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Perth Writers Festival 2015 program launched

Thursday, 15 January 2015
The 2015 Perth Writers Festival program has been launched and tickets are now on sale.As previously reported by Books+Publishing, the line-up of international guests includes UK author Hilary Mantel (via...

Indie bookstore Diabolik opens in Perth 

Wednesday, 14 January 2015
A new independent bookstore opened in the Perth suburb of Mt Hawthorn in November.Diabolik Books and Records owner Scott Jones told Books+Publishing that books account for around 70% of the...

Quote of the week 

Wednesday, 14 January 2015
‘Comments like “isn’t everyone buying ebooks” and “isn’t everyone buying books from the internet” are virtually non-existent’—Collins Booksellers Wagga owner Peter Halicki responds to the Books+Publishing post-Christmas survey. Booksellers can complete the...

Rights round-up 

Wednesday, 14 January 2015
SalesFiction—Literary agent Alex Adsett has sold world rights to the two-book series ‘Who’s Afraid’ (Maria Lewis) to Piatkus in the UK. Nonfiction—Black Inc. has sold Japanese rights to Gazing at...

Brisbane bookstore Black Cat Books to close 

Wednesday, 14 January 2015
Brisbane bookstore Black Cat Books has announced that it will close on 30 January.The Paddington store, which specialises in children’s books, has been the site of a bookshop for more than 30...

Dymocks exits Hong Kong 

Tuesday, 13 January 2015
Dymocks is withdrawing from the Hong Kong market, beginning with the closure of its flagship store and Hong Kong office.A further five independently owned and operated Dymocks stores will continue...

Bestsellers this week 

Monday, 12 January 2015
While The Long Haul (Jeff Kinney, Puffin) is once again at the top of the bestsellers chart this week, healthy-eating cookbooks are also making their moves up the chart. TV presenter Pete Evans’...

Williams joins Copyright Agency board

Monday, 12 January 2015
Former News Limited CEO Kim Williams has been appointed as a director of the Copyright Agency board, replacing former media executive Brian Johns.Copyright Agency chair Sandy Grant said in a statement that...

Hazel Rowley Fellowship 2015 finalists announced

Thursday, 8 January 2015
Writers Victoria has announced the finalists for the 2015 Hazel Rowley Literary Fellowship, awarded annually to an Australian writer for a proposed biographical work. The shortlisted writers and their projects...

‘Westerly’ magazine editors step down 

Thursday, 8 January 2015
The editors of WA literary magazine Westerly, Delys Bird and Tony Hughes-d’Aeth, have stepped down from their positions.Bird has been editor since 1992, first with Dennis Haskell and then as...

RiP Lynn Bryan

Wednesday, 7 January 2015
Lynn Bryan, custom publisher for the University of Queensland Press (UQP), has died, aged 66.UQP writes:‘Lynn Bryan passed away peacefully on December 23. Despite her health challenges in recent years,...

Staff changes at ‘Books+Publishing’

Wednesday, 7 January 2015
The editorial team that produces the Weekly Book Newsletter, Books+Publishing Daily newsletter and Books+Publishing magazine has undergone some changes.Brad Jefferies has been appointed news editor on a full-time basis. Jefferies...

Griffith and Denton top 2014 bestsellers chart

Wednesday, 7 January 2015
Andy Griffith and Terry Denton’s The 52-Storey Treehouse (Pan) was the highest selling title in Australia in 2014 with 232,900 sales, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.In a strong year for...

Please complete our post-Christmas survey 

Wednesday, 7 January 2015
Books+Publishing is currently conducting its annual post-Christmas survey of booksellers and publishers. Please take a few minutes to complete the survey online. BooksellersIf you are a bookseller, please complete the...

Quote of the week

Wednesday, 7 January 2015
‘I scour the publishers’ advance catalogues and never fail to be slightly surprised by how many good books are in the pipeline for the coming 12 months’—Stephen Romei rounds up...

Melbourne teacher launches $5000 grant for online writing 

Wednesday, 7 January 2015
Melbourne teacher and blogger Philip Thiel has announced the formation of the $5000 Thiel Grant for Online Writing, aimed at supporting inventive online writing. The recipient will commit to producing 50...

Bestsellers this week

Tuesday, 6 January 2015
This week’s bestsellers chart is full of familiar titles, including a number of cookbooks that have risen up the charts over the festive season. Jeff Kinney’s Long Haul (Puffin) and Richard Flanagan’s The...

Government whitepaper to examine online GST threshold

Tuesday, 6 January 2015
Federal assistant treasurer Josh Frydenberg has signalled an upcoming government whitepaper will examine the GST threshold that applies to online overseas sales, in an opinion piece published in the Australian.Frydenberg...

Foley named Victorian Creative Industries Minister 

Tuesday, 6 January 2015
The recently elected Victorian Labor Government announced Martin Foley as the Minister for Creative Industries in December 2014, and has rebranded Arts Victoria as Creative Victoria. Foley, the Member for Albert...

WHSmith acquires Supanews newsagency stores 

Monday, 5 January 2015
Supanews has sold its chain of company-owned and franchised newsagency stores to WHSmith, reports the Courier Mail. However, Supanews managing director Adrian Gaskin told Books+Publishing his business had retained and continues to...

Sheahan-Bright wins 2014 Johnno Award

Friday, 19 December 2014
Editor, writer and academic Robyn Sheahan-Bright has won the 2014 Johnno Award for outstanding contribution to writing in Queensland.The award, which was presented by the Queensland Writers Centre (QWC) on 11 December,...

NSW State Library launches humour-writing prize

Wednesday, 17 December 2014
The State Library of NSW (SLNSW) has announced the launch of the inaugural Russell Prize for Humour Writing to ‘celebrate, recognise and encourage humour writing, and to promote interest in...

Publishers’ perspectives 

Wednesday, 17 December 2014
Publishers are almost unanimous in reporting a boost to sales compared to the same time last year. Yet not all are getting carried away. While half of the respondents to...

Online sales, ebooks and ereaders 

Wednesday, 17 December 2014
Online sales of print books have slowed somewhat for respondents in 2014, compared with Christmas 2013. While 45% of bookshops that sold print books online for Christmas 2013 said sales...

The books: Flanagan, Simsion, Kinney 

Wednesday, 17 December 2014
Booksellers are less impressed by the books this Christmas compared to previous years. Only 65% of respondents thought the Christmas range was ‘strong’, compared to 95% who said the same...