Tuesday, 10 March 2009
American author Barbara Parker has died, aged 62. She wrote 12 mystery novels, including Suspicion of Innocence.

Tuesday, 10 March 2009
In rights news this week: FictionRandom House has sold Den of Wolves by Luke Devenish to Turkey. Agent Christopher Schelling has sold rights to Things We Didn't See Coming (Steven...

Tuesday, 10 March 2009
Koenig NSW Woman of the YearAuthor of Paper Cranes: A Mother's Story of Hope, Courage and Determination (Exisle) Cheryl Koenig, has been named NSW Woman of the Year 2009. Koenig...

Tuesday, 10 March 2009
The shortlist for the second annual Barbara Jefferis Award, worth $35,000, has been announced. The titles in the running for the prize, which is open to novels that ‘as well...

Tuesday, 10 March 2009
As reported in last week's WBN, Kilmeny Niland passed away on 27 Febrary. Agent Tim Curnow writes: ‘Kilmeny and I first met in the early 1970s when I became her...

Tuesday, 10 March 2009
The shortlist for the National Biography Award 2009, worth $20,000, has been announced. From a record 58 entries in biographical and memoir writing, six were chosen:I am Melba (Ann Blainey,...

Tuesday, 10 March 2009
The shortlist for the ALS Gold Medal, Australia's oldest literary award, has been announced for 2009. The titles in the running are:Her Father's Daughter  (John Clanchy, UQP)The Spare Room (Helen...

Tuesday, 10 March 2009
Penguin has achieved a strong set of results, with profits up 26% to £93 million (A$206 million) and sales up seven percent to £903 million (A$1996 million). The figures, representing...

Tuesday, 10 March 2009
Some of Australia's most renowned authors and publishers will be participating in the second Australian Writers' Week in Beijing and Chengdu, China from 16 to 20 March. The focus of...

Tuesday, 10 March 2009
Technical and specialist bookshop Boffins Bookshop, in Perth, is celebrating its 20th anniversary. Boffins was one of five bookshops in Perth's West End when it opened in 1989, but is...

Tuesday, 10 March 2009
The board for the Centre for Books, Writing and Ideas (CBWI) has announced the appointment of Chrissy Sharp as director. The announcement comes after Caro Llewellyn stepped down from the...

Tuesday, 10 March 2009
‘If books are imported in commercial quantities to a value of more than $1000 then it is feasible to [charge consumers GST on the package]. But it's hard to apply...

Tuesday, 3 March 2009
Among the stories added to our Around the World blog in the past week: O'Neill wins PEN/Faulkner Award for FictionKlein wins inaugural Warwick Prize for writing‘The Neverending Story' continues?Final Harry...

Tuesday, 3 March 2009
‘Last year when we had the pleasure of hosting the magnificent Germaine Greer at an event in Melbourne, our marketing manager, Emily Harms, had the temerity to ask Ms Greer...

Tuesday, 3 March 2009
In rights news this week: FictionScribe has acquired the first English-language rights to 640-page Spanish ‘literary page-turner' El Mapa Del Tiempo (The Map of Time), by Felix J Palma, winner...

Tuesday, 3 March 2009
Brays Books in Balmain is celebrating 40 years of operation. Founded by Philip Bray and Margaret Bray and now owned and managed solely by Philip, Brays Books has seen many...

Tuesday, 3 March 2009
As reported in a WBN special bulletin last week, Allen & Unwin has announced the appointment of Leading Edge Books general manager Chris Burgess to the role of sales director....

Tuesday, 3 March 2009
The annual Dromkeen Dinner, a fundraising event hosted by the Dromkeen Society, was held at Dromkeen on Saturday 28 February. Jane Stanley, Dromkeen education officer, told WBN that the theme...

Tuesday, 3 March 2009
As reported in a WBN special bulletin last week, Lonely Planet has announced that it will be ‘making up to 50 roles redundant across its global workforce and across a...

Tuesday, 3 March 2009
Hanrahan and Dennett become sole owners of Rockpool Publishing Lisa Hanrahan and Paul Dennett are sole owners of Rockpool Publishing after purchasing shares from Gary and Kristy Allen. Rockpool is...

Tuesday, 3 March 2009
HarperCollins has announced it will launch a new imprint in June 2009. Blue Door, established by UK publisher Patrick Janson-Smith, who was responsible for launching the Black Swan imprint at...

Tuesday, 3 March 2009
New Zealand's top children's literature prize, the Storylines Margaret Mahy Medal, has been awarded to natural history writer and photographer Andrew Crowe. The annual award will be presented this year...

Tuesday, 3 March 2009
Book City Tuncurry has changed its name to The Great Lakes Bookshop. The change of name at the store Howard and Kate Dixon have operated as a franchise for 13...

Tuesday, 3 March 2009
Despites losses suffered by parent company Torstar, Harlequin has recorded a strong fourth quarter worldwide, with sales of C$126 million (AU$154 million) up over 18 percent from a year ago,...

Tuesday, 3 March 2009
The Australian Publishers Association (APA) says the results of its most recent comparative survey of book prices in Australia and overseas ‘again shows the weakness in the arguments of those...

Tuesday, 3 March 2009
The finalists for the 2009 New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children and Young Adults have been announced. The finalists in the four categories are:Picture bookDuck's Stuck! (Kyle Mewburn, illus....

Tuesday, 3 March 2009
A New Earth: Create A Better Life by Eckhart Tolle is the ‘highest new entry' this week. Tolle's approach is to ‘let go of fear, anxiety and the eternal quest...

Tuesday, 3 March 2009
Trade events coming up over the next week, as shown on our events calendar, include: Brussels Book Fair, 5-9 March, BelgiumTo view these and more forthcoming events, and submit your...