Inside the Australian and New Zealand book industry

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Bestsellers this week 

Tuesday, 7 October 2008
Brisingr by the young Christopher Paolini has come up trumps in the Bestsellers and the Fastest Movers charts this week. Top spot in the Highest New Entries goes to footballers...

Forthcoming events 

Tuesday, 7 October 2008
Trade events coming up over the next week, as shown on our events calendar, include: Closing date for the Age short story competition, 10 OctoberThe 2008 Davitt Awards, Melbourne, 10...

RiP Dirk Zimmer 

Tuesday, 7 October 2008
American illustrator Dirk Zimmer has died aged 64. Zimmer illustrated nearly 40 books and was best known for such works as In a Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories,...

RiP Hayden Carruth 

Tuesday, 7 October 2008
American poet Hayden Carruth has died, he was 87. Carruth, who wrote more than 30 books, won the 1996 National Book Award for Poetry for his collection Scrambled Eggs &...

RiP Adelaide Trigg 

Tuesday, 7 October 2008
Adelaide Caroline Marston Trigg, co-founder of the Haunted Book Shop in Alabama, USA has died. She was 89. The store was named after the Christopher Morley novel of the same...

Happy 90th birthday to Michael Zifcak 

Tuesday, 7 October 2008
Family, friends and many colleagues from the book trade joined Michael Zifcak (pictured with his wife Ludmila) in Melborune last week to celebrate his 90th birthday. The former Collins Booksellers...

Four Book City stores close; several to open 

Tuesday, 7 October 2008
Book City Glendale and Book City Lake Macquarie have closed. Both were run by franchisee Jean-Marc Biram. Book City Mackay has also closed. Book City Horsham ceased trading as a...

Winton wins inaugural ‘Indie’ award 

Tuesday, 7 October 2008
Independent booksellers of Australia have voted Tim Winton's Breath (Hamish Hamilton) their inaugural ‘Indie' Award winner for 2008. The author of the ‘Best Australian Book' receives $19,000, as donated by...

ABS figures tell mixed story 

Tuesday, 30 September 2008
New figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics indicate that while overall retail sales rose in August, sales in many areas declined. ‘Retail sales rose 0.6% in August, seasonally adjusted,...

Around the world 

Tuesday, 30 September 2008
Among the stories added to our Around the World blog in the past week:Fire at UK publisher 'a terrorist act'No damages allowed in Tolkien lawsuitFriedman asks readers to 'complete' his...

Aussie authors feature strongly in A&R poll 

Tuesday, 30 September 2008
Australian books make up a good percentage of Angus & Robertson's ‘Top 100' Book list, announced today. Twenty-two spots are taken by Australian books; Marcus Zusak's The Book Thief (Picador)...

Five Mile re-releases recalled true crime title 

Tuesday, 30 September 2008
The Five Mile Press is re-releasing A Killer in the Family (Lindy Cameron and Fin J Ross), after legal considerations prompted the publisher to recall the title earlier this year....

Davis resigns from Hema Maps 

Tuesday, 30 September 2008
Peter Davis, marketing manager for Hema Maps for the past 20 years, has announced his resignation, to start the new consultancy business World Mapman Solutions. ‘I am planning to do...

Bestsellers this week 

Tuesday, 30 September 2008
As expected, Christopher Paolini's Brisingr has struck gold in the Bestsellers and Highest New Entries charts, starring at number one in both. Which goes to show that fantasy and dragons...

Forthcoming events 

Tuesday, 30 September 2008
Trade events coming up over the next week, as shown on our events calendar, include: Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) information sessions - Melbourne, 1 OctoberAnnual Family Therapy Conference - Award...

RiP James Crumley 

Tuesday, 30 September 2008
American writer James Crumley has died aged 68. He wrote crime novels and several volumes of short stories including The Last Good Kiss, Dancing Bear, Whores and Muddy Fork and...

RiP Brian M Thomsen 

Tuesday, 30 September 2008
Brian M Thomsen, a Tor Books consulting editor and author has died. He was 49. Thomsen wrote more than 60 short stories and articles, two fantasy novels and nonfiction works...

OUP ANZ performs well 

Tuesday, 30 September 2008
‘OUP Australia and New Zealand performed well in the primary, secondary, and higher education markets,' according to Oxford University Press' annual financial report. The report indicated that overall turnover for...

In brief 

Tuesday, 30 September 2008
Franco-Anglais Poetry Festival comes to MelbourneFrom 8 to 12 October Melbourne will host the 31st Franco-Anglais Poetry Festival. Free sessions and performances in French, English and other languages will be...

New arts hub to open in Hobart 

Tuesday, 30 September 2008
Advice on arts funding, professional development, and commissioning services, plus an exhibition space are all part of a new arts hub in Hobart. The arts hub at the old Bridges...

Food Media Awards winners announced 

Tuesday, 30 September 2008
The winners of the 2008 Australian Food Media Awards were announced on Friday September 26 in the Parkside Ballroom of the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, to an audience of...

Around the world 

Tuesday, 23 September 2008
It's been a bumper week for international news about publishing! Among the many stories added to our Around the World blog:Penguin looks to growth through globalisationScholastic pulls Bratz in US...

Quote of the week 

Tuesday, 23 September 2008
Even among my friends who don't read (which, unfortunately, are the majority), they will still read in subject areas that interest them. It's finding the books in the areas we...

In brief 

Tuesday, 23 September 2008
Ubud Writers' and Readers' festival program onlineThe Ubud Writers' and Readers' Festival is getting closer, and the full program is now available. From 14 to 19 October an international set of...

Aravanis leaves the ABA 

Tuesday, 23 September 2008
Niki Aravanis, project manager at the Australian Booksellers Association (ABA), has been made redundant following an internal review.‘The role of Project Manager within the organisation has been made redundant and...

‘Brisingr’ sells 35,000 on launch weekend 

Tuesday, 23 September 2008
Random House is ‘very pleased' with the weekend launch of Christopher Paolini's Brisingr, Random House sales director Gavin Schwartz told WBN. Schwartz says that early figures stand at around 35,000...