Thursday, 31 January 2013
Roberta Ivers has been appointed in the newly created position of managing editor at Simon & Schuster Australia. Managing director Lou Johnson told Books+Publishing that Ivers will assist head of...

Wednesday, 30 January 2013
Hilary Mantel’s Man Booker Prize-winning novel Bring Up the Bodies (Fourth Estate) has won the 2012 Costa Book of the Year Award. Mantel was presented with the £30,000 (A$45,147) award...

Wednesday, 30 January 2013
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is undertaking an ‘informal review’ of the proposed merger of Penguin and Random House. The ACCC is currently seeking ‘comments ... from interested...

Wednesday, 30 January 2013
The Sydney Review of Books, an online journal devoted to long-form literary criticism, has been launched. The pilot site, which can be found at www.sydneyreviewofbooks.com, was launched with reviews of...

Wednesday, 30 January 2013
Jan Ormerod, Australian author and illustrator, has died aged 67. Hardie Grant Egmont and Little Hare write: ‘Jan Ormerod grew up in the fifties, in a series of small towns...

Wednesday, 30 January 2013
‘It’s not going to save book shops or anything but you need to be able to demonstrate to your customers that you are up to date with what’s happening in...

Tuesday, 29 January 2013
Author and former journalist Ita Buttrose has been selected as the 2013 Australian of the Year. Buttrose, author of A Passionate Life (Viking) and A Guide to Australian Etiquette (Penguin), received...

Tuesday, 29 January 2013
In the ninth ‘Captain Underpants’ book, Tippy Tinkletrousers shows up on a post-apocalyptic Earth and appears to be crushed to death by Zombie Nerds George and Harold. In the 10th book, Captain...

Tuesday, 29 January 2013
Several Australian authors were among those recognised in this year’s Australia Day Honours. UK-based writer and broadcaster Clive James was made an Officer in the General Division of the Order...

Friday, 25 January 2013
Much-loved Australian children’s books author and illustrator Jan Ormerod has died in the UK. Ormerod died from a stroke on 23 January after battling cancer. Her daughter Laura announced the news...

Friday, 25 January 2013
Pan Macmillan’s digital imprint Momentum has launched a range of science-fiction, romance and erotic classics, each priced at $1.99. There are currently seven titles in the Momentum classics range: We...

Friday, 25 January 2013
Coming off the back of a relatively strong Christmas in 2011, close to 60% of booksellers surveyed in Bookseller+Publisher’s annual post-Christmas survey have reported a drop in sales this year....

Friday, 25 January 2013
This Christmas period has seen another drop in sales volume and value. According to Nielsen Bookscan, sales were down 4.5% in value and 2.7% in volume over the 13 weeks to 29...

Friday, 25 January 2013
Despite a generally lukewarm response to the fiction on offer from booksellers in our pre-Christmas survey, many respondents reported that fiction titles outperformed the traditional Christmas favourites of biographies and cookbooks this year....

Friday, 25 January 2013
Gone are the days when the majority of Australian booksellers only sold books in-store. A large majority of booksellers who responded to our survey (82%) reported selling books online, either...

Friday, 25 January 2013
Almost all the publishers surveyed by Bookseller+Publisher this year have reported a ‘good’ or ‘okay’ Christmas, though only a couple (Penguin, Simon & Schuster) have reported that sales were up on...

Friday, 25 January 2013
While booksellers were generally positive about the availability of titles this year, many were disappointed to run out of copies of Jamie’s 15-Minute Meals. ‘Jamie’s 15-Minute Meals was an amazing seller....

Thursday, 24 January 2013
Cassie Marsden will join Bloomsbury Australia as marketing manager for adult trade books next month. Bloomsbury Australia managing director Louise Sherwin-Stark told Bookseller+Publisher that Marsden will begin in the role...

Thursday, 24 January 2013
The Australian Society of Authors (ASA) has announced that its grants initiative for children’s book illustrators will run again this year. In a statement on its website, the ASA said that...

Wednesday, 23 January 2013
The Leading Edge Books group has several new faces following the departure of general manager Simon Milne in November 2012. In late November 2012, George Papadopoulos was appointed general manager...

Wednesday, 23 January 2013
Please note that, due to the public holiday next Monday in lieu of Australia Day on the Saturday, the Weekly Book Newsletter will be published on Thursday 31 January.  The deadline for classifieds and job...

Wednesday, 23 January 2013
‘The word “Bookshop” just didn’t fit comfortably with the great choice of products we now offer’—Campus retailer The Co-op explains its decision to rename the business on its blog.