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Bestsellers this week 

Tuesday, 22 April 2014
A couple of blockbuster films dominate this week’s bestsellers chart, led by the The Fault in Our Stars (John Green, Penguin)—the film adaptation is in cinemas in June—in first place....

Barnes shortlisted for Gemmell Fantasy Award 

Tuesday, 22 April 2014
Australian author Mark T Barnes has been shortlisted in the Gemmell Fantasy Awards, announced at the British national science-fiction convention EasterCon. Barnes has been shortlisted for the Morningstar Award for Best Debut Novel for...

Fox Chapel purchases 1400 books from New Holland UK 

Tuesday, 22 April 2014
In the US, craft publisher Fox Chapel Publishing has purchased rights to 1400 books from New Holland Publishers UK, reports Publishers Weekly. The purchase of the books, which include travel,...

Latest Wheeler Centre Hot Desk Fellowships announced

Tuesday, 22 April 2014
The Wheeler Centre for Books, Writing and Ideas in Melbourne has announced the successful applicants for its latest round of Hot Desk Fellowships. The successful applicants are: André Dao, Aurelia Guo, Bernadette Hince,...

NZ Book Month postponed until 2015 

Tuesday, 22 April 2014
New Zealand Book Month has been postponed until 2015.The organisers of the month-long promotion said in a statement that it will now take place in August 2015. Chair of the...

FAW Awards 2013 winners announced 

Thursday, 17 April 2014
The Fellowship of Australian Writers (FAW) has announced the winners of its 2013 National Literary Awards. Among the winners were Hannah Kent, who received the FAW Christina Stead Award for...

Indie booksellers rescue Dutch, Belgian bookstores 

Thursday, 17 April 2014
Following the bankruptcy of Dutch bookselling chain Polare, which represented 29 stores in the Netherlands and Belgium, the majority of stores have been purchased by independent booksellers and private entrepreneurs,...

On tour: Meet the author Irvine Welsh 

Thursday, 17 April 2014
Scottish author Irvine Welsh is visiting Australia in May. His latest book The Sex Lives of Siamese Twins (Jonathan Cape) is published in May. What would you put on a...

Amazon rumoured to release 3D smartphone in June 

Wednesday, 16 April 2014
Amazon is preparing to release a 3D smartphone in June and will start shipping phones by the end of September, reports the Wall Street Journal. According the WSJ, which cites ‘people briefed...

Penguin Random House results 

Wednesday, 16 April 2014
Bertelsmann, which owns 53% of the recently merged entity Penguin Random House, has released its annual financial report. The report ‘reflects a full year of Random House … and a...

Co-op to take over Curtin University bookshop 

Wednesday, 16 April 2014
The Co-op campus bookshop has announced it will take over the main bookshop and retail outlet at Curtin University in Western Australia. The bookshop was previously owned and run by...

ALIA releases report on international elending initiatives 

Wednesday, 16 April 2014
The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) has released a report on public library elending initiatives around the word.The Elending Landscape Report 2014, which is available here, was commissioned by...

SPN publishing conference dates, venue announced 

Wednesday, 16 April 2014
The Small Press Network’s Independent Publishing Conference will be held in Sydney from 13-14 November.The organisation’s third annual conference, and its first outside Melbourne, will be held at the Federation...

International Library News 

Wednesday, 16 April 2014
ALA names top 10 most ‘challenged’ books in US libraries for 2013The American Library Association (ALA) has released its list of the top 10 most ‘challenged’ books in US libraries in 2013. The most challenged...

Quote of the week 

Wednesday, 16 April 2014
‘Publishers and booksellers face an inherent paradox: they offer specialized skills in a world where everyone can now publish and sell a book’—Foong Ling Kong presents a comprehensive overview of...

SLNSW revises plan for changes to Mitchell Library 

Wednesday, 16 April 2014
In response to community feedback, the State Library of NSW (SLNSW) has announced a revised plan for its forthcoming changes to the Mitchell Library. According to a statement from the...

In brief 

Wednesday, 16 April 2014
Brisbane City Council Libraries releases annual book club listBrisbane City Council Libraries has released its annual Top 40 Book Club Reads to help book clubs with their reading selections. The list,...

Quirky Oz titles in demand at LBF 2014

Tuesday, 15 April 2014
This year’s London Book Fair, which wound up on 10 April, was ‘undeniably buzzy’, with international publishers ‘keen to mine Australian lists for the next Rosie Project’, reports Allen &...

APA restructures office 

Tuesday, 15 April 2014
Australian Publishers Association (APA) CEO Michael Gordon-Smith has confirmed the organisation has made changes to its office staffing.Industry professional development manager Dee Read, manager of member services and administration Kaye...

Galley Club to continue, MacDonald interim president 

Tuesday, 15 April 2014
After a general meeting held last week, it appears the publishing and printing association the Galley Club will continue to operate.The club, which was established in the late 1970s, looked...

Amazon signs agreement with Swedish database company 

Tuesday, 15 April 2014
Amazon has signed an agreement with Swedish database company Bokrondellen that gives Amazon access to metadata from most of the publishing houses in Sweden, reports the Bookseller. The agreement was finalised in early...