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Correction: Hachette Australia 2013 results 

Thursday, 13 March 2014
In an article in the Weekly Book Newsletter on 5 March, Books+Publishing incorrectly reported that Hachette Australia recorded an increase in print sales in 2013. According to the statement from...

Quote of the week 

Thursday, 13 March 2014
‘No other Anglosphere nation has a little magazine scene like ours, factoring in the relative size of our local audience’—newly appointed Island fiction editor Geordie Williamson reflects on Australia’s lit...

ACT Book of the Year Award 2013 shortlist announced

Wednesday, 12 March 2014
The shortlist for the 2013 Australian Capital Territory Book of the Year Award has been announced. The shortlisted titles are: Canberra (Paul Daley, NewSouth) Island Earth: New and Selected Poems...

Rights round-up 

Wednesday, 12 March 2014
SalesFiction—Text Publishing has sold German rights to the sequel to The Rosie Project (Graeme Simsion) to S. Fischer Verlag; Macedonian rights to The Rosie Project to Ars Lamina; and ANZ...

RiP Marek Palka 

Wednesday, 12 March 2014
Marek Palka, former managing director of Oxford University Press Australia and New Zealand, has died, aged 64. Oxford University Press writes: ‘Past and present staff of Oxford University Press express our deep...

Bestsellers this week 

Tuesday, 11 March 2014
After seven consecutive weeks at the top of the bestsellers chart, the film tie-in edition of The Book Thief (Markus Zusak, Picador) has been displaced by two new entries. I Quit...

Altman nominated for Lammy award 

Tuesday, 11 March 2014
Author and academic Dennis Altman has been announced as a finalist in the 26th annual Lambda Literary Awards, known as the ‘Lammys,’ for his book The End of the Homosexual? (UQP).The Lammys...

T.A.G. Hungerford Award secures major sponsor 

Friday, 7 March 2014
The City of Fremantle has been named as the new sponsor of the T.A.G. Hungerford Award, with the council to support the award financially for the next six years. The...

Marten Bequest Travelling Scholarships 2014 announced

Friday, 7 March 2014
A number of writers have been awarded Marten Bequest Travelling Scholarships for 2014.Scholarships for poetry were awarded to Jessica Wilkinson, Elizabeth Campbell and Candy Royalle. Wilkinson, a lecturer in creative...

Williamson appointed fiction editor at ‘Island’ 

Thursday, 6 March 2014
Geordie Williamson has been appointed fiction editor at Island magazine. Williamson, who is chief literary critic at the Australian, was announced as Island’s new fiction editor on 6 March. In a...

New appointments at S&S 

Wednesday, 5 March 2014
Simon & Schuster has announced a number of new appointments. Anna O’Grady has joined the publisher as marketing and publicity manager, beginning on 24 March. O’Grady was previously product director...

Quote of the week 

Wednesday, 5 March 2014
‘Publishers need to make a big hit with the first novel ... There is no longer a sense of publishers nurturing authors’—The Age literary editor Jason Steger reflects on the market...

Ebook sales up at Hachette in 2013 

Wednesday, 5 March 2014
Hachette Australia has recorded an increase in ebook sales in 2013, with CEO Matt Richell reporting growth in ebook sales of 27%. Ebooks now account for 22.5% of the publisher’s overall...

New Australian schools book club launched 

Wednesday, 5 March 2014
A new schools book club created to showcase Australian books has launched in New South Wales and Queensland. The Redgum Book Club will allow parents and students to order books from a large...

Dymocks Collins Place to close

Tuesday, 4 March 2014
Dymocks Collins Place in Melbourne’s CBD will close on 7 March after almost 20 years of trading. The store, which is located near the larger Dymocks store at 234 Collins Street, first opened in May...

Bestsellers this week 

Monday, 3 March 2014
Blockbuster film adaptations continue to dominate the bestsellers chart, with this week’s top three titles unchanged for the third week in a row. The film tie-in of The Book Thief (Markus Zusak,...

New Jewish writers’ festival for Melbourne 

Monday, 3 March 2014
A new writers’ festival celebrating Jewish literature will be held in Melbourne later this year. The inaugural Melbourne Jewish Writers Festival will be held from 31 May to 2 June at...

RiP Charlotte Dawson 

Monday, 3 March 2014
Author, television presenter and model Charlotte Dawson has died, aged 47. Dawson is the author of two memoirs: Charlotte’s Secrets: Advice I Wish I’d Taken (Penguin, 2003) and Air Kiss...

‘WBN’ published Thursday next week 

Monday, 3 March 2014
Please note that, due to the public holiday next Monday in Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory, the Weekly Book Newsletter will be published on Thursday 13...

Asialink 2014 arts residencies announced 

Friday, 28 February 2014
The University of Melbourne’s Asialink program has announced the recipients of its 2014 Arts Residencies, supported by the Australia Council for the Arts.Writers receiving arts residencies in Asian countries are:...