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Quote of the week 

Wednesday, 25 June 2014
‘We’ve experienced one of the fastest growing ebook markets in the world and we’ve seen a whole bunch of new publishers starting up’—Publishers Association of New Zealand (PANZ) president Sam...

Manuscript Appraisal Agency sold to Carstairs 

Wednesday, 25 June 2014
Brian Cook has sold the Manuscript Appraisal Agency (MAA) to former Murdoch Books project editor Kit Carstairs.Cook, who established the MAA in 1997 after leaving his publishing role at HarperCollins, told...

International library news 

Wednesday, 25 June 2014
Singapore’s National Library Board launches Read! FestThe Singapore National Library Board’s 10th annual Read! Fest was launched on 20 June with a range of events and activities planned to encourage...

Davis appears on ‘Australian Story’ 

Wednesday, 25 June 2014
Perth author and bookseller Brooke Davis featured on an episode of ABC TV’s Australian Story on Monday 23 June. Davis’ debut novel Lost & Found (Hachette, July) caught the attention of the...

New online literary journal ‘Bumf’ launched 

Wednesday, 25 June 2014
New online literary journal Bumf has launched and is now open for submissions.The fortnightly journal, based in Brisbane and San Francisco, is looking for pieces between 400 and 1000 words....

Rushdie to deliver 2014 MWF keynote

Tuesday, 24 June 2014
The Melbourne Writers Festival (MWF) has announced that Salman Rushdie will deliver a keynote address at this year’s festival.Rushdie, who will appear at the festival on Thursday 28 August, will speak...

John Button Prize 2014 longlist announced

Tuesday, 24 June 2014
The longlist for the 2014 John Button Prize for writing on policy and politics has been announced.The longlisted titles are: Hearts & Minds: A Blueprint for Modern Labor (Chris Bowen,...

Text acquires ‘Our Magic Hour’

Tuesday, 24 June 2014
Text Publishing has announced it has acquired Our Magic Hour by Melbourne writer Jennifer Down. Down’s manuscript was a runner-up for the 2014 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for an Unpublished...

Readings expands SLV store

Tuesday, 24 June 2014
The Readings store at the State Library of Victoria has been extended by almost a third. The store, which closed for two weeks for renovations, reopened on Thursday 19 June...

‘The Marriage Knot’ wins 2014 Margaret Medcalf Award 

Monday, 23 June 2014
Penelope Hetherington has won the 2014 Margaret Medcalf Award for her nonfiction title The Marriage Knot: Marriage and Divorce in Colonial Western Australia 1829-1900 (UWA Publishing). The annual Margaret Medcalf...

Exisle to publish 12-year-old author 

Monday, 23 June 2014
Exisle Publishing has announced it has acquired I Don’t Like Cheese by 12-year-old Hannah Chandler.Chandler’s book about a mouse that doesn’t like cheese was written in response to a challenge...

Bestsellers this week 

Monday, 23 June 2014
The standard edition of The Fault in Our Stars (John Green, Penguin) is on top of the bestsellers chart for the second week in a row, ahead of the film tie-in...

Salman Rushdie wins PEN/Pinter Prize 

Monday, 23 June 2014
Salman Rushdie has won the 2014 PEN/Pinter Prize, reports the Bookseller. Established in 2009 by English PEN in memory of Nobel-Laureate playwright Harold Pinter, the award is presented annually for outstanding literary merit by...

Angry Robot closes YA and crime/mystery imprints 

Monday, 23 June 2014
UK publisher Angry Robot Books has closed its YA imprint Strange Chemistry and its crime/mystery imprint Exhibit A, reports Publishers Weekly. The publisher said in a statement that the imprints have closed ‘due mainly to...

ABC opens flagship Melbourne CBD store 

Monday, 23 June 2014
The ABC has opened its flagship store at the new Emporium shopping centre in Melbourne’s CBD. The store is located on the centre’s third level and features ‘two reading areas,...

Davis to feature on ‘Australian Story’

Friday, 20 June 2014
Perth author and bookseller Brooke Davis will feature on an episode of ABC TV’s Australian Story on Monday 23 June.Davis’ debut novel Lost & Found, published by Hachette in July, caught the...

Gourmand World Cookbook Awards winners announced 

Friday, 20 June 2014
The Gourmand World Cookbook Awards for ‘Best in the World’ have been announced.Three Australian titles won first place in their respective categories:Charity and fundraising category Pacific: Limestone: Keith Hospital Cookbook (Robyn...

Wyld wins Jerwood Fiction Uncovered Prize 

Friday, 20 June 2014
Australian-born, UK-based author Evie Wyld is among eight writers to be awarded the Jerwood Fiction Uncovered Prize, Wyld was awarded the prize, which is open to British writers of fiction of...

Australian Shadows Awards winners announced 

Friday, 20 June 2014
The winners of the 2013 Australian Shadows Awards have been announced.The winners in each category are: Novel: 809 Jacob Street (Marty Young, Black Beacon Books)  Long Fiction: ‘The Unwanted Women of...

Audiobook initiative wins FutureBook Hack prize 

Friday, 20 June 2014
An audiobook initiative that allows people to record their own audiobook clips and be rated for their performance online has won the UK publishing industry’s FutureBook Hack Prize, reports the...

Wyld wins 2013 Encore Award

Thursday, 19 June 2014
Australian author Evie Wyld has won the £10,000 (A$18,066) Encore Award for her novel All The Birds, Singing (Vintage). The annual award is presented for the best second novel from...

Booktopia, Bookworld nominated for online retailing awards

Thursday, 19 June 2014
Booktopia and Bookworld have picked up several nominations in this year’s Online Retail Industry Awards (ORIAS).Booktopia is a finalist for Best Pureplay Online Retailer, Best Social Commerce Initiative, Best Online...

Amazon launches The Fire Phone 

Thursday, 19 June 2014
Amazon has launched a smartphone called The Fire Phone that has an inbuilt Kindle app and an app that recognises physical products that are available to buy on the Amazon store, reports...

WHSmith Melbourne Central closes

Thursday, 19 June 2014
The WHSmith store at Melbourne Central Shopping Centre has closed. The store announced the news on its Facebook page in May. Its final day was 18 June. The store had been...

Words from the west: Deb Fitzpatrick on ‘The Break’ 

Thursday, 19 June 2014
Deb Fitzpatrick’s first novel for adults explores human drama in the ‘picturesque setting of Margaret River’. ‘The Break [Fremantle Press, September] will resonate with fans of Tim Winton, as Fitzpatrick...

Into the Wood: Danielle Wood on ‘Mothers Grimm’ 

Thursday, 19 June 2014
Danielle Wood’s Mothers Grimm (A&U, September) explores the stereotypes of the ‘good’ and ‘wicked’ mother in her contemporary retelling of four Grimm’s fairytales. Bec Kavanagh spoke to the author.Do you...