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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Wednesday, 5 March 2014
The Australian Curriculum for the subject areas of the arts, health and physical education, technologies, economics and business, and civics and citizenship for foundation year to year 10 is now available online. The...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Tuesday, 4 March 2014
This year’s Adelaide Writers’ Week included the annual Visiting International Publishers (VIP) program, which offers Australian publishers the opportunity to meet with international publishers and editors. On 3 March several of...

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,...

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...

Monday, 3 March 2014
Around 38,500 people attended this year’s Perth Writers Festival (PWF), up from around 36,000 in 2013, with the festival recording a 30% increase in ticket sales at its University of...

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...

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...

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:...

Thursday, 27 February 2014
Queensland writer Bruce Gannaway has won the 2014 Random House National Seniors Literary Prize for his novel The Last Eaglehawk. Gannaway wins a $2000 cash prize and his novel will...

Thursday, 27 February 2014
The 2014 Leading Edge Books Conference, to be held at the Langham Hotel in Melbourne from 16-17 May, will feature a keynote address by Simon Dell, managing director of marketing agency...

Wednesday, 26 February 2014
Independent Melbourne bookstore Reader’s Feast has opened an online store. The store opened on Friday 22 February and can be accessed through Reader’s Feast’s existing website. Owner Mary Dalmau told...

Wednesday, 26 February 2014
Chren Byng has been promoted to the role of associate publisher of ABC Children’s Books at HarperCollins Australia. HarperCollins said in a statement this month that Byng has returned from maternity...

Wednesday, 26 February 2014
Australian titles When We Wake by Karen Healey (A&U) and A Corner of White by Jaclyn Moriarty (Macmillan) have been shortlisted for this year’s Nebula Awards in the US.The novels are...

Wednesday, 26 February 2014
Canadian writer Mavis Gallant has died, aged 91. Gallant is the author of two novels and numerous volumes of short fiction, as well as more than 100 short stories published...