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Stella Prize 2020 longlist announced

Friday, 7 February 2020
The longlist for the 2020 Stella Prize, worth $50,000, has been announced. The longlisted titles are: Lucky Ticket (Joey Bui, Text) Songspirals: Sharing women’s wisdom of country through songlines (Gay’wu Group...

Booktopia raises $20m from private investors

Booktopia logo Friday, 7 February 2020
Online bookseller Booktopia has raised $20 million from private investors, led by Champ Ventures CEO Su-Ming Wong and JBS Investments CEO John Sampson. Under the deal, Wong will join the...

Gill wins 2020 Margaret Mahy Medal

Thursday, 6 February 2020
Children’s author Maria Gill has won the 2020 Storylines Margaret Mahy Medal, presented annually for lifetime achievement and distinguished contribution to New Zealand children’s literature. Gill is the author of...

Brow Books acquires graphic novel ‘Stone Fruit’

Thursday, 6 February 2020
Brow Books has acquired ANZ rights to debut graphic novel Stone Fruit by Montreal-based Australian comics artist Lee Lai. Stone Fruit follows queer couple Bron and Ray who ‘enjoy their...

‘Changes start small’: Behind the union push at PRH

Wednesday, 5 February 2020
Elena Gomez was part of a core team of editorial and publicity staff at Penguin Random House Australia (PRH) who initiated collective bargaining with their employer last year, resulting in...

King, Murray awarded 2020 Waitangi Day Honours

Wednesday, 5 February 2020
Writer and WORD Christchurch director Rachael King and science fiction author Lee Murray have been named in the New Zealand Society of Authors’ (NZSA) annual Waitangi Day Honours. King was...

Williams steps down as Wheeler Centre director 

Tuesday, 4 February 2020
Michael Williams will step down from his position as the Wheeler Centre director, after 10 years in the role. ‘Being part of establishing, defining and shaping the Wheeler Centre over...

Spheres of influence: Ronnie Scott on ‘The Adversary’

Monday, 3 February 2020
Ronnie Scott’s debut novel The Adversary (Hamish Hamilton) follows an unnamed protagonist as he navigates gay friendship and wrestles with self-doubt over the course of a hot Melbourne summer. Scott spoke...

Pascoe withdraws from Perth and Adelaide festival events

A photo of Bruce Pascoe. He stands outside and is wearing a red shirt. Monday, 3 February 2020
Author Bruce Pascoe has withdrawn from scheduled appearances at Perth Festival and Adelaide Writers’ Week, citing a need to return to his bushfire-affected home in East Gippsland. Pascoe announced he...

Taipei book fair postponed due to coronavirus

Monday, 3 February 2020
The Taipei International Book Exhibition (TIBE), originally scheduled for 4–9 February, has been postponed until 7–12 May as a result of the spreading coronavirus epidemic. The Ministry of Culture, Taiwan...

Amazon net sales up by 20% in 2019

Monday, 3 February 2020
Amazon has released its full-year financial results for 2019, reporting a net sales increase of 20% on the previous year. The company's financial results for 2018 showed a net sales...

BookScan figures: Volume up, value down 

Friday, 31 January 2020
There was marginal growth in the sales volume of books and a three percent drop in value in the lead-up to Christmas 2019, compared to the same period in the...

Caffoor to leave Text 

Friday, 31 January 2020
Text rights manager Khadija Caffoor is leaving the company to return to the UK. Caffoor has worked in rights at Text since 2016. Caffoor told Books+Publishing she'd decided ‘it was...