The reinvention of lit mags
Monday, 23 October 2017
In recent years, Australian literary journals have expanded into public events, unpublished manuscript prizes and even traditional book publishing, and are increasingly being seen as places that nurture vibrant literary...
Soaring twenties: 20 years of Hardie Grant
Monday, 23 October 2017
Hardie Grant Publishing celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. Books+Publishing looks back over the publisher’s many highlights. When Hardie Grant Publishing was established in 1997, the company had two clear...
Warm welcome: Kyneton’s Squishy Minnie
Monday, 23 October 2017
When children’s bookstore Squishy Minnie opened in the Victorian town of Kyneton, it filled an important gap in the regional community. Owner and manager Kristen Proud shares her bookseller’s diary....
What next for school libraries?
Monday, 23 October 2017
Jackie Tang explores the changing nature of school libraries in Australia. In September 2017, Australian children’s laureate Leigh Hobbs voiced his concern that Australian school libraries and librarians are ‘disappearing’,...
A league of their own: Junior fiction about girls and sport
Monday, 23 October 2017
Following the success of the inaugural AFL women’s league, Meg Whelan explores the recent spate of junior-fiction books about girls and sport. TV and radio presenter and now children’s book...
From the heart: Shivaun Plozza on ‘Tin Heart’
Monday, 23 October 2017
In her second YA novel Tin Heart (Penguin, March), Shivaun Plozza tells the story of a teenage girl who undergoes an organ transplant. The book ‘cements Plozza as a writer with...
Book bites: a round-up of forthcoming children’s and YA books
Monday, 23 October 2017
Children’s bookseller and Three Four Knock on the Door owner L J Lacey offers a taste of books to come. Picture this My Sister by Joanna Young (New Frontier, March)...
Reading ahead: 2018 children’s and YA preview
Monday, 23 October 2017
2018 sees the release of a new YA series from Jay Kristoff and a middle-grade series from Amie Kaufman; the re-release of a 10-year-old series from Liane Moriarty; and the...
Books+Publishing magazine Issue 4 2017
Friday, 20 October 2017
Issue 4 of Books+Publishing magazine is out now! Reviews: Of the 17 adult books reviewed in this issue, the two most highly rated are forthcoming novels: Michael Mohammed Ahmad’s The...
Books+Publishing magazine Issue 3 2017
Monday, 17 July 2017
Issue 3 of Books+Publishing magazine is out now! Reviews: Plenty of forthcoming Christmas highlights are among the 13 adult books reviewed in this issue, with Sofie Laguna’s The Choke (A&U, September), the...
Book love and burnout: Alexandra Payne on the ‘unexpected challenges of working in publishing and bookselling’
Monday, 17 July 2017
UQP nonfiction publisher Alexandra Payne explores burnout in the book industry. I found the recent Macquarie University report Reading the Reader: A Survey of Australian Reading Habits fascinating. Drawing data from...
Sound of the times: The rise of audio
Monday, 17 July 2017
From audiobooks to podcasts, Brad Jefferies investigates the rising popularity of audio formats. The widespread take-up of smartphones has enabled the growth of the audiobook market at the same time...
Stocking up: 2017 Christmas highlights
Monday, 17 July 2017
Andrea Hanke, Brad Jefferies and Sarah Farquharson round up this year’s Christmas releases. Festive fiction Literary fiction fans will be spoiled for choice this Christmas with new novels from many...
Digital driver: Joel Naoum shares his career journey
Monday, 17 July 2017
Joel Naoum was the publisher at Pan Macmillan’s digital imprint Momentum for five years before starting up the publishing consultancy Critical Mass. He shares his career journey. I’ve always been...
In the picture: Exploring the illustrated books market
Monday, 17 July 2017
The illustrated books market is thriving thanks to a growth in aspirational lifestyle titles and a reappreciation of books as beautiful objects, reports Andrea Hanke. In mid-2015, Penguin Random House...
Read centre: Bookselling in the Alice with Red Kangaroo Books
Monday, 17 July 2017
Alice Springs’ Red Kangaroo Books is likely the only bricks-and-mortar bookshop between Port Augusta, Darwin, Broome and Broken Hill, and serves a community of academics, health professionals and artists. Manager...
Editor’s picks: Forthcoming Spring highlights
Monday, 17 July 2017
Jackie Tang shares her gift-giving guide for Christmas. Illustrious company The lead-up to Christmas is always an exciting time for children’s picture books, as publishers bring out particularly lush and...
Your store: A round-up of retailing news, tips and titbits
Monday, 17 July 2017
National Bookshop Day rebranded The Australian Booksellers Association (ABA) has rebranded its annual National Bookshop Day as Love Your Bookshop Day (LYBD). This year, on 12 August, Australian booksellers are...
Shelf talk: Category round-ups of forthcoming titles by those in the know
Monday, 17 July 2017
Collected works Helen Garner fans have been spoilt in recent years with a new essay collection Everywhere I Look and Bernadette Brennan’s excellent study of Garner’s work A Writing Life...
Between the lines: Observations on the trade by Gladys Bembo
Monday, 17 July 2017
Foot in mouth, part the first. Every writers’ festival needs a little frisson of controversy, and at this year’s Sydney shindig it was ABC Books and Arts host Michael Cathcart...
Yule rush in: Children’s Christmas highlights
Monday, 17 July 2017
Andrea Hanke seeks out the highlights from publishers’ Christmas lists. Picture books Australian comedian and composer Tim Minchin’s bittersweet song ‘When I Grow Up’ from the musical Matilda has been...
Rippin’ good yarns: Sally Rippin on her new imprint at Bonnier
Monday, 17 July 2017
Jackie Tang talks to Sally Rippin about setting up the new ‘Sally Rippin Presents’ junior fiction list at Bonnier Publishing Australia and what direction she wants to take it. Sally...
Science in fiction: Hooking younger readers on science
Monday, 17 July 2017
Heather Zubek explores how children’s authors are making science engaging for readers. For many years, stories based on historical events have inspired young readers to explore the past. Now, it’s...
Book bites: A taste of books to come
Monday, 17 July 2017
Picture perfect A Thousand Hugs from Daddy by Anna Pignataro (Scholastic, August) and Funniest Dad in the World by Ed Allen and Louis Shea (Scholastic, August) are prime Father’s Day...
Off-course navigation: Claire Christian on ‘Beautiful Mess’
Wednesday, 5 July 2017
Claire Christian’s 2016 Text Prize winner Beautiful Mess (Text, September) is about two misfits who help each other through the raw pain of adolescence. Reviewer Angela Crocombe spoke to the...
The Fictional Dimension: Bram Presser on ‘The Book of Dirt’
Thursday, 29 June 2017
Bram Presser’s The Book of Dirt (Text, September) is ‘a remarkable tale of Holocaust survival, love and genealogical sleuthing by a grandson intent on finding the truth about his grandparents’...
Books+Publishing magazine Issue 2 2017
Friday, 12 May 2017
Issue 2 of Books+Publishing magazine is out now! Reviews: This issue’s top-rated adult books are both fiction titles, receiving 4.5 stars each. Steven Lang’s ‘stunning’ third novel Hinterland (UQP, July)...
Quiet Magic: Emily Rodda on ‘The Shop at Hoopers Bend’
Thursday, 11 May 2017
Emily Rodda’s latest novel The Shop at Hoopers Bend is a return to the author’s earlier books, where the magic is ‘about following your instincts’ rather than fantasy realms. Fay...
Book bites: books to come for teens and tots
Tuesday, 9 May 2017
Children’s book buyer at Hill of Content Bookshop Meg Whelan offers a taste of books to come. In the picture Aaron Blabey is back with Guff (August, Viking), a hilarious...
Brave new world: Sydney’s Beachside Bookshop
Tuesday, 9 May 2017
Sydney’s Beachside Bookshop, which specialises in teen fiction, celebrated its one-year anniversary earlier this year. Owner and second-generation bookseller Libby Armstrong shares her bookseller’s diary. ‘Oh, you’re very brave.’ If...
