Inside the Australian and New Zealand book industry

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Around the world 

Tuesday, 8 January 2008
Among the stories recently added to our Around the World blog:Seinfelds sued over cookbook plagiarism claimsWinning author refuses Nestle Prize chequeMan Booker judges announcedPratchett has Alheimer'sHP8 rumoursFor more details, click...

Quote of the week 

Tuesday, 8 January 2008
'This woman is another kind of nut. You know, she thinks she invented vegetables. And she is accusing my wife of stealing her mashed-up carrots'--comedian Jerry Seinfeld defending his wife...

In brief 

Tuesday, 8 January 2008
Blake Dawson business literature prize shortlistFour book have been shortlisted for the 2007 Blake Dawson prize for business literature. They are National Market, National Interest (Edna Carew, A&U), Indecent Disclosure:...

International guests for Storylines festival 

Tuesday, 8 January 2008
New Zealand's Storylines festival has announced that UK author/illustrator Babette Cole and Australian author Carole Wilkinson will head the guest-list for its 2008 event.Storylines 2008 will be held in venues...

Orbit/QWC speculative fiction manuscript development program 

Tuesday, 8 January 2008
Following last year's announcement that Hachette's speculative fiction imprint Orbit was setting up an Australian division, Orbit and the Queensland Writers' Centre have announced a manuscript development program for aspiring...

Human rights award for IAD Press title 

Tuesday, 8 January 2008
Alone on the Soaks: The Life and Times of Alec Kruger, co-authored by Alec Kruger and Gerard Waterford, published by Alice Springs-based Indigenous publisher IAD Press, has been announced as...

New MD for Elsevier Australia 

Tuesday, 8 January 2008
Rob Kolman has been appointed as the managing director of Elsevier Australia. Kolman comes to Elsevier Australia from Reed Business Information (RBI) in The Netherlands, where he was responsible for...

Reader’s Feast donates a library to The Portsea Camp 

Tuesday, 8 January 2008
Melbourne's Reader's Feast Bookstore has donated a library consisting of 800 new books to The Portsea Camp, a not-for-profit children's charity that assists disadvantaged and special-needs children. Reader's Feast manager...

Yusuf wins Iremonger award 

Tuesday, 8 January 2008
The winner of the 2007 Iremonger award for writing on public issues was announced in December.The winning manuscript proposal is Once Were Radicals by Irfan Yusuf. The award carries prizemoney...

VIP guests announced for Adelaide 

Tuesday, 8 January 2008
The Australia Council-sponsored Visiting International Publisher (VIP) program will be held this year in conjunction with Adelaide Writers' Week.The list of confirmed participants to date is:Richard Beswick, managing director, Little,...

APA accreditation for Macquarie publishing course 

Tuesday, 8 January 2008
The Australian Publishers Association (APA) has accredited the Macquarie University Post-graduate Diploma in Editing & Publishing, making it the second tertiary publishing course in the country to receive the APA's...

Hardie Grant seals SBS deal 

Tuesday, 8 January 2008
Broadcaster SBS has announced that it has appointed Hardie Grant as its new books partner, along with a similar arrangement for music with Universal. SBS content sales and distribution manager...

WBN post-Xmas survey 

Tuesday, 8 January 2008
WBN will be hitting the phones later this week to gauge the trade's reaction to Christmas--was it a good season for booksellers and publishers? If you haven't been contacted in...

Perth Writers’ Festival program announced 

Tuesday, 8 January 2008
Catherine O'Flynn, whose novel What Was Lost (Scribe, February) recently won the UK's Costa First Novel Award, will be among the guests at this year's Perth Writers' Festival, which runs...

Bestsellers this week 

Tuesday, 8 January 2008
That stalwart, the Guinness Book of Records, has probably broken some records itself as it comes in a healthy second in the bestsellers this week. The top spot goes to...

Forthcoming events 

Tuesday, 8 January 2008
Trade events coming up over the next week, as shown on our events calendar, include: • Closing date for the Josephine Ulrick Literature Prize and Josephine Ulrick Poetry prize, 14...

ACCC delays announcement on A&R Borders bid 

Thursday, 13 December 2007
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has  postponed its decision on the proposed bid for Borders' Australian stores by Angus & Robertson.The ACCC was due to release its findings...

WBN pre-Xmas survey to be published tomorrow 

Tuesday, 11 December 2007
Due to the overwhelming response of the trade to WBN's annual pre-Christmas survey, we will publish the results as a Special Bulletin tomorrow, Thursday 13 December.WBN will start ringing around...

Quote of the week 

Tuesday, 11 December 2007
‘This is absolutely extraordinary, there has never been anything quite like it before'--Penguin NZ publishing director Geoff Walker on the success of Lloyd Jones' Mister Pip.

Around the world 

Tuesday, 11 December 2007
Among the stories added to our Around the World blog this week:Beaufoy to step down from New HollandPaddington Bear returns--as an illegal immigrantGoogle Books scans more than pagesManga sales up...

Dymocks picks iLiad as e-reader choice 

Tuesday, 11 December 2007
Having announced a major foray into electronic books last month, Dymocks will now be the first retailer in Australia to sell the iLiad e-book reader, with plans to have it on sale...

NZ booktrade wary of Whitcoull’s Borders bid 

Tuesday, 11 December 2007
According to an article published in Christchurch's The Press newspaper, 'there is precious little rejoicing going on at news that Whitcoull's is seeking to take over the Borders chain in...

Bestsellers this week 

Tuesday, 11 December 2007
Perhaps it's an indication that Christmas is but a few sleeps away--budding chefs, penniless students and house-husbands among other foodies are snapping up 4 Ingredients, which takes the cake as...

Forthcoming events 

Tuesday, 11 December 2007
Entries close for the 2008 Miles Franklin Literary Award, 14 DecemberAdvertising booking deadline for February 2008 issue of Bookseller+Publisher magazine, 14 DecemberEntries close for the ABR Poetry Prize, 15 DecemberTo...

RiP James Kemsley 

Tuesday, 11 December 2007
James Kemsley, who drew the Ginger Meggs cartoon strip since 1984, has died. His published books included a number of Ginger Meggs titles, the Cartoon Book I and II (Scholastic) and numerous...

Final WBN of 2007 

Tuesday, 11 December 2007
This is the final Weekly Book Newsletter for 2007. Thorpe-Bowker publisher Andrew Wilkins said: '2007 has been a great year for Bookseller+Publisher Online, with record readership, and 2008 will see...

Christmas closing extra 

Tuesday, 11 December 2007
In addition to last week's Christmas closing list the following organisations have advised us of their closing dates: New HollandLast day of business: 1pm, 21/12/07First day of business: 2/1/08Intext Book...

‘Mister Pip’ tops NZ bestsellers 

Tuesday, 11 December 2007
Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones (Text/Penguin NZ) has topped New Zealand's bestseller charts for the year, with over 46,000 copies sold in NZ. Another 25,000 copies have sold in Australia...