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On tour: Meet the author Vikram Chandra 

Monday, 12 May 2014
Indian-American author Vikram Chandra is visiting Australia in May for the Sydney Writers’ Festival. His latest book is Geek Sublime: Writing Fiction, Coding Software (Faber). What would you put on...

Satalyte Publishing launches 

Monday, 12 May 2014
New publisher Satalyte Publishing has released 10 titles since it launched six months ago. Based in South Gippsland, the company is run by editor-in-chief Stephen C Ormsby and his wife, designer...

Knox wins 2013 Ashurst Business Literature Prize 

Friday, 9 May 2014
Malcolm Knox has won this year’s Ashurst Business Literature Prize for his book Boom: The Underground History of Australia, from Gold Rush to GFC (Viking). Ashurst vice-chair Mary Padbury presented...

EWF Monash Prize 2014 shortlist announced 

Friday, 9 May 2014
Fifteen writers from 10 universities have been shortlisted for the 2014 Emerging Writers’ Festival (EWF) Monash University Undergraduate Prize for Creative Writing. The shortlisted titles, along with author and their university, are:...

Colfer named Irish children’s laureate 

Friday, 9 May 2014
‘Artemis Fowl’ author Eoin Colfer has been named as the third Laureate na nÓg, the Irish laureate for children’s literature. Colfer replaces illustrator Niamh Sharkey in the two-year position, which...

Clunes Booktown Festival attracts 18,000 

Friday, 9 May 2014
Around 18,000 people attended this year’s Clunes Booktown Festival on 3-4 May in the central Victorian town of Clunes. Clunes Booktown director Tess Brady told Books+Publishing that ‘highlights included the talks by the...

Kimberley Writers Festival postponed until 2015 

Friday, 9 May 2014
The Kimberley Writers Festival in Western Australia has been postponed until 2015. Festival coordinator Joanne Roach said in a statement: ‘The challenge of raising sponsorship and grant contributions has proven...

Russia bans swearing in books 

Thursday, 8 May 2014
The Russian government has passed legislation banning swearing in books, films, television broadcasts and public performances, reports the Telegraph. The new law, which comes into effect on 1 July, bans four...

Scribe launches book club with ACF 

Thursday, 8 May 2014
Scribe and the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) have partnered to offer a book club for ‘environmentally-minded book lovers’.The ACF is inviting its members to sign up to host or join...

Redundancies at Bertrams 

Thursday, 8 May 2014
UK-based book wholesaler Bertrams has made 20 roles redundant following a drop in profits in the past six months, reports the Bookseller. The company, which employs around 600 staff, would...

Oyster adds 500 publishers to service 

Thursday, 8 May 2014
In the US, ebook-subscription service Oyster has added approximately 500 publishers to its service, reports Publishers Weekly. Oyster CEO Eric Stromberg told Publishers Weekly that the service now includes titles...

‘The Conversation’ introduces new books column 

Wednesday, 7 May 2014
News and research website The Conversation has launched a new books column. Deakin University research fellow Michelle Smith announced on the website that her column, which previously focussed on television and...

Bookseller NZ conference program released 

Wednesday, 7 May 2014
The Wheeler Centre director Michael Williams will give the keynote address at this year’s Booksellers New Zealand 2014 conference. Williams will address the topic ‘Is the book world really changing’...

PEN Literary Awards 2014 longlists announced 

Wednesday, 7 May 2014
The longlists for the 2014 PEN Literary Awards have been announced. Among the awards is the PEN/Robert W Bingham Prize, worth US$25,000 (A$27,000), which is presented to an author whose debut work...

Lee replaces Dunne at Lightning Source Australia 

Wednesday, 7 May 2014
Ingram Content Group has announced the appointment of Deborah Lee as manager of content acquisition for Lightning Source Australia. Lee takes over from Susan Dunne, who replaced Nerida Fearnley-Gill in...

Best Australian Blogs 2014 winners announced 

Wednesday, 7 May 2014
Andrew Hutchinson has won the ‘words and writing’ category in the 2014 Best Australian Blogs Competition for his blog ‘twenty six’.‘Words and writing’ category judge Brandon Van Over said Hutchinson’s blog ‘thoughtfully wades...

Hardie Grant Egmont restructures 

Wednesday, 7 May 2014
Hardie Grant Egmont (HGE) has restructured its business, resulting in three redundancies and the creation of three new positions. HGE managing director Natasha Besliev told Books+Publishing ‘the new model is...

Simsion shortlisted for Waverton Good Read Award 

Wednesday, 7 May 2014
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion (Text) has been shortlisted for this year’s Waverton Good Read Award in the UK. Also shortlisted were: Just What Kind of Mother Are You?...

International library news 

Wednesday, 7 May 2014
New president elected for American Library Association Sari Feldman has been elected president of the American Library Association (ALA) for the 2015-16 term, said the ALA in a statement. Feldman...

NSW State Library announces new awards 

Wednesday, 7 May 2014
The State Library of NSW has announced a number of new awards that recognise the work of library professionals.The awards, which ‘aim to recognise distinguished individuals who contribute to the...

Norma K Hemming Award 2014 shortlist announced 

Wednesday, 7 May 2014
The shortlist for the 2014 Norma K Hemming Award has been announced.Presented by the Australian Science Fiction Foundation, the award is for a work of speculative fiction published in Australia...

Quote of the week 

Wednesday, 7 May 2014
‘It’s not just about romance—the company has interesting capabilities’—HarperCollins chief executive Brian Murray on the publisher’s decision to acquire Harlequin. 

Text Prize 2014 shortlist announced 

Wednesday, 7 May 2014
The shortlist for the 2014 Text Prize for Young Adult and Children’s Writing has been announced.The shortlisted authors and their manuscripts are: David Burton for How to Be Happy, ‘a...

Hoy joins Murdoch Books

Tuesday, 6 May 2014
Murdoch Books has announced the appointment of Matt Hoy to the newly created role of sales and marketing director. Hoy joins the company from Hachette Australia, where he was sales...