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Hachette to honour Richell with scholarship or foundation

Tuesday, 15 July 2014
Hachette has announced it will establish a scholarship or foundation to commemorate Hachette Australia CEO Matt Richell. ‘We plan to work with [Richell’s wife] Hannah to establish a scholarship or...

RiP Nadine Gordimer 

Tuesday, 15 July 2014
South African writer Nadine Gordimer has died, aged 90. Gordimer’s literary agency, United Agents, writes: ‘Nadine Gordimer, who in 1991 was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, has died peacefully...

Rights round-up 

Tuesday, 15 July 2014
SalesFiction—HarperCollins has sold UK English-language rights to Sapphire Skies, White Gardenia, Wild Lavender and Silver Wattle (Belinda Alexandra). Nonfiction—HarperCollins has sold Canadian rights to The New Classics (Donna Hay); and...

International library news 

Tuesday, 15 July 2014
Singapore libraries remove children’s titles with gay themes In Singapore, the National Library Board (NLB) has removed from libraries three children’s titles it has deemed inappropriate for children following complaints about their...

On tour: Meet the author Rachael Herron 

Tuesday, 15 July 2014
US-NZ author Rachael Herron is attending the Australian Romance Readers Convention in Sydney in August. Her latest novel is Pack Up the Moon (Bantam). The next instalment in her ‘Cypress...

After the games: Catherine Harris on ‘The Family Men’

Tuesday, 15 July 2014
The Family Men (Black Inc., September) explores the fallout from an AFL football team’s post-season celebration. ‘[It’s] a nuanced indictment of a sporting culture that forgives appalling behaviour in our...

Frank O’Connor short story winner announced 

Monday, 14 July 2014
Debut Irish author Colin Barrett has won the 2014 Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award—the world’s richest prize for a short-story collection, reports the Guardian. Barrett’s collection Young Skins (Vintage...

Print decline slows in the UK 

Monday, 14 July 2014
In the UK, the Bookseller reports that the ‘physical market’ for the first half of the year has fallen by 2.4% to £526 million (A$959 million), with volume sales of...

Bestsellers this week 

Monday, 14 July 2014
Lost & Found by Perth author and bookseller Brooke Davis (Hachette) has entered the bestsellers chart this week in 10th place after being last week’s highest new entry in 17th place....

Page & Blackmore’s in Nelson no longer for sale 

Friday, 11 July 2014
New Zealand independent bookstore Page & Blackmore’s in Nelson has been withdrawn from the market, reports Booksellers NZ.Booksellers Peter and Ann Rigg, who own half of the bookstore, have decided...

Romance Writers of America releases romance app 

Friday, 11 July 2014
The Romance Writers of America has released the Novel Engagement app for readers and authors of romance fiction, reports Publishers Weekly. The app will feature a database of 5000 romance...

Disney launches Disney Story Central 

Friday, 11 July 2014
Disney Publishing Worldwide (DPW) has launched the Disney Story Central app and website with titles for kids aged three to seven years, reports Publishers Weekly. The platform includes 100 ebooks based...

National Biography Award shortlist announced 

Thursday, 10 July 2014
The State Library of NSW has announced the shortlist for the National Biography Award, which recognises ‘the continuing importance and value of life writing’.The shortlisted titles are: A Spy in the...

Magarey Medal for Biography winner announced 

Thursday, 10 July 2014
The Magarey Medal for Biography has been awarded to The Lone Protestor: AM Fernando in Australia and Europe by Fiona Paisley (Aboriginal Studies Press). The biennial prize, worth $10,000, is presented to the best biographical...

‘The Swan Book’ wins ALS Gold Medal 

Thursday, 10 July 2014
Alexis Wright’s The Swan Book (Giramondo) has won the 2014 Australian Literature Society (ALS) Gold Medal.The Swan Book was selected from a shortlist of six books, which included What Was...

Mary Gilmore Award winner announced 

Thursday, 10 July 2014
Even in the Dark by Rose Lucas (UWA Publishing) has won the Mary Gilmore award for poetry.The biennial award, worth $500, recognises a first book of poetry published in the...

New office, staff changes at Scribe UK 

Wednesday, 9 July 2014
Scribe has relocated its UK office and announced several staff changes.The UK office, which opened in early 2013, is now located at 2 John Street in Clerkenwell in a ‘listed...

HarperCollins launches direct-to-consumer website

Wednesday, 9 July 2014
In the US, HarperCollins has launched a new website with direct-to-consumer sales of print books, ebooks and audiobooks, reports the Publishers Weekly. The new design will be rolled out to HarperCollins’...

New Harry Potter story published on Pottermore

Wednesday, 9 July 2014
A new Harry Potter story published on the Pottermore website offers a glimpse into the lives of 30-something Harry Potter and his friends, reports the Bookseller. The 1500-word story was...

Pick-a-WooWoo wins small business award 

Wednesday, 9 July 2014
WA-based Pick-a-WooWoo Publishing has won the South West Small Business of the Year Award for its excellence in the field of self-publishing, reports the West Australian. Founder and director Julie-Ann...

Smashwords releases 2014 ebook sales survey

Wednesday, 9 July 2014
Self-publishing platform Smashwords has released its 2014 indie ebook sales survey based on the company’s sales data, reports Publishers Weekly. The survey reveals that readers prefer longer ebooks priced between US$2.99 (A$3.18)...