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Amazon, IPG settle ebooks dispute 

Wednesday, 30 May 2012
Amazon and US book distributor Independent Publishers Group (IPG) have reached a settlement in the ebook sales dispute which began in February, reports the Bookseller. According to news reports in...

Quote of the week 

Wednesday, 30 May 2012
‘In the end, it took Joel [Naoum] and I all of about two minutes to decide that all of my ebook-only titles would be sold at the lower “American” price and...

Melbourne Writers Festival Schools’ Program launched 

Wednesday, 30 May 2012
The 2012 Melbourne Writers Festival Schools’ Program has been launched and is available on the website. Tickets are also now available for purchase. Authors featured in this year’s schools’ program,...

Writing Australia launches new regional residency program

Wednesday, 30 May 2012
Writing Australia has announced a new regional residency program. The Writing Australia Places program offers four-week regional writing residencies in Lake St Clair and Bruny Island in Tasmania, Kangaroo Island...

Brown to appear as keynote speaker at BBWF 

Wednesday, 30 May 2012
The Byron Bay Writers Festival has confirmed Greens Senator Bob Brown will be a keynote speaker at this year’s event. Brown, who recently stepped down from his role as Greens...

New owner for Better Read Than Dead 

Wednesday, 30 May 2012
Independent Sydney bookstore Better Read Than Dead has been sold to Parkstone Investments, a private company led by businessman and arts patron Pat Corrigan. Derek Dryden, who opened Better Read...

Get Reading! drops free book incentive 

Wednesday, 30 May 2012
Following the news that the '50 Books You Can’t Put Down' list will be all-Australian for the first time this year, Get Reading! has revealed that this year’s campaign will...

Rolley to leave SWF

Tuesday, 29 May 2012
The Sydney Writers’ Festival (SWF) has announced that current director Chip Rolley will leave the festival in August to take up the role of editor of the ABC’s The Drum....

RiP Carlos Fuentes 

Tuesday, 29 May 2012
Latin American author Carlos Fuentes has died aged 83. Fuentes's best-known works include The Death Of Artemio Cruz, The Old Gringo and The Crystal Frontier.

RiP Sue Gillies 

Tuesday, 29 May 2012
Sue Gillies, who was the business development manager at Five Mile Press prior to her retirement, has died. Five Mile Press writes: ‘It is with great sadness we must let you...

Simpson awarded Michael King Writers’ Fellowship 

Tuesday, 29 May 2012
New Zealand writer, scholar and curator Peter Simpson has been announced as the recipient of this year’s Creative New Zealand Michael King Writers’ Fellowship. Simpson will use the NZ$100,000 (approximately...

Bestsellers this week 

Tuesday, 29 May 2012
The erotic fiction of the ‘Fifty Shades’ trilogy (E L James, Arrow Books) dominate the top of the bestsellers chart this week with Fifty Shades of Grey again in first place, followed by...

Rights round-up 

Tuesday, 29 May 2012
Sales Nonfiction—Exisle has sold rights to The Happiness Trap (Dr Russ Harris) to Finland and Poland; The Reality Slap (Dr Russ Harris) to Italy, Denmark and Sweden; French-language rights to...

APA Book Design Awards 2012 winners announced

Monday, 28 May 2012
The winners of this year's Australian Publishers Association (APA) Book Design Awards were announced on Thursday 17 May in Sydney as part of the Sydney Writers' Festival (SWF). The winning...

2012 ABIA winners announced

Monday, 28 May 2012
The winners of this year’s Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIAs) were announced on Friday 18 May at a special event in Sydney. Hosted by the ABC’s Paul Barclay, this year’s...

NSW tribunal to consider Judith Wright poetry case

Monday, 28 May 2012
An application has been made to the New South Wales Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal (CTTT) by publisher Gumquest/Editions Tom Thompson (ETT) Imprint regarding the publication of poems from Judith Wright’s...

‘All That I Am’ wins 2012 Barbara Jefferis Award

Thursday, 24 May 2012
All That I Am by Anna Funder (Penguin) has won this year’s Barbara Jefferis Award, presented by the Australian Society of Authors (ASA). Funder’s novel was selected for the $35,000...

CBCA conference returns on a smaller scale

Wednesday, 23 May 2012
Around 380 delegates attended this year’s Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) ‘multistoried’ conference, which was held at the Adelaide Convention Centre from 17-19 May. Julie Wells, national president of...

International authors take centre stage at SWF 2012 

Wednesday, 23 May 2012
Book sales at this year’s Sydney Writers’ Festival, held between 14 and 20 May, were dominated by international authors, according to festival bookseller Gleebooks. Gleebooks owner David Gaunt told Bookseller+Publisher...

HGE signs first author through Ampersand Project

Wednesday, 23 May 2012
The Ampersand Project, a Hardie Grant Egmont (HGE) initiative to publish books from unpublished emerging writers, has signed up Melbourne writer Melissa Keil. The project received 250 submissions after an...

Baum appointed Booktopia editorial director 

Wednesday, 23 May 2012
Booktopia has announced that Caroline Baum has been appointed as editorial director. Baum will be responsible for ‘headline editorial pieces’ for the company’s online newsletter Booktopia Buzz, and will contribute...

Publishers support agreement to reduce PIR timeframe 

Wednesday, 23 May 2012
Most major Australian publishers have said that they support the Book Industry Speed to Market Initiative, developed by the Australian Publishers Association (APA) and the Australian Booksellers Association (ABA), which...

Cunningham appointed Literature Board chair

Wednesday, 23 May 2012
Author and former Meanjin editor Sophie Cunningham has been appointed to the position of chair of the Australia Council Literature Board. Cunningham, who started in the role on 16 May,...

Byrne appointed to VIP Program committee 

Wednesday, 23 May 2012
The Australia Council has announced Wenona Byrne has joined the Visiting International Publishers (VIP) Program committee. Byrne, who is rights and international sales manager at Allen & Unwin, joins existing...