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Australian, NZ publishers nominated for Bologna Prize

Monday, 29 February 2016
Australian publishers Wilkins Farago and Berbay Publishing and New Zealand publisher Book Island have been nominated in the Oceania region for the Bologna Prize for Best Children’s Publishers of the...

New ‘Books+Publishing’ reviews out now

Friday, 26 February 2016
Books+Publishing’s latest Reviews newsletter contains 13 reviews of books publishing in April and May 2016. Two books received five stars from our reviewers: Helen Garner’s nonfiction collection Everywhere I Look...

OzCo VIP guests announced for 2016 SWF

Friday, 26 February 2016
The Australia Council for the Arts has announced the guests attending the 2016 Visiting International Publishers (VIP) Program, to be held during the Sydney Writers’ Festival in May. The guests...

On tour: Patrick deWitt

Patrick deWitt Thursday, 25 February 2016
Canadian author Patrick deWitt’s latest novel Undermajordomo Minor (Granta) is a black comedy of manners. He will be visiting the Perth Writers Festival and Adelaide Writers’ Week in February. What...

On tour: Muriel Barbery

Muriel Barbery Thursday, 25 February 2016
French author Muriel Barbery’s latest novel The Life of Elves (Text) is the story of two children whose amazing abilities ‘bring them into contact with magical worlds’. She will travel...

On tour: Patrick Gale

Patrick Gale Thursday, 25 February 2016
British writer Patrick Gale’s latest book, A Place Called Winter (Tinder Press), follows the life of Edwardian gentleman Harry Cane as he is forced to relocate to the newly colonised...

Stella Prize to examine diversity in reviews

Thursday, 25 February 2016
The Stella Prize is expanding its annual Stella Count to include a Diversity Survey to examine review coverage of authors from various backgrounds, especially marginalised groups. The Diversity Survey will...

S&S creates Muslim-themed children’s imprint

Thursday, 25 February 2016
In the US, Simon & Schuster has created a new children’s book imprint dedicated to publishing books that feature Muslim characters and stories, reports the New York Times. Salaam Reads...

Peter Porter Poetry Prize 2016 shortlist announced

Wednesday, 24 February 2016
The shortlist for the Australian Book Review (ABR) Peter Porter Poetry Prize has been announced. The shortlisted poems are: ‘...a passing shower?’ (Dan Disney) ‘Prelude to a Voice’ (Anne Elvey)...

Speakers announced for ABA, LEB conferences

Wednesday, 24 February 2016
The Australian Booksellers Association (ABA) and Leading Edge Books (LEB) have announced the keynote speakers for their 2016 conferences, which will be held in Canberra in May. US bookseller and...

Norma K Hemming Award 2016 shortlist announced

Wednesday, 24 February 2016
The shortlist for the 2016 Norma K Hemming Award has been announced. The award is presented by the Australian Science Fiction Foundation for a work of speculative fiction published in...

Nebula Awards 2015 nominees announced

Tuesday, 23 February 2016
In the US, the 2015 Nebula Awards nominees have been announced. Seven books are nominated in the fiction category: Raising Caine (Charles E Gannon, Baen Books); The Fifth Season (N...

Lee awarded inaugural Kat Muscat Fellowship

Tuesday, 23 February 2016
Brisbane-based writer Bri Lee has been awarded the inaugural Kat Muscat Fellowship, which was set up by Express Media in honour of former Voiceworks editor Kat Muscat. Lee, a 25-year-old...

Bestsellers this week

brotherhood in death Monday, 22 February 2016
Brotherhood in Death (J D Robb & Angharad Kowal, Piatkus) is the new number one in this week’s overall bestsellers chart, debuting in the top spot in its first week...

IRS reportedly seeking $2.1b from Amazon

Monday, 22 February 2016
In the US, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is seeking to recover more than US$1.5b (A$2.1b) in back taxes, reports the Guardian. The report reveals details of Amazon’s ‘elaborate avoidance...

Wilson wins inaugural UWAP Dorothy Hewett award

Monday, 22 February 2016
Josephine Wilson has won UWA Publishing’s inaugural Dorothy Hewett award for an unpublished manuscript for her novel ‘Extinctions’. Wilson wins $10,000 and a publishing contract with UWA Publishing. Wilson’s manuscript...

Scribd drops unlimited ebooks model

Friday, 19 February 2016
In the US, ebook subscription service Scribd has refined its subscription model by moving from an unlimited model to a two-tiered service, reports Publishers Weekly. Customers will have unlimited access...

Asialink 2016 arts residencies announced

Friday, 19 February 2016
The recipients of the University of Melbourne’s Asialink Arts Residencies Program for 2016 have been announced. Writers receiving residencies in Asian countries are: Zhiling Gao, China: Gao is an author...

PwC report on copyright changes submitted to PC review

Friday, 19 February 2016
A PwC report looking at the costs and benefits of changing Australian copyright law from ‘fair dealing’ to the US-style ‘fair use’ model has been submitted to the Productivity Commission’s...

PEN Pinter Prize opens to Commonwealth writers

Thursday, 18 February 2016
The PEN Pinter Prize, awarded annually to a writer of ‘outstanding literary merit’, has extended its eligibility to include Commonwealth and Irish writers, after previously being open only to British...

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...