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Howard to join HarperCollins 

Monday, 30 June 2014
HarperCollins has announced the appointment of Matt Howard to the newly created role of ABC Books campaign manager. Howard has worked as a publicist at NewSouth Books for four-and-a-half years....

Hachette launches new website 

Friday, 27 June 2014
Hachette Australia has launched a new consumer website that provides personalised content based on user interaction, said the publisher in a statement.The homepage is designed with stacked boxes containing book...

US book sales relatively flat in 2013 

Friday, 27 June 2014
In the US, book sales were relatively flat in 2013, falling by less than 1% from US$27.12 billion (A$28.8 billion) in 2012 to US$27.01 billion (A$28.7 billion) in 2013, according to statistics from BookStats, reports...

Australia Council funds literature projects with Asia 

Friday, 27 June 2014
The Australia Council has funded two new literature projects under the Creative Partnerships with Asia Program. The LITERARY COMMONS! project will bring together writers from Australia and India, including Alexis...

B&N to separate Retail, Nook Media businesses 

Thursday, 26 June 2014
In the US, Barnes & Noble has announced plans to separate its Retail business and its Nook Media business, which includes its college bookstores, into two public companies, reports Publishers...

Patterson to donate £250k to UK indie booksellers

Thursday, 26 June 2014
In the UK, author James Patterson has pledged £250k (A$451,363) to independent booksellers to encourage children to read, reports the Bookseller. Patterson made the announcement ahead of Independent Bookseller’s Week...

Co-op announces changes to executive team 

Wednesday, 25 June 2014
The Co-op has announced changes to its senior executive team.Head of general merchandise Adam Jones has been appointed to the newly created role of general manager, leading the merchandise, marketing and...

Oakley Library launches My Cup of Tea community talks 

Wednesday, 25 June 2014
Oakey Library in Toowoomba, Queensland, has embarked on a bimonthly series of free community talks called My Cup of Tea. The series launched with Priscilla Sutton, who spoke about her life as...

ABS releases stats on library funding 

Wednesday, 25 June 2014
State and territory governments spent $367.3m on libraries in 2012-13, up slightly from $355.7m in 2011-12, according to an Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) report.The Cultural Funding by Government, Australia, 2012-13...

Smith to leave Paper Plus 

Wednesday, 25 June 2014
Rob Smith, CEO of Paper Plus in New Zealand, has announced that he will leave the company on 8 August.‘It has been an honour to lead the Paper Plus Group...

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...