News | Books+Publishing

NZ author Chidgey’s ‘The Beat of the Pendulum’ sold to UK

Wednesday, 19 September 2018
UK imprint Lightning Books has acquired New Zealand author Catherine Chidgey's 2017 novel The Beat of the Pendulum (Victoria University Press), reports the Bookseller. Caroline Dawnay at United Agents sold UK...

MUP acquires Hanson-Young book on slut-shaming

Wednesday, 19 September 2018
Melbourne University Publishing (MUP) has acquired ANZ rights to En Garde by Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young. ‘Senator Sarah Hanson-Young’s private life became a matter of public interest when she was...

Murakami withdraws from alternative Nobel Prize

Tuesday, 18 September 2018
Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami has asked to be withdrawn from Sweden's New Academy prize in literature, reports Reuters. In a post on its Facebook page, the New Academy said that Murakami...

The Little Bookroom to hold kids book festival in Melbourne

Tuesday, 18 September 2018
Melbourne children’s bookshop The Little Bookroom will hold its first kids book festival in October, called Kids Book Fest. Held at the Fitzroy Town Hall, the one-day event will feature...

Wootton wins NZ$10,000 Beatson Fellowship

Tuesday, 18 September 2018
The New Zealand Society of Authors (NZSA) has announced that Dunedin writer Sue Wootton is the winner of the 2018 Peter and Dianne Beatson Fellowship. The fellowship, which saw increased...

‘Financial Times’ 2018 Business Book of the Year shortlist announced

Tuesday, 18 September 2018
In the UK, the shortlist for the £30,000 (A$55,180) Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award has been announced. This year’s six shortlisted titles are: Bad Blood: Secrets and...

Waverley Library Award 2018 shortlist announced

Monday, 17 September 2018
The shortlist for the 2018 Waverley Library Award for Literature, known as ‘the Nib’, have been announced. The shortlisted titles are: Relatively Famous (Roger Averill, Transit Lounge) The Trauma Cleaner (Sarah...

Voss Literary Prize 2018 longlist announced

Monday, 17 September 2018
The longlist for the 2018 Voss Literary Prize has been announced. The longlisted titles are: No More Boats (Felicity Castagna, Giramondo) The Life to Come (Michelle De Kretser, A&U) First...

EU Parliament approves digital copyright reforms

Monday, 17 September 2018
In France, the European Parliament has voted in favour of copyright reforms that aim to update digital copyright laws for the internet age. The legislation supports Europe’s creative industries and...

National Book Award 2018 fiction longlist announced

Monday, 17 September 2018
In the US, the National Book Award fiction longlist has been announced. The finalists in the fiction category are: A Lucky Man (Jamel Brinkley, Graywolf Press) Gun Love (Jennifer Clement, Hogarth) Florida (Lauren...

National Book Award 2018 longlists announced

Friday, 14 September 2018
In the US, longlists in four categories of the National Book Award have been announced, including the inaugural award for translated literature. The longlists announced so far are: Nonfiction One...

Five Islands Press to wind up

Friday, 14 September 2018
Specialist poetry publisher Five Islands Press has announced the company will wind up in 2020. The small press announced last week that it is no longer accepting new manuscripts, and...

Harry Hartog to open stores in SA, QLD and campus store at ANU

Friday, 14 September 2018
Bookselling chain Harry Hartog plans to open stores at Glenside in South Australia, Maroochydore in Queensland and Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra, bringing its total number of stores to...

Digital Book World Awards finalists announced

Thursday, 13 September 2018
The finalists of the Digital Book World (DBW) Awards have been announced. The awards are presented as part of the DBW conference, and recognise 'worldwide achievement in publishing'. Finalists in...

Dymocks launches education business Potentia

Thursday, 13 September 2018
Australian bookselling chain Dymocks has launched a new education business called Potentia. Potentia will run tutoring programs for school students across a broad range of subjects including maths and English....

Three book companies make the 2018 Top 500 list

Thursday, 13 September 2018
Three Australian book industry companies have made the Top 500 Private Companies List, reports the Australian Financial Review (AFR). Book retailer The Co-Op and Australian Geographic ranked 330th, slightly down from last...

Scotland launches national strategy for school libraries

Wednesday, 12 September 2018
A new national strategy has been launched for school libraries in Scotland, after consultation with over 30 schools, reports BBC News. The recently published strategy is the first of its...

NZ author Salmond shortlisted for UK Nayef Al-Rodhan Prize

Wednesday, 12 September 2018
New Zealand author Anne Salmond’s Tears of Rangi: Experiments Across Worlds (Auckland University Press) has been shortlisted for the British Academy’s 2018 Nayef Al-Rodhan Prize. Salmond's book examines the early encounters...

Maitland councillors lodge rescission motion over public library funding

Wednesday, 12 September 2018
In NSW's Lower Hunter Valley region, three Liberal councillors from Maitland City Council have lodged a motion to reverse council support for public library funding, following the state government’s announcement of a $60...

$132k granted to regional NSW mobile library for upgrades

Wednesday, 12 September 2018
The Clarence Valley Council has upgraded its mobile library service after being granted $132,000 by the NSW state government for a new van, reports the Daily Examiner. The more ‘cost-efficient’...

Consenting adults: Kate Cuthbert on the romance novel and representations of sexuality after #MeToo

Wednesday, 12 September 2018
Escape Publishing managing editor Kate Cuthbert gave the keynote address at this year’s Romance Writers of Australia conference. This is an edited extract of her speech. I’d like to begin...

Dennis Jones & Associates: staff owed $170,000, secured creditor owed $250,000

Wednesday, 12 September 2018
The liquidators of Dennis Jones & Associates (DJA) held a creditors’ meeting in Melbourne on Monday, 10 September. Liquidators Scott Howell and Steven Kugel from The Insolvency Experts told the Melbourne...

Melbourne Prize for Literature finalists announced

Wednesday, 12 September 2018
Finalists have been announced for this year's Melbourne Prize for Literature, as well as the Best Writing Award and the Readings Residency Award. The finalists for the $60,000 Melbourne Prize for...

IPA condemns issue of international arrest warrant for exiled Turkish publisher

Wednesday, 12 September 2018
In Turkey, a court has issued an Interpol red notice for exiled Turkish publisher and human rights activist Ragip Zarakolu, reports Turkish newspaper Ahval. Zarakolu is the director of Belge Publishing House,...

Australian publishers report interest in parenting, children’s titles in Beijing

Wednesday, 12 September 2018
Independent Australian publishers attending the Beijing International Book Fair (BIBF), running from 22-26 August, have reported interest in the categories of children's, parenting, and education. Ventura Press director Jane Curry...