her down, saying her 15-year-old voice was too mature for the part.

In 1939, Durbin and fellow teen star Mickey Rooney were presented with Juvenile Academy Awards for their "significant contribution in bringing to the screen the spirit and personification of youth."

The success of her films, which reportedly saved Universal from bankruptcy in the late 1930s, was estimated to account for 17% of the studio's revenue during the decade.

In 1946 Durbin's salary of $323,477 made her the second highest-paid woman in America, just behind Bette Davis.

Winston Churchill watched her films before they were released to the general public in the UK, while Anne Frank hung a picture of Durbin on the wall of the attic in which she and her family hid from the Nazis.

In 1949, after 21 films and at the height of her worldwide fame, Durbin quit the movie business and retired to a village in France.

She shunned the spotlight with her third husband, the film director Charles David, who died in 1999.

Durbin rarely gave interviews but did send reporters a letter in 1958 in which she said she was "never happy making pictures".

"The character I was forced into had little or nothing in common with myself - or with other youth of my generation, for that matter."

Film star Deanna Durbin dies at 91
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Star Trek 2 gets beaming reviews

Star Trek 2 gets beaming reviews

1 May 2013 Last updated at 12:03

The film is JJ Abrams' second take in the sci-fi series

Sci-fi blockbuster Star Trek Into Darkness has received beaming reviews from the UK press ahead of its opening next week.

The film, featuring Chris Pine as Kirk and Zachary Quinto as Spock, has its UK premiere on Thursday in London's Leicester Square.

British actor Benedict Cumberbatch stars as "one man weapon of mass destruction" villain John Harrison.

The sequel to director JJ Abrams' 2009 franchise reboot will be released across the country on 9 May.

The Guardian - Andrew Pulver

Director JJ Abrams has followed up his sensational 2009 Star Trek reboot with a sparkling 3D sequel.

Abrams also maintains the glistening visuals of his earlier film; Into Darkness is slathered in so much lens flare it looks like a Kylie Minogue video. And the flashes of crackling, knowing comedy have been retained, punctuating the shuddering fight scenes and chase sequences that are the very currency of the action blockbuster.

People are unlikely to charge out of the cinema with quite the same level of glee as they did in 2009; but this is certainly an astute, exhilarating concoction.

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Time Out

The revived Star Trek films are shaping up to be the opposite of Christopher Nolan's Batman tales in that they're light on bleakness and attitude. There are enough gags (Simon Pegg is fun again as Scotty) and wit (the tension between Kirk and Spock is winning) between darker bouts of space fighting and ship-saving to keep the mood airy and unpretentious.

It's compulsory for blockbuster villains to be British of course, and Cumberbatch runs with an imperial theatrical haughtiness rather than trying to bury it.

His bad guy is distinctly human, if a little two-dimensional, and he succeeds in showing real ice running through his veins and bringing some weight to a cast that generally offers more geniality than gravitas.

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Empire Magazine

Cumberbatch's Harrison may be dressed for a GQ cover but he is, in essence, a one-man army.

It is a testament to the power of his performance that, although his early appearances are greeted with the most over-the-top Evil Musical Motifs imaginable, he manages to make Harrison ambiguous and chilling throughout.

If this is Abrams' final frontier, he has left Star Trek in a good place, both in the fictional universe and as a franchise. In some sense, the title is misleading. Into Darkness is a blast, fun, funny, spectacular and exhilarating. The rule of great even-numbered Trek movies continues.

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Total Film - Matthew Leyland

Mostly, this is fantastic fun: a two-hours-plus blockbuster that doesn't bog down in exposition or sag in the middle. There are reversals and rug-pulls galore, most of them executed with whiplash skill. Trouble is, at a certain point peril-fatigue starts to creep in, putting the story (like the overtaxed Enterprise) at the risk of burning out.

What's more, this wild, plot-driven ride has a tendency to leave character moments on the back seat. Often, minor figures first time out remain minor figures, some of them left out in the rain until the narrative calls for them to make a reappearance.

But man of the match is, of course, Abrams. His aim with Into Darkness was to mint a standalone adventure, one that welcomed total Trek neophytes at the door. Mission accomplished - there's buried treasure here for long-term fans, but this is a franchise flick that demands fanboy foreknowledge far less than it does slack jaws and high stamina.

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Star Trek 2 gets beaming reviews
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Manics follow Lions rugby tour to Oz

Manics follow Lions rugby tour to Oz

1 May 2013 Last updated at 07:36

The Manics recorded a track called Australia in 1996 used in tourism ad campaigns

Welsh band Manic Street Preachers have announced gigs in Australia so they can follow this summer's 2013 British and Irish Lions tour.

Their announcement follows news that 15 Wales players will be among the 37-man squad for the 10-match tour.

The "massive rugby fans" describe the prospect of watching the team take on Australia as an "once in a lifetime opportunity".

The band's song Australia was used in tourist board ad campaigns.

The group said: "As massive rugby fans the chance to visit one of our favourite countries - play some gigs and watch the British and Irish Lions play Australia is an amazing once in a lifetime opportunity.

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Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

We can't wait to play a selection of our greatest hits to our Australian fans and the thousands of Lions fans travelling Down Under”

End Quote Statement from the Manics

"We can't wait to play a selection of our greatest hits to our Australian fans and the thousands of Lions fans travelling Down Under."

The Manic Street Preachers travel to Australia in late June to play shows in Melbourne and Sydney to coincide with matches against the Wallabies.

They will also travel to Auckland, New Zealand, during a break between games.

In September the band are due to play Festival No 6 at the village of Portmeirion in Gwynedd.

It attracted 6,500 people when held for the first time last year.

Manics follow Lions rugby tour to Oz
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Kinky and Matilda lead Tony field

Kinky and Matilda lead Tony field

30 April 2013 Last updated at 15:19

Billy Porter (left) and Bertie Carvel (far right) are both nominated, for their work in Kinky Boots and Matilda respectively

Musical adaptations of 2005 British film Kinky Boots and Roald Dahl's children's book Matilda lead the nominations at the 2013 Tony awards.

Kinky Boots, about a shoe factory that finds a new outlet making fetish footwear, has received 13 nods, including one for Cyndi Lauper's original score.

Tim Minchin is also nominated, for his Matilda score - one of 12 nominations for the RSC production.

The Tonys will be presented on 9 June.

Tom Hanks receives his first Tony nomination, for his Broadway debut, in Nora Ephron's play Lucky Guy.

Hanks, who starred in Ephron's films Sleepless in Seattle and You've Got Mail, received praise for his performance when it opened last month.

Ephron receives a posthumous best new play nomination for Lucky Guy, which she was writing when she died last year aged 71.

British actor Tom Sturridge, recognised for his role in the revival of Lyle Kessler's 1983 play Orphans, is up against Hanks for the best actor award.

Kinky Boots stars Billy Porter, who plays drag queen Lola, and Stark Sands, who portrays factory manager Charlie Price, are up against each other in the leading actor in a musical category.

The production is also nominated in the musical director, scenic design, costume design and choreography categories.

Kinky Boots's haul did not match the record number of nominations for a musical - 15 - set by The Producers in 2001 and equalled by Billy Elliot in 2009.

Matilda the Musical, which received rave reviews from US critics when it opened in April, also sees a best musical actor nomination for Bertie Carvel.

Tom Hanks is nominated for his work in Lucky Guy, as is co-star Courtney B Vance

The British star previously won an Olivier for playing tyrannical headmistress Miss Trunchbull - one of seven Oliviers the show won last year.

Pippin, a revival of a 1972 musical that tells the story of a young prince who joins a performance troupe, is close behind with 10 nods.

The coming-of-age story, for which Ben Vereen won a Tony in 1973, sees Patina Miller nominated for playing the same role - that of the 'Leading Player'.

Pippin also sees nods for Terrance Mann, who plays the title role, director Diane Paulus, and choreographer Chet Walker.

Kenneth Posner is nominated three times in the musical lighting design category, for his work on Pippin, Kinky Boots and Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella respectively.

His triple shout-out prompted laughter at the New York nomination announcement, made by former Tony winner Sutton Foster and Modern Family star Jesse Tyler Ferguson.

Posner is up against British Olivier winner Hugh Vanstone, shortlisted for his work on Matilda the Musical.

Pierce stars with Sigourney Weaver in Christopher Durang's comedy

The Broadway revival of Clifford Odets's 1937 drama Golden Boy is the most shortlisted play, with nominations in eight categories.

They include two in the category for best performance by a play actor in a featured role, which sees Danny Burstein vie against co-star Tony Shalhoub.

Lucky Guy's six nominations put it on the same footing as Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, Christopher Durang's comic spin on the work of Anton Chekov.

Former Frasier actor David Hyde Pierce is nominated for his work in the play, as are no less than three of his co-stars.

The Tonys, regarded as the highest accolades for live Broadway theatre, will be presented in June at New York's Radio City Music Hall.

A full list of this year's nominations can be found on the Tony awards website.

Before Tuesday's announcement, it was revealed that playwright and activist Larry Kramer will receive the annual Isabelle Stevenson Award at this year's ceremony.

The prize is given to an individual who has made significant contributions to humanitarian or charitable causes.

Kinky and Matilda lead Tony field
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BBC book promo complaint not upheld

BBC book promo complaint not upheld

30 April 2013 Last updated at 15:02

Bacon regularly interviews authors about forthcoming titles

A complaint about books written by BBC employees being given undue prominence on Richard Bacon's 5 live show has not been upheld by the BBC Trust.

The complaint alleged a conflict of interest when presenter Simon Mayo and news correspondent Mark Easton were guests on consecutive shows in February last year to talk about their books.

It suggested a pattern of BBC personnel being given "promo" slots on the show.

But the trust said no guidelines were breached by either of the appearances.

In its ruling, the trust said Bacon's show was "a mix of news, sport, entertainment and interviews with guests," adding it "frequently features interviews with authors who have recently had books published".

Mayo, who presents a drive time show on Radio 2, is a former regular 5 live host and still reviews films on the network.

He was on the Bacon show to talk about his children's book, Itch, which was published on 1 March 2012.

Easton, currently the BBC's Home Editor, talked about his book, Britain etc, which was also published last March.

The complainant had said both interviewees were favoured because of their existing connections to the BBC and alleged there was a pattern of corporation staff being over-represented as guests on BBC shows.

But the trust report said there had been "no impropriety in the way the interviews had been arranged (either by the publishers, Mr Easton or Mr Mayo) and there was no evidence that either Mr Mayo or Mr Easton had lobbied to get on the show to promote their books or otherwise asked for favours".

It added the two BBC guests had "broadly been treated as other guests would have been and the books had not been given undue prominence".

However, it agreed the importance of editorial guidelines being adhered to in relation to such interviews.

Six Nations complaint

The Trust also answered a complaint from the trade body for commercial radio companies in the UK about the presence of an on-screen animated graphic for the 2012 Six Nations rugby championship's data supplier Accenture during live matches.

Wales beat England in Cardiff to win the Six Nations

The RadioCentre complaint said the graphic was unduly prominent and amounted to sponsorship.

In its ruling the trust said that to give Accenture on-screen credits as data-supplier was "appropriate and editorially justified" and that Accenture's contractual relationship was with the tournament organiser and not the BBC.

It added "no question of programme sponsorship arose".

However, the report took issue with an email sent by the an executive producer to staff, which might have given recipients the impression that BBC Sport had made a binding commitment over how often and for how long Accenture's logo was should be featured.

The trust said this meant that audiences "could not have a well-founded confidence" that the corporation's decisions on the sponsorship "were not influenced by commercial pressures".

As such the complaint was partially upheld.

The editorial standards committee recommended that in future, it should be made clear the BBC had not entered into any binding commitments on "supplier credits" and any specifications on the use of logos are "merely an indication of what BBC Sport considered likely to be appropriate".

BBC book promo complaint not upheld
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