News Today’s Book News Tuesday, 2nd December

[AgentPete]

Today’s Book News Tuesday, 2nd December 2025 (London date)

Publishers Lunch reported the death of novelist Daniel Woodrell at 72, known for “Winter’s Bone.” HarperCollins’ group sales and rights director Anna Derkacz is leaving the company. A Scholarly Kitchen guest post urged the industry to measure and reduce the digital carbon footprint of academic publishing.

Second annual First Chapter Award winners revealed​

BookBrunch reported that the Society of Young Publishers announced the winners of its second annual First Chapter Award. In a statement, the co‑chairs said the winners’ passion was tangible and predicted that they would achieve great things and inspire others in their careers The prize is intended to recognise emerging writing talent.

Obituary: Daniel Woodrell​

Publishers Lunch noted that novelist Daniel Woodrell died on November 28 of pancreatic cancer at the age of 72. Woodrell, who described his dark stories of rural America as “country noir,” was best known for his 2006 novel *Winter’s Bone*

HarperCollins group sales and rights director Anna Derkacz leaves publisher​

The Bookseller reported that Anna Derkacz, group sales and rights director at HarperCollins, is leaving the publisher The brief news item did not provide further details.

Guest Post — From Cloud to Carbon: Exploring the Digital Carbon Footprint of Knowledge​

In a Scholarly Kitchen guest post, Rachel Martin highlighted that digital technology in scholarly publishing carries an environmental cost. She explained that the servers and devices used to produce and host research consume energy and generate carbon emissions, a factor that is often overlooked Citing discussions at COP 30 in Belém, Brazil, Martin argued for measuring the digital carbon footprint and noted that a working group of publishers has developed a digital carbon calculator based on the DIMPACT methodology to help journals assess their emissions

 

[Pamela Jo]

I was curious. Nothing to do with actual first chapters, but kudos.

SYP's The First Chapter Awards: Open for Applications/Nominations! - Publishing Ireland

Shining a spotlight on early professionals and hopefuls from across the book community The First Chapter Awards recognise early-stage professionals, volunteers and hopefuls within the book community. This award aims to celebrate those in the very early years in the industry – those in the first...

www.publishingireland.com