Inside the Australian and New Zealand book industry

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RiP J G Ballard 

Tuesday, 21 April 2009
Novelist J G Ballard has died, aged 78. His novels included Crash, Empire of the Sun, The Wind from Nowhere and The Drought.

RiP James D Houston 

Tuesday, 21 April 2009
US author James D Houston author of Continental Drift, Snow Mountain Passage and Farewell to Manzanar has died, aged 75.

Australians at LBF guide 

Wednesday, 15 April 2009
As Australian attendees prepare for the 2009 London Book Fair (LBF), which starts next Monday, Bookseller+Publisher magazine continues to support them with our annual guide to Australian participants at this key international rights...

APA critical of Prod Comm ’roundtables’ 

Tuesday, 14 April 2009
APA CEO Maree McCaskill has criticised last week's 'roundtables' held by the Productivity Commission to discuss its draft report on parallel importation.'In all my years of doing this sort of...

Productivity Commission: final submissions due Friday 

Tuesday, 14 April 2009
As Friday's deadline approaches, trade bodies are busily preparing their final submissions to the Productivity Commission and encouraging their members to do likewise. The APA is continuing to inform and...

Around the world 

Tuesday, 14 April 2009
Among the stories added to our Around the World blog in the past week:Is it okay for a library to lend a Kindle?'Gay writing' falls foul of Amazon ranking systemAmazon...

Children’s authors to picket Dymocks 

Tuesday, 14 April 2009
A group of children's authors has announced that it plans to stage a protest outside Dymocks' central Brisbane store tomorrow (Thursday), protesting against the chain's support for an open market....

Quote of the week 

Tuesday, 14 April 2009
‘The publishers and authors defending the status quo are the victims of a truly incredible mass hysteria the likes of which I've never seen in my 35 years of publishing....

In brief 

Tuesday, 14 April 2009
The Indie Award calls for submissionsSubmissions for the 2009 Indie Award, administered by Leading Edge Books, are now open, with a closing date of Friday 8 May. The Indie Award...

Ebooks on hold for Dymocks NZ 

Tuesday, 14 April 2009
Dymocks New Zealand will not yet be rolling-out kiosks or selling ebooks online and in stores, despite previous plans to introduce them early this year. Dymocks New Zealand general manager...

Rights round-up 

Tuesday, 14 April 2009
In rights news this week:FictionHarperCollins has sold French rights to Karen Miller’s books, written as KE Mills, Accidental Sorcerer and Witches Incorporated. Fremantle Press has sold Hungarian language rights for...

UNIREPS to become NewSouth Books 

Tuesday, 14 April 2009
In May, book distributor UNIREPS, owned by UNSW Press, will change its trading name to NewSouth Books and will move from the UNIREPS warehouse in Randwick to TL Distribution in...

Corby’s royalties: some seized, some kept 

Tuesday, 14 April 2009
While $128,000 in payments have been seized by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions, conflicting reports state that Schapelle Corby is likely to be able to keep either $270,000 or...

BBC criticised over Lonely Planet by UK Parliament 

Tuesday, 14 April 2009
The BBC has been asked to ‘reign in’ its commercial operations by a British Parliamentary Committee, reports The Bookseller, after its controversial purchase of a majority share in Lonely Planet....

Published Now to be launched in Australia 

Tuesday, 14 April 2009
A new service for the self-publishing community called Published Now will commence operations in Australia from 1 May, followed by launches in New Zealand and the UK.The company will offer...

Unwin Trust Fellowship winner announced 

Tuesday, 14 April 2009
Natalie Costa Bir has been announced as the recipient of the 2009 Unwin Trust UK-Australian Fellowship, for her proposal to study how online communities, blogs, and social networking can help...

Ellison Hawker 60th birthday 

Tuesday, 14 April 2009
Hobart’s Ellison Hawker Bookshop is celebrating its 60th birthday. The shop began as the Bijoux Newsagency in on Collins St in the Hobart CBD, in 1949. Ellison Hawker was the...

Bestsellers this week 

Tuesday, 14 April 2009
Be prepared to rub your eyes in disbelief when you peruse the charts this week. In a combined assault, Jodi Picoult and Wilbur Smith have finally knocked Stephenie Meyer off...

Forthcoming events 

Tuesday, 14 April 2009
Trade events coming up over the next week, as shown on our events calendar, include: 2009 Miles Franklin Literary Award shortlist announcement, 16 AprilClosing date for the Australian Educational Publishing...

RiP Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick 

Tuesday, 14 April 2009
American literary theorist Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick has died. She wrote Epistemology of the Closet and Novel Gazing: Queer Readings in Fiction.

RiP Derek Weiler 

Tuesday, 14 April 2009
Derek Weiler, the editor of the Canadian publishing magazine, Quill & Quire has died, aged 40.

Quote of the week 

Wednesday, 8 April 2009
'Dymocks believes that the Australian book industry should be driven by the Australian book buyer and not the local subsidiaries and agents of overseas publishers'--Dymocks CEO Don Grover in a...

Around the world 

Tuesday, 7 April 2009
Among the stories added to our Around the World blog in the past week:Random UK cuts 33 jobsUS book sales down by 2.8% in 2008Consumers boycott Kindle over pricing'Nibbies' --...

Leave of absence for ABA’s Liz Riley 

Tuesday, 7 April 2009
Elizabeth Riley, the ABA's member services officer, has taken a leave of absence while she focuses her energies on dealing with a serious health issue.ABA CEO Malcolm Neil told WBN:...

Healthy Habits MD moves to Dymocks Head Office 

Tuesday, 7 April 2009
After the 80% takeover by Dymocks of 30-strong sandwich chain Healthy Habits, founder and managing director Katherine Sampson is relocating to Sydney to establish a new head office within Dymocks...

A ‘solid year’ for Random House Australia 

Tuesday, 7 April 2009
'Random House Australia had a solid year in 2008,' MD Margie Seale told WBN, as Random released its annual global results. ‘We grew our overall sales by almost 4% in...