News | Books+Publishing

Libraries awarded NLA community heritage grants

Wednesday, 1 November 2017
The National Library of Australia (NLA) has announced the recipients of the 2017 Community Heritage Grants (CHG) program, including a number of libraries. In NSW, the Albury Library Museum received...

Homeless people offered access to Manchester libraries under new pilot scheme

Wednesday, 1 November 2017
In the UK, Manchester City Council has launched a pilot scheme to allow homeless people to join its 22 libraries and access its digital services, reports the BBC. The project...

The Amazon effect: What the arrival of Amazon means for the bookselling industry

Wednesday, 1 November 2017
Recently, communications agency Spectrum Group hosted a panel discussion in Sydney on what the arrival of Amazon means for the Australian retail industry, with a particular focus on booksellers. Moderated...

Affirm acquires memoir ‘Sophie’s Boys’

Wednesday, 1 November 2017
Affirm Press has acquired world rights to Sophie’s Boys, a memoir by Sophie Smith, who lost her triplets after going into labour prematurely, as told to journalist Deborah Fitzgerald. Sophie’s...

‘WBN’ published Thursday next week

Wednesday, 1 November 2017
Please note that, due to the Melbourne Cup public holiday in Victoria on Tuesday, the next Weekly Book Newsletter will be published on Thursday 9 November. The deadline for classifieds and job...

Ngaio Marsh Award 2017 winners announced

Tuesday, 31 October 2017
Fiona Sussman’s The Last Time We Spoke (Allison & Busby) has won the 2017 Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel. Sussman is the first female author to win the award, which...

YABBAs 2017 winners announced

Tuesday, 31 October 2017
The winners of the 2017 Young Australians Best Book Awards (YABBAs), Victoria’s children’s choice awards, have been announced. The winning titles are: Picture storybooks Do Not Open This Book (Andy...

Waterstones owner Mamut considering sale of the chain

Tuesday, 31 October 2017
Waterstones owner Alexander Mamut has asked corporate advisors from the investment banking company N M Rothschild to explore a £250m (A$429.5m) sale of the UK bookselling chain, reports the Sunday...

SPN Independent Publishing Conference 2017 program announced

Tuesday, 31 October 2017
The Small Press Network (SPN) has launched the program for its 2017 Independent Publishing Conference, which will run at the Wheeler Centre in Melbourne from 16-18 November. The three-day conference...

CBCA NSW announces shortlist for 2017 mentorship program

Tuesday, 31 October 2017
The Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) NSW branch has announced the shortlist for the 2017 Aspiring Writers Mentorship Program for unpublished children’s writers. The three shortlisted writers are: Angela...

A&U acquires local crime-fiction debut with ‘major international buzz’

Tuesday, 31 October 2017
Allen & Unwin has acquired ANZ rights to Australian journalist Chris Hammer’s crime-fiction debut Scrublands for publication in August 2018. A&U reports that the novel is ‘causing major international buzz’,...

Sharjah Publishing City opens for business

Tuesday, 31 October 2017
Sharjah Publishing City, a new publishing hub located in the United Arab Emirates, has opened for business, and the Sharjah Book Authority is inviting international publishers to occupy its 400...

UK booksellers pay 11 times more corporation tax than Amazon, report finds

Monday, 30 October 2017
A report commissioned by the UK Booksellers Association and released by the Centre for Economics and Business Research has found that UK bookshops pay 11 times more corporation tax than...

‘SRB’ to publish anniversary anthology

Monday, 30 October 2017
The Sydney Review of Books (SRB) will publish an anthology of essays on Australian fiction, poetry and nonfiction to mark its five-year anniversary. Essays in The Australian Face, previously published...

Arts Tasmania 2018 Artist Investment Program recipients announced

Monday, 30 October 2017
Three writers have received grants in the 2018 round of Arts Tasmania’s Arts Investment Program, which provides funding for artists’ creative projects. Thirty-five successful applications shared in a total of...

‘Extinctions’ wins 2017 Colin Roderick Award

Saturday, 28 October 2017
Josephine Wilson’s Miles Franklin Award-winning novel Extinctions (UWA Publishing) has won the 2017 Colin Roderick Award and the HT Priestley Medal, administered by the Foundation for Australian Literary Studies at James...

‘The Dry’ wins CWA Gold Dagger

Friday, 27 October 2017
Australian author Jane Harper has won the 2017 UK Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) Gold Dagger for her debut novel The Dry (Pan). The Dry was one of seven titles shortlisted...

WA government honours arts ‘champions’ in inaugural awards

Friday, 27 October 2017
The Western Australian government has announced the recipients of the inaugural State Arts and Culture Partnership Honours, which ‘acknowledge the outstanding contributions of individual philanthropists and businesses who partner with...