Inside the Australian and New Zealand book industry

Image. Advertisement:

Local news >

Australian children’s laureates to attend Bologna summit

Wednesday, 13 February 2013
Australia’s inaugural children’s laureates Alison Lester and Boori Monty Pryor will attend the first international children’s laureate summit at this year's Bologna Children’s Book Fair. The event, to be held on...

RIP Margaret Dunkle 

Wednesday, 13 February 2013
Margaret Dunkle, children’s librarian, bookseller, author, reviewer and life member of the Victorian branch of the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA), has died in Ubud, Bali, aged 91. Virginia...

Rights round-up 

Wednesday, 13 February 2013
Sales Fiction—HarperCollins has sold German translation rights to Amber (Deborah Challinor); Spanish translation rights to Destined to Feel and Destined to Fly (Indigo Bloome); Polish translation rights to Destined to...

Nagelkerke wins 2013 Storylines Margaret Mahy Medal 

Wednesday, 13 February 2013
Christchurch writer, book judge and former librarian Bill Nagelkerke has won the 2013 Storylines Margaret Mahy Medal and Lecture Award. The award recognises Nagelkerke’s contribution to New Zealand writing for...

Quote of the week 

Wednesday, 13 February 2013
‘Literary commentators often bemoan that there is not enough interest in the Australian classics. As publishers we have accepted the responsibility to bring these books back to the fore’—HarperCollins publishing...

QWC relaunches Writers on Rafts appeal 

Tuesday, 12 February 2013
The Queensland Writers Centre (QWC) has relaunched its Writers on Rafts appeal to help raise funds for Queenslanders who have been adversely affected by Cyclone Oswald and recent flooding across...

HarperCollins to publish new series of A&R Australian Classics 

Tuesday, 12 February 2013
HarperCollins is launching a new series of Australian classics called A&R Australian Classics. The series, which combines ‘traditional and contemporary’ literature from writers such as Miles Franklin, George Johnston, Eleanor...

ACP Books rebrands as Bauer Media Books 

Tuesday, 12 February 2013
Australian Consolidated Press (ACP) Books has changed its name to Bauer Media Books, following the sale of parent company ACP Magazines to Bauer Media Group in the second half of...

2013 Buddle Findlay Sargeson Fellows announced 

Tuesday, 12 February 2013
New Zealand novelists Hamish Clayton and Tanya Moir are the recipients of the 2013 Buddle Findlay Sargeson Fellowship, reports Booksellers New Zealand. Clayton and Moir will each receive NZ$20,000 (A$16,300)...

Bestsellers this week 

Monday, 11 February 2013
Diet books are doing well on the charts this week. Your Best Body by Michelle Bridges (Viking) is number one on the highest new entries chart and number two on the fastest...

Booksellers embrace Valentine’s Day

Monday, 11 February 2013
A number of booksellers across the country are gearing up for Valentine’s Day on 14 February by showcasing books that appeal to the heart, with many turning to social media...

Busuttil promoted at Parragon, Ashmore dismissed 

Monday, 11 February 2013
Darren Busuttil has replaced Ian Ashmore as managing director of Parragon Publishing Australasia. Busuttil, who was previously sales and marketing manager for Parragon in Australia and New Zealand, was appointed...

Wilkens joins ABA management committee 

Friday, 8 February 2013
Rolf Wilkens, managing director of the Swinburne University Bookshop in Melbourne, has joined the Australian Booksellers Association (ABA) Committee of Management. The ABA said in a statement that Wilkens replaces...

Asialink 2013 residencies announced

Friday, 8 February 2013
Asialink at the University of Melbourne has announced the recipients of its 2013 Arts Residencies. The recipients of the Arts Management residencies related to writing, and the projects they will...

ASA launches contract negotiation advisory service 

Thursday, 7 February 2013
The Australian Society of Authors (ASA) has launched an advisory service to help its members prepare for contract negotiations and develop a strategy to improve their contracts. The ‘one-on-one phone consultation service’,...

Penguin releases new range of classics, Drop Caps

Wednesday, 6 February 2013
Penguin has released a new range of classics, with each book’s cover displaying a different letter of the alphabet. Drop Caps is a series of 26 hardback classics, each featuring...

Bowen appointed Small Business Minister 

Wednesday, 6 February 2013
Chris Bowen has been appointed as the new Federal Minister for Small Business, the fourth Small Business Minister to be appointed in the role in the past 18 months. Prime...

WH Smith joins Nielsen BookScan retailer panel, Fishpond leaves 

Wednesday, 6 February 2013
Nielsen BookScan’s Australian retailer panel has undergone some changes in recent months. The panel, which supplies sales data for Nielsen BookScan’s retail book sales charts, now includes WH Smith, which joined the panel...

Caro to deliver ABA Conference keynote 

Wednesday, 6 February 2013
The Australian Booksellers Association (ABA) has announced that Jane Caro will deliver the keynote address at this year’s ABA Conference. ABA CEO Joel Becker told Books+Publishing that Caro will be...

Quote of the week 

Wednesday, 6 February 2013
‘One of the most basic things for editors to keep in mind when planning to move into digital publishing is to actually—at least occasionally—read ebooks’—Momentum publisher Joel Naoum offers some...

Rights round-up 

Wednesday, 6 February 2013
Sales Fiction—Hachette has sold Turkish language rights to Wildflower Hill (Kimberley Freeman). Nonfiction—Hachette has sold Latvian language rights to Opening the Door of Your Heart (Ajahn Brahm); and audio rights...

Robert Edeson wins 2012 T.A.G. Hungerford Award 

Wednesday, 6 February 2013
Perth resident Robert Edeson has won the 2012 T.A.G. Hungerford Award for his unpublished manuscript Weaverfish. Edeson received a $12,000 cash prize and a publishing contract with Fremantle Press. His...

New awards launched for emerging writers in regional WA 

Wednesday, 6 February 2013
WritingWA has launched two new literary awards to support emerging writers in regional areas of Western Australia. The writingWA Awards, which are being offered in partnership with Curtin University and...

New book design awards open for submissions 

Tuesday, 5 February 2013
The Most Beautiful Books—Australia and New Zealand (MBBANZ) award program is now open for submissions, organiser Stuart Geddes announced on Twitter. MBBANZ, which was established to ‘recognise excellence and innovation...

St Leger appointed to Copyright Agency 

Tuesday, 5 February 2013
Murray St Leger has been appointed deputy chief executive of Copyright Agency and Viscopy, effective immediately. St Leger, a former managing director of McGraw-Hill Australia, has been working as a...