Bookshops are safe havens when the world sometimes seems bleak. And they continue to make themselves a vital part of their communities.

UK publishers have been discussing the EU Referendum vote and what Brexit could mean for the industry. In the shorter term, here are some reading suggestions for the Brexit blues. Theresa May has warned Amazon and Google on tax avoidance, and has appointed Karen Bradley as the new Culture Secretary.

The publication of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child looks like being the biggest book event of the year. Meanwhile, can Harry Potter thwart Donald Trump’s presidential ambitions?

More books are being adapted for the large and small screens: Les Miserables, The Wee Free Men, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, Chronicles of Amber and possibly Harry Potter 8.

Dubray has refurbished its flagship store in Dublin, and Irish chain Eason is back in profit.

The Man Booker longlist has been announced but there is criticism that it lacks diversity. Clare Mackintosh won the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award. Blackwell's has named Mary Beard's SPQR as its Book of the Year 2016. This is the Guardian’s Children’s Fiction Prize longlist, and Judith Kerr has been named BookTrust Lifetime Achievement Award Winner, 2016.

In ‘what happens in the US is bound to happen here’ news: ebook sales continue to decline; adult colouring (sorry coloring) books boosted print sales of adult nonfiction by 12% in the first half of 2016. There are lots of other interesting statistics in the report. And Pokémon Go is driving people into bookstores and, in some cases, driving up sales.


Passengers on Germany’s Condor Airlines will get an extra free baggage allowance for their books this summer. Staying (tenuously) with aviation - Is it a bird; is it a plane? No, it’s Amazon testing drone delivery in the UK. A good opportunity for the UK’s ‘favourite retailer’ to re-think its packaging maybe?

Finally, here are the BA Industry News Awards (not a real thing) for most original interior design, bravest and most romantic book-related stories of the month.