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Clunes recognised as international booktown

Thursday, 19 April 2012
The International Organisation of Booktowns has declared the Victorian town of Clunes as an international booktown. This recognition places Clunes alongside 14 other international booktowns, including Hay-on-Wye in Wales, Wigtown...

Apple, four publishers, to settle in EU antitrust case 

Wednesday, 18 April 2012
As reported by the Bookseller, Apple and four publishers under investigation by the EU Competition Commission regarding ebook pricing have made proposals to ‘reach an early resolution of the case’,...

ARBR opens two new A&R bookstores in Queensland 

Wednesday, 18 April 2012
Angus & Robertson Book Retailing (ARBR), the sister company of former REDgroup-owned newsagency chain Supanews, has opened two new Angus & Robertson (A&R)-branded bookstores in Queensland. ARBR marketing manager Michaela...

HarperCollins announces field sales review 

Wednesday, 18 April 2012
HarperCollins Australia has announced that it is reviewing its field sales operation. CEO Michael Moynahan said in a statement this week that the publisher will 'shortly be launching a dedicated...

Bombala Writers Festival kicks off this weekend 

Wednesday, 18 April 2012
Inspired by an image posted on Facebook of the Bombala Literary Institute—a decaying building dating back to 1865—several authors have banded together to bring the arts back to the town...

Readers of Whitehorse bookshop closes 

Wednesday, 18 April 2012
Independent Melbourne bookstore Readers of Whitehorse has closed. The store, which was located in the Centro shopping centre in Box Hill, Melbourne, finished trading on Friday 13 April. Readers of...

Lonely Planet launches country guide apps 

Wednesday, 18 April 2012
Lonely Planet has announced a series of new country guide apps for the iPhone and iPod touch, available via the App store. The first apps launched were country guides for...

Bloomsbury Australia creates new digital marketing role 

Wednesday, 18 April 2012
Bloomsbury Australia has appointed Bethia Thomas to the newly created position of digital marketing manager. Thomas, who joined the publisher in March, has previously worked in bookselling and publishing in...

Pulitzer Prizes announced, no fiction prize awarded

Wednesday, 18 April 2012
The annual Pulitzer Prizes were announced on 16 April, with the exception of the Pulitzer Prize for fiction which was not awarded this year. Instead, the board announced three finalists...

Quote of the week 

Wednesday, 18 April 2012
‘We understood that the shift to agency would be very costly to Penguin and its shareholders in the short-term, but we reasoned that the prevention of a monopoly in the...

Booksellers, publishers find success at Supanova 2012 

Wednesday, 18 April 2012
Booksellers provided space for genre authors to meet with fans at the Supanova pop culture expo at Melbourne showgrounds on 13-15 April. Dymocks North Sydney ran a book stall selling various...

Orange Prize 2012 shortlist announced 

Wednesday, 18 April 2012
The shortlist for the 2012 Orange Prize for Fiction has been announced. The UK prize, worth £30,000 (approximately A$46,000), is awarded for the best novel of the year written by...

Darwin WordStorm 2012 program announced 

Tuesday, 17 April 2012
The program for this year’s WordStorm festival, to be held in conjunction with the National Poetry Festival, has been announced. The festival will run from 10-13 May in Darwin, featuring...

New Dymocks store opens in Melbourne 

Tuesday, 17 April 2012
A new Dymocks bookstore opened on Saturday 14 April at Knox Shopping Centre in Wantirna South, Victoria, taking the place of a space once occupied by Borders. Dymocks employee Jamie...

Bestsellers this week 

Tuesday, 17 April 2012
The books from Suzanne Collins’ 'Hunger Games' series (Scholastic) dominate the charts once again, with Catching Fire still at the top of both the bestseller and highest new entries charts. The classic edition...

RiP Nick Webb 

Tuesday, 17 April 2012
Nick Webb, author and former publisher, has died aged 63. Webb’s works include Wish You Were Here (2003), The Dictionary of Bullsh-t (2006) and The Dictionary of Political Bullsh-t (2010).

Movie double-pass giveaway! 

Monday, 16 April 2012
Lloyd is on top of the world—beautiful girls, great club sounds and a neverending supply of the love drug, sustained by a smuggling sideline for the local drug boss. But...

Weekly Book Newsletter published Thursday next week 

Monday, 16 April 2012
Please note that, due to the ANZAC Day public holiday next Wednesday, Bookseller+Publisher's Weekly Book Newsletter will be published on Thursday 26 April. The deadline for classifieds and job advertisements remains...

2012 ABIA finalists announced

Thursday, 12 April 2012
The finalists for this year’s Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIAs) have been announced. The winners of the awards, as well as the Lloyd O’Neil Award and the Pixie O’Harris Award,...

Australian Poetry director resigns amid controversy 

Thursday, 12 April 2012
Paul Kooperman, director of Australia’s peak poetry body, Australian Poetry Ltd, has resigned, following the resignations of general manager Robert Lukins and publications manager Victoria Amy. News site Crikey reports...

Sales and profits grow at Elsevier in 2011 

Thursday, 12 April 2012
International publisher Elsevier has recorded a two percent increase in underlying sales and a four percent increase in underlying operating profit for 2011. In its latest financial results, available online...

Bestsellers this week 

Thursday, 12 April 2012
The wife of a diplomat goes on a much needed weekend getaway with her three best friends. While enjoying themselves in Monte Carlo, their fun comes to a sudden halt after...

Quote of the week 

Thursday, 12 April 2012
‘Often, in the rush to bestow prestige on the recipient (and benefactor), administrators of literary awards can forget that giving out an award is only half the job; it also...

New bookshop opens in Hobart 

Thursday, 12 April 2012
A new bookshop has opened at the State Cinema in Hobart, Tasmania. The State Cinema Bookstore started trading on 3 April, and is located adjacent to the State Cinema on...

‘Cash mob’ visits Sydney’s Ariel Books 

Thursday, 12 April 2012
A group of approximately 30 people visited Ariel Books in Paddington, Sydney, on Saturday 25 March as part of a new initiative designed to support local businesses. The event at Ariel Books was...

Harry Potter ebooks published without DRM 

Thursday, 12 April 2012
Ebooks sold online through JK Rowling’s Pottermore website are being published on most devices without digital-rights management restrictions (DRM). In place of DRM, each ebook has a personalized electronic watermark,...

Grover appointed Fusion Retail Brands CEO

Thursday, 12 April 2012
Former Dymocks CEO Don Grover has been appointed CEO and managing director of Fusion Retail Brands (FRB). FRB was launched in September 2011 to ‘secur[e] the future of several iconic...

O’Hara to step down as BWF director

Thursday, 12 April 2012
Brisbane Writers Festival (BWF) director and CEO Jane O’Hara has confirmed that this year’s festival will be her last. ‘Jane provided more than twelve months notice to the Committee that...