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PRH acquires supernatural YA series ‘Valentine’ from AAPS

Thursday, 18 February 2016
Penguin Random House Australia has acquired the rights to debut author Jodi McAlister’s supernatural YA series ‘Valentine’ in a multi-book deal from Alex Adsett Publishing Services. The series follows four...

On tour: Joanna Walsh

joanna walsh Wednesday, 17 February 2016
British writer Joanna Walsh has been published in Granta, the London Review of Books, and the Guardian. Her latest book Hotel (Bloomsbury) is a cultural study of hotels that is...

Alice Grundy on OzCo’s exploratory trip to India

Wednesday, 17 February 2016
The Australia Council for the Arts supported a delegation of publishers and writers’ festival programmers to travel to India from 13-25 January to ‘investigate artistic development, market and exchange opportunities...

NLA considering staff, programming cuts

Wednesday, 17 February 2016
National Library of Australia (NLA) is considering cuts to staff numbers and programming in response to budget cuts imposed by the federal government, reports the Guardian. NLA director-general Anne-Marie Schwirtlich...

Aurealis Awards 2015 finalists announced

Wednesday, 17 February 2016
The finalists for the 2015 Aurealis Awards, presented for science-fiction, fantasy and horror writing in Australia, have been announced. Among the categories are: Fantasy novel In the Skin of a...

Alice Grundy on OzCo’s exploratory trip to India

Wednesday, 17 February 2016
The Australia Council for the Arts supported a delegation of publishers and writers’ festival programmers to travel to India from 13-25 January to ‘investigate artistic development, market and exchange opportunities...

Rakuten writes off $96m from Kobo

Wednesday, 17 February 2016
Kobo parent company Rakuten has revealed a ¥7.8bn (A$96m) write-down on Kobo in its 2015 financial report, reports the Digital Reader. The A$96m ‘goodwill impairment’ on Kobo, which the company...

Sarah Kanake’s ‘Sing Fox to Me’

Wednesday, 17 February 2016
‘Kanake deals in so many Gothic tropes—ghosts, implied incest, a stark natural landscape and the legacy of an earlier generation’s follies—that an alternative title for the book might well have...

Graham longlisted for 2016 Greenaway Medal

Wednesday, 17 February 2016
Bob Graham’s How the Sun Got to Coco’s House (Walker Books) is one of 20 books longlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal for distinguished illustration in children’s books. The longlists...

‘Overland’ poetry prize 2015 shortlist announced

Wednesday, 17 February 2016
The shortlist for the 2015 Overland Judith Wright Poetry Prize for New and Emerging Poets has been announced. The eight shortlisted poems are: ‘In civilization diminishing’ (Geraldine Burrowes) ‘Swarm’ (Emily...

New children’s bookshop opens in Fremantle

Wednesday, 17 February 2016
A new bookshop specialising in children’s books and art supplies has opened in Fremantle. The Paper Bird is located in the Moores Art Building on Henry Street and includes a...

Bestsellers this week

Blue Danielle Steel Monday, 15 February 2016
This week’s bestsellers chart has a new number one with Danielle Steel’s Blue (Bantam) debuting in top spot on both the top 10 chart and the highest new entry chart....

Australian anthology shortlisted for UK sci-fi award

Letters to Tiptree Monday, 15 February 2016
Australian anthology Letters to Tiptree (ed by Alexandra Pierce & Alisa Kranostein, Twelfth Planet) has been shortlisted for the 2016 British Science Fiction Association (BSFA) Awards. The collection is one...

S&S sales up slightly in 2015

Monday, 15 February 2016
Simon & Schuster has recorded global sales of US$780m (A$1,098m) in 2015, up 0.25% from US$778m (A$1,095m) the previous year, report Publishers Weekly and the Bookseller. Parent company CBS released...

Ditmar Awards 2016 ballot announced

Monday, 15 February 2016
The ballot for the 2016 Ditmar Awards has been announced. The shortlisted works include: Best Novel The Dagger’s Path (Glenda Larke, Orbit) Day Boy (Trent Jamieson, Text) Graced (Amanda Pillar,...

Express Media to host Canberra, Western Sydney events

Monday, 15 February 2016
Melbourne-based Express Media will host ‘pop-up events’ outside of Victoria as part of its first annual Tracks program. The program will host workshops, masterclasses and other events for young writers...

writingWA Awards 2015 winners announced

Monday, 15 February 2016
The winners of the 2015 writingWA Awards, which support emerging writers based in regional Western Australia, have been announced. Marc Simojoki was awarded the Curtin University Prize for Fiction for...

Dawkins cancels Australian tour

Monday, 15 February 2016
UK author Richard Dawkins has cancelled his upcoming Australian and New Zealand tour after suffering a ‘minor stroke’ in the UK. Dawkins was scheduled to speak at a number of...

Hachette US and UK sales drop in 2015

Friday, 12 February 2016
Hachette parent company Lagardere Publishing has reported a rise in sales for 2015, despite a drop in sales at Hachette US and UK that was attributed to declining ebook sales. Overall,...

Cassandra Clare sued for copyright infringement

Friday, 12 February 2016
US fantasy author Sherrilyn Kenyon is suing Cassandra Clare, author of the ‘Mortal Instruments’ and ‘Shadowhunters’ series (Walker Books), for alleged copyright infringement, reports the Guardian. In a lawsuit filed...

Noted Festival 2016 program announced

Friday, 12 February 2016
The program for Canberra’s second Noted ‘experimental’ writing festival, running from 16-20 March, has been announced. The festival program includes a literary bar hop, multi-art collaborations, and online and live...

International guests announced for PANZ conference

Friday, 12 February 2016
The Publishers Association of New Zealand (PANZ) has announced a number of international guests appearing at its 2016 conference. They are: Diana Broccardo, sales and marketing director at Profile Books...

QWC announces new fellowship for women writers

Friday, 12 February 2016
The Queensland Writers Centre (QWC) has announced a new fellowship for women writers. The Maher Fellowship for Women Writers will be awarded to three recipients, with each receiving $500 to...

SWF 2016 schools program announced

Thursday, 11 February 2016
The Sydney Writers’ Festival (SWF) has announced the authors and illustrators participating in its 2016 Primary and Secondary School Days programs, to be held from 16 to 20 May. Writer...

Harry Potter play to be published in July

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Thursday, 11 February 2016
The script of J K Rowling’s forthcoming play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child will be published on 31 July following the play’s opening in London on 30 July. Harry...

Macquarie Uni report case study: Simon & Schuster Australia

Wednesday, 10 February 2016
Simon & Schuster Australia’s head of publishing Larissa Edwards was interviewed for the Macquarie University report ‘Disruption and innovation in the Australian book industry: Case studies of trade and education...

Ferrante’s ‘Neapolitan Novels’ to be adapted for TV

Wednesday, 10 February 2016
Elena Ferrante’s bestselling ‘Neapolitan Novels’ are being adapted for television, reports the Hollywood Reporter. Italian TV production company Wildside and US-based Fandango Productions will co-develop and co-produce the adaptation, which...

‘Seizure’ novella editor announced

Wednesday, 10 February 2016
Seizure has announced that Tom Langshaw will edit its 2016 Viva La Novella project. Langshaw, who works as an editorial and publishing assistant at Penguin Random House, was chosen from...