Self-published crime writer Kerry Wilkinson claimed the top spot in the UK Kindle bestseller chart for the last quarter of 2011, Amazon has revealed, as speculation mounts that the online retailer is planning to open its own physical store to push its exclusive book sales. Wilkinson, from Lancashire, published his novel Locked In, one of a series featuring detective Jessica Daniel, using Amazons Kindle Direct Publishing tool, and sold hundred of thousands of copies of it in the three months before Christmas, according to Amazon.

Crime writer Peter James, Chinese author and screenwriter Bi Feiyu and childrens writer Patrick Ness will be London Book Fairs authors of the day at the 2012 event, which will take place between 16th and 18th April. The author of the day programme showcases one author each day of the Fair, through appearances at seminars, discussions, book signings and photo opportunities.

The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall will help mark the bicentenary of the birth of Charles Dickens today by laying a wreath at the novelist's grave in Westminster Abbey. Prince Charles will lay the wreath during a ceremony which will bring together the largest ever gathering of Dickens descendants, as well as representatives from the worlds of literature, film, theatre and the media, the Daily Telegraph reports.

Faber has acquired the definitive two-volume history of heavy metal band Metallica, buying rights for a six-figure sum and with publication planned for 2013. Senior editor Angus Cargill bought UK and Commonwealth rights from Matthew Hamilton at Aitken Alexander Associates in the biography, Birth School Metallica Death, written by music writers Paul Brannigan and Ian Wood.

Wiley imprint For Dummies is publishing a 99p mini e-book, The Euro Crisis for Dummies by Julian Knight, this week (10th February). The 99p e-book is described as a response for the puzzled public to a story which has caused confusion to many in the UK, with the author exploring the problems in Greece and Ireland and some of the root causes and dangers to the UK.

A non-profit body representing the interests of self-published authors will launch this spring. Author and former literary agent Orna Ross is readying the The Alliance of Independent Authors for launch internationally, with its website set to go live within weeks.

Canadian bookselling chain Indigo Books and Music and Books-a-Million have joined ranks with Barnes Noble in refusing to sell Amazon-printed book titles in their stores. Indigos vice-president Janet Eger accused the e-commerce giant of not acting in the best interests of readers and the wider industry as a whole by its business plan of entering into physical book publishing.

Transworld has acquired two books to mark the 70th anniversary of BBC Radio 4 series, Desert Island Discs, in which public figures and celebrities choose the tracks, books and luxury items they would like to be marooned with. Bantam Press editorial directors Sally Gaminara and Brenda Kimber bought world rights direct from the BBC in the two titles, Desert Island Discs: The 70th Anniversary, compiled and edited by Sean Magee with a foreword by the programme's presenter Kirsty Young, and Desert Island Discs: Flotsam and Jetsam by Mitchell Symons.

Childrens TV show Blue Peter is to search for the best childrens book of the last decade, with children able to vote online from a shortlist of 10. Authors including J K Rowling, Michael Morpurgo and John Grisham are in the running, with the winner to be announced on the show on 1st March, alongside the Blue Peter Book of the Year Award on a special show tying into World Book Day.

Random House has released the first direct-to-digital fiction title by bestselling author Katie Fforde, a short story entitled The Undercover Cook, while simultaneously relaunching her website. The Undercover Cook will also feature the first chapter of Fforde's new physical book Recipe for Love, which will be published in hardback in March.