Vale Chrissy Sharp
4 November 2021
Former Sydney Writers Festival CEO and former Wheeler Centre director Chrissy Sharp has died. Sydney Writers’ Festival writes: 'Sydney Writers’ Festival is deeply saddened to hear of the passing of...
Vale Ashley Mallett
4 November 2021
Ashley Mallett, ex-Australian cricketer and author of 35 books, has died in Adelaide at age 76. Born in Sydney in 1945, Mallett moved as a child to Western Australia where...
Vale Robert ‘Bob’ Stafford
4 November 2021
Robert 'Bob' Stafford has passed away at age 91, after a 70-year career across sales, marketing and publishing. Mark Stafford, Bob's son, writes: 'Bob's first job at age 16 was...
Vale Eddie Jaku
13 October 2021
Eddie Jaku, Holocaust survivor and author of the bestselling memoir The Happiest Man on Earth (Macmillan), has died in Sydney, aged 101. Born Abraham Jakubowicz in Germany in 1920, Jaku...
Vale Fergus McCulla
13 October 2021
Peribo account manager Fergus McCulla has died, aged 31. McCulla was diagnosed with a rare and ultimately incurable form of rhabdomyosarcoma in October 2018. He passed away peacefully on 20...
Vale Bill Noble
19 May 2021
New Zealand bookseller Bill Noble died in April 2021. Noble, who also served on the board of Booksellers NZ, was the manager of Dunedin's University Book Shop (UBS) Otago for...
Vale Valerie Parv
5 May 2021
Canberra-based romance novelist Valerie Parv has died, aged 69. The author of 93 books in 29 languages, spanning romance, nonfiction and writing guides, Parv's writing career began when her first...
Vale Margaret McKenzie
5 May 2021
Margaret McKenzie, co-owner of the former Seagulls Bookshop in the Melbourne suburb of Williamstown, has died. Co-owner of Seagulls and McKenzie's husband Nick Chapman writes: 'Margaret died suddenly on Saturday,...
Vale Simon Player
11 March 2021
Simon Player, co-director of Footprint Books, has died. Player and his wife Kate O'Reilly established the Sydney-based distributor in 1999. It closed in November 2020 due to Player's health issues....
Vale Brian Yates
20 January 2021
Logistics manager Brian Yates passed away on the weekend. Yates's career in book publishing spanned three decades. He managed the Universal Publishers (UBD Gregory’s) warehouse for many years from the...
Vale Mark Bonello
13 January 2021
Publishing consultant Mark Bonello has died after an illness. Ernie Mason, friend and former managing director of Random House, writes: 'I first met Mark with Terry Kinsella in the early...
Vale Josie Wowolla Boyle
9 December 2020
Josie Wowolla Boyle, Wonghi storyteller and artist, died peacefully on 7 December 2020, surrounded by family. Boyle was a Wongutha Elder, acclaimed storyteller, singer and artist who was born in...
Vale Barbara Ker Wilson
9 December 2020
Children's author and editor Barbara Ker Wilson died in September 2020, aged 90. Margaret Hamilton AM writes: 'Vale Barbara Ker Wilson AM 1929–2020. Barbara Ker Wilson was a writer and...
Vale Garry Eastman
28 October 2020
Garry Eastman, director of Garratt Publishing, died on 14 October 2020. Eastman, who established what was then called John Garratt Publishing in 1995, was a long-time member of the Australian...
Vale Ania Walwicz
14 October 2020
Poet, writer and teacher Ania Walwicz died on 29 September, aged 69. Born in Poland in 1951, Walwicz emigrated to Australia in 1963 and studied at Melbourne's Victorian College of...
Vale Ross Burgess
30 September 2020
Ross Burgess, owner of Mary Ryan's Noosa, has died after an illness. Burgess and his wife Susan took over the franchise in 2010, which had been in operation since 2000....
Vale John Bangsund
26 August 2020
Editor John Bangsund has died, aged 81. Bangsund edited the Hugo Award–nominated fanzine the Australian Science Fiction Review in the late 1960s, helped organise the 1975 World Science Fiction Convention...
Vale Noel Hammond
19 August 2020
Murdoch Books and Allen & Unwin national business development manager Noel Hammond has died. Allen & Unwin writes: It is with great sadness that Murdoch Books and Allen & Unwin...
Vale Elizabeth Harrower
15 July 2020
Novelist Elizabeth Harrower has died, aged 92. Harrower was the author of five novels, beginning with Down in the City, first published in 1957. Down in the City and Harrower's...
Vale Jesse Blackadder
17 June 2020
Author Jesse Blackadder has died after a short illness, aged 56. In addition to writing books for children and adults, Blackadder was a judge for a number of awards, a...
Vale Deb Brash
17 June 2020
Book designer Deborah Brash has died. Brash worked with publishers including ABC Books, Allen & Unwin, Art Gallery of NSW, Murdoch Books and Simon & Schuster, and was art director...
Vale Judith Clarke
20 May 2020
Children's writer Judith Clarke has died, aged 76. Clarke was the author of 20 award-winning books for children and teenagers, including the YA novels My Lovely Frankie, Three Summers, The Winds...
Vale Beth Noble
20 May 2020
Beth Noble, former owner of the Bay Bookshop in Bateman's Bay, south coast NSW, died in Nyngan on Monday, 18 May. Noble was 69. The Bay Bookshop, which won Bookshop...
Vale Richard Turner
14 May 2020
Dymocks regional business development manager Richard Turner has died. Dymocks writes: ‘It is with great sadness that Dymocks announces the passing of Richard Turner, who has died after a short...
RiP Julian Leatherdale
29 April 2020
Novelist Julian Leatherdale has died, after an illness of less than 12 months. Leatherdale was the author of three historical novels for adults, all published by Allen & Unwin (A&U)...
RiP Graeme Connolly
16 April 2020
Bookseller Graeme Connolly has died, aged 78. Connolly was a former director and CEO of the Melbourne University Bookshop and was a former Australian Booksellers Association treasurer. Fiona Stager writes...
RiP Shirley Stackhouse
12 March 2020
Sydney-based author and gardening personality Shirley Stackhouse has died, aged 92. Stackhouse was the Sydney Morning Herald’s gardening columnist for more than 30 years, during which time she dispatched gardening advice and illustrated the column with...
RiP Sheila Drummond
19 February 2020
Literary agent Sheila Drummond of The Drummond Agency has died, aged 80. Drummond was involved in various facets of the publishing industry for almost 50 years, establishing The Drummond Agency...
RiP Yvette Luciano
19 February 2020
Business coach and author Yvette Luciano has died. Luciano is the founder of holistic business school Soulpreneurs and the author of a 2018 book by the same name, published by...
RiP Steph Bowe
22 January 2020
Australian YA author Steph Bowe has died, aged 25, due to complications from T-cell acute lymphoblastic lymphoma, a form of leukemia. Bowe began her career as a blogger before publishing...
