Orion is to publish a new novel by George Pelecanos, a writer on TV show The Wire, as a late addition to its spring schedules. What It Was, a noir thriller set in 1970s Washington DC, will be published as a 25 signed and numbered hardback collectors edition and a 9.

Agent Christopher Little has reached an amicable agreement with author J K Rowling, who ended her longstanding relationship with the Christopher Little Literary Agency LLP suddenly in June last year. A statement issued by Little's spokesperson said: J K Rowling and her former agent, Christopher Little, have reached an amicable agreement concluding their longstanding business relationship, the terms of which remain confidential.

Macmillan Children's Books has won world rights in a first novel called Soldier Dog by Sam Angus, following a hotly contested three-way auction. Fiction editor Rachel Petty bought world rights to the novel, the story of a boy soldier and his messenger dog during the First World War, through Lucy Juckes at Jenny Brown Associates.

Gareth Brookes' The Black Project has won Myriad Editions' first competition for a graphic novel in progress, with judges including novelist Ian Rankin choosing Brookes' work from a shortlist of seven. Graphic novels commissioning editor Corinne Pearlman, who judged the prize alongside Rankin, graphic novelists Bryan Talbot, Ed Hillyer and Hannah Berry, and cartoonist Steve Bell, described the winning book as funny macabre.

Normal 0 false false false EN-AU X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Exciting news for fans of this much-loved bestselling novel - Kate Winslet has signed on to play Juliet Ashton, the magazine columnist whose life is turned upside down when she decides to visit the island of Guernsey after being captivated by the islanders' stories of life under the German occupation. Kenneth Branagh is set to direct and production is due to begin early in 2012.

A vividly told story of life in pre-revolutionary Paris on Tuesday won the 2011 Costa book award in what turned out to be a bitterly fought two-way tussle between fact and fiction. Andrew Miller was given one of the UK's most prestigious literary prizes and a 30,000 cheque at a ceremony in London for his sixth novel, Pure.

Normal 0 false false false EN-AU X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 At a time when ebooks and the survival of bookstores are constantly being debated, its important to recognise that booksellers in this country are still going strong. Recent Christmas sales illustrate that people are still buying books, and Independent booksellers will continue to sell them to avid readers in 2012.

Jack Gantos's screwball mystery Dead End in Norvelt has won America's most prestigious award for children's writing, the Newbery medal. Newbery judges called the US author's novel an achingly funny romp with the importance of history and reading at its heart to make sure you don't do the same stupid stuff again.

Faber has set up a social media hub, The Spark, for teenagers interested in getting involved with Faber's young adult publishing. The Facebook page has launched with an acting project based around The Glimpse by Claire Merle.

Salman Rushdie has expressed his outrage following a report in The Hindu that claims that his personal safety would be under threat if he attended the Jaipur Literary Festival were invented by Rajasthan police. Rushdie withdrew from the Festival last week, saying he had been informed by intelligence sources in Maharashtra and Rajasthan that paid assassins from the Mumbai underworld might be heading to Jaipur to attack him.