Tuesday, 13 September 2011
The Australian Booksellers Association writes: 'It is with great sadness that we share the news of the passing of our friend and colleague, Liz Riley. 'Liz was a dedicated and...

Tuesday, 13 September 2011
More than 45,000 people attended the 2011 Melbourne Writers Festival, held between 25 August and 4 September. Festival director Steve Grimwade told the Weekly Book Newsletter that the festival's organisers...

Tuesday, 13 September 2011
Sessions about online writing, social media, and 'new skills' for editors were among the most popular events at the 2011 Institute of Professional Editors (IPEd) National Editors Conference, hosted by...

Tuesday, 13 September 2011
A new digital publishing service designed for publishers and government and academic agencies has been launched, called Xmplar. The business, which launched at the beginning of September, is founded by...

Tuesday, 13 September 2011
In the October issue of Bookseller+Publisher magazine editor Andrea Hanke puts together a guide to the best cookbooks coming out for Christmas 2011. See the round-up from page 13. To...

Tuesday, 13 September 2011
‘This might sound suspiciously like we're letting the market decide what books should get published. And you know what? That's exactly what I'm saying. The audience should dictate what gets...

Tuesday, 13 September 2011
The Literature Board of the Australia Council for the Arts has announced a new grants program ‘for writers who are embarking on their second book'. The program, Book2, will offer...

Tuesday, 13 September 2011
Michael Stern Hart, ebook pioneer and founder of Project Gutenberg, has died aged 64.Dr. Gregory B. Newby, CEO of the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, writes: 'Michael S. Hart left...

Tuesday, 13 September 2011
Bernard Smith, renowned art historian and critic, has died aged 94. Smith taught at the University of Melbourne and was art critic for the Age before being appointed founding chair...

Tuesday, 13 September 2011
Darren Lockyer's self-titled autobiography (Random House), said to reveal the people, places and events which have shaped the rugby league icon's life and career, is first on the bestsellers chart and...

Tuesday, 13 September 2011
On Fancy Goods this week Rachel Edwards reviews Babylon (Stephen Sewell, Victory), Portia Lindsay reviews Big Porn Inc: Exposing the Harms of the Global Pornography Industry (ed by Melinda Tankard...

Tuesday, 13 September 2011
The Australian Society of Authors (ASA) has joined forces with authors' groups in the US and Quebec and eight individual authors to file a copyright infringement lawsuit against digital repository...

Tuesday, 13 September 2011
Library supplier James Bennett has announced it has partnered with ebook supplier Ebrary in Australia. In a statement, James Bennett said libraries could now ‘seamlessly integrate Ebrary's ebooks into their...

Tuesday, 13 September 2011
The Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF) has thanked all members of the Australian book community who participated in the fifth annual Indigenous Literacy Day (ILD) on Wednesday 7 September. ILF executive...

Tuesday, 13 September 2011
Hachette Australia has announced changes to its Adult sales and marketing divisions, resulting in 'the net loss of six permanent jobs', according to managing director Malcolm Edwards. Under the changes, the...

Tuesday, 13 September 2011
The Australian Literary Review (ALR) will be published for the last time in October, reports Crikey. ALR editor Luke Slattery told Crikey that the monthly supplement, published by the Australian,...

Tuesday, 13 September 2011
Popular children's author Emily Rodda, former national gallery director Betty Churcher and debut-fiction author Anna Funder topped the bestseller list at this year's Brisbane Writers Festival, reflecting a strong line-up...

Tuesday, 13 September 2011
International publisher McGraw-Hill has announced that the business will be divided into two companies in 2012. As part of a 'Growth and Value Plan' approved by the board of directors,...

Tuesday, 13 September 2011
Among the many international booktrade stories added to our Around the World blog in the past week:Faber finance director killed in Kenya; wife kidnappednovelist Houellebecq 'goes missing' before book tourUS...

Monday, 12 September 2011
Readings to donate 10% of profits to Readings FoundationReadings has announced that it will increase its annual contribution to The Readings Foundation, with the bookseller to donate 10% of its...

Monday, 12 September 2011
The organisers of the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival in Bali, Indonesia, have announced a new partnership with the Australian and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ Group), which will see...

Monday, 12 September 2011
The program for this year's International Literature Festival Berlin, which was launched on 7 September, focusses on the literature and culture of the Asian-Pacific region. Among the Australian and New Zealand writers...

Wednesday, 7 September 2011
In rights news this week: SalesNonfiction--Random House has sold The Butterfly Effect (Dannielle Miller) to China.Children's/YA--Hardie Grant Egmont has sold UK rights to books 4 to 6 of ‘The Phoenix...

Tuesday, 6 September 2011
Rod Gibson, writer, poet and performer affectionately known as the ‘Poet Lorikeet of the north coast', has died aged 60. Gibson wrote poetry, short stories, novels, film scripts, and plays...

Tuesday, 6 September 2011
Booksellers, publishers, libraries, schools and other organisations across the country will celebrate the fifth Indigenous Literacy Day today, 7 September 2011. At the Brisbane Writers Festival Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF) founder...

Tuesday, 6 September 2011
The winners of this year's Queensland Premier's Literary Awards were announced in Brisbane on 6 September. The winning titles in the book-related categories are:Fiction Book Award ($25,000)Reading Madame Bovary (Amanda...

Tuesday, 6 September 2011
On Fancy Goods this week, Eloise Keating reviews House of Sticks (Peggy Frew, Scribe) and Clare Hingston reviews The Golden Door (Emily Rodda, Scholastic).