Inside the Australian and New Zealand book industry

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Bestsellers this week 

Tuesday, 13 November 2007
The same two books that were first and second last week in the bestseller charts are up there again--Matthew Reilly's Six Sacred Stones and Patricia Cornwell's Book of the Dead...

Forthcoming events 

Tuesday, 13 November 2007
Trade events coming up over the next week, as shown on our events calendar, include: Australian Campus Booksellers Association conference, Sydney 14-16 November9th NSW Writers' Centre Australian Publishers and Authors...

RiP Bob Kowalski 

Tuesday, 13 November 2007
Literary agent Margaret Gee writes: I had known Bob for twenty years and he was a cherished friend and author. He shot to bestsellerdom in Australia with his legendary book,...

RiP Norman Mailer 

Tuesday, 13 November 2007
Author Norman Mailer, winner of two Pulitzer Prizes for Armies of the Night and The Executioner's Song, has died aged 84.

A better Better Read Than Dead 

Tuesday, 13 November 2007
After several months of building--and the loss of some stock when some unexpectedly wet Sydney weather coincided with some roof work--the Better Read than Dead bookshop in Sydney's Newtown has...

CAL announces new model for payments 

Tuesday, 13 November 2007
The Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) has announced changes to the way it will distribute payments in the new year. Under CALdirect, a new system to be introduced in mid-2008, members...

Quote of the week 

Tuesday, 13 November 2007
‘I’ve been a ghost for the past eighteen months […] It probably pays less per hour than stitching trainers in the Philippines and it’s been the most unrewarding thing I've...

Around the world 

Tuesday, 13 November 2007
Among the stories added to our Around the World blog in the past week:St Aubyn takes out French prizeCanadians get 'book rage'Ghosts revealedOphrah withdraws book from websiteUK libraries a new...

Aussie cookbooks win Cordon D’Or prizes 

Tuesday, 13 November 2007
Two Australian cookbooks, both published by Allen & Unwin, have received Gold Ribbon prizes at the 2007 Cordon D'Or Culinary Arts awards. Tolarno Bistro by Ian Hewitson and Bob Hart...

Aussie desert guidebook wins international awards 

Tuesday, 13 November 2007
Australia's Great Desert Tracks Atlas and Guide by Ian Glover and Len Zell (Hema Maps/Wild Discovery Guides) has taken out two major awards at this year's International Map Trade Association conference,...

Chinese author wins first Man Asia prize 

Monday, 12 November 2007
Chinese author Jiang Rong has been named as the winner of the inaugural Man Asia Literary Prize for his novel Wolf Totem (Penguin).The Man Asia prize, worth $10,000, intends to...

White award calms angry poet 

Monday, 12 November 2007
Poet David Rowbotham has been named as the recipient of this year's Patrick White award.The award, worth $25,000, was established by Patrick White in 1974 to honour writers who ‘had...

Over 3000 teens vote for Inky winners 

Monday, 12 November 2007
The State Library of Victoria's Centre for Youth Literature has announced the winners of the inaugural Inky awards, Australia's first teenage choice book prize. The Golden Inky goes to Notes...

NSW Writers’ Centre genre award winners 

Monday, 12 November 2007
The NSW Writers' Centre has announced the winners of its inaugural genre fiction award, supported by New Holland Publishers.First prize went to Maria Simms for The Dead House; second prize...

Cullen to leave ABA 

Monday, 12 November 2007
The Australian Booksellers Association (ABA) has announced that CEO Barbara Cullen has resigned and will be leaving the association on 5 December 2007.ABA president Fiona Stager said: ‘Barbara provided a...

NY reception promotes Oz speculative fiction 

Wednesday, 7 November 2007
Australian authors were showcased to key US publishing industry figures at a reception for Australian science fiction and fantasy writers in New York on 30 October. The event, hosted by...

Bestsellers this week 

Wednesday, 7 November 2007
After collecting four stars out of five from a reviewer in the October issue of Bookseller+Publisher magazine, Matthew Reilly's Six Sacred Stones comes up trumps this week in the charts--and...

Forthcoming events 

Wednesday, 7 November 2007
Trade events coming up over the next week, as shown on our events calendar, include: Walkley Non-fiction Book Award finalist announcement, Sydney 12 NovemberAustralian Campus Booksellers Association conference, Sydney 14-16...

RiP Eric Rolls 

Wednesday, 7 November 2007
Author Eric Rolls, known for his writings on nature and the environment including A Million Wild Acres, died on 31 October. He was 84.

Around the world 

Wednesday, 7 November 2007
Among the stories added to our Around the World blog in the past week:Has ACCC decision doomed an Australian printer?New Rowling book will have a print run of sevenRowling sues...

In brief 

Wednesday, 7 November 2007
Bedford joins Kibble judging panelAustralian novelist Jean Bedford has joined the judging panel for the Nita B Kibble Literary Awards for Women Writers, following the retirement of Elizabeth Webby as chair...

Third annual ‘World Matters’ festival wraps up 

Wednesday, 7 November 2007
Eltham Bookshop's third annual ‘World Matters' festival, held from 27 to 29 October, was ‘an outstanding success,' according to organiser Meera Govil. With around 35 speakers on subjects from poetry...

ASA to research educational publishing 

Wednesday, 7 November 2007
The Australian Society of Authors (ASA) has announced that it has appointed a researcher to undertake a study into the Australian educational publishing sector, looking particularly at the returns to...

Dowling wins International Horror Guild award 

Tuesday, 6 November 2007
Basic Black: Tales of Appropriate Fear (Cemetery Dance Publications), by Australian author Terry Dowling (pictured), is the joint winner of the International Horror Guild's award for best collection. Dowling's collection...

Davitt award winners announced 

Tuesday, 6 November 2007
The winners of the 2007 Davitt awards for women's crime writing, administered by Sisters in Crime, were announced in Melbourne on 2 November. Silent Death: The Killing of Julie Ramage...

Around the world 

Tuesday, 30 October 2007
Among the stories added to our Around the World blog in the past week:Richard & Judy turn to children's booksAmazon sales soar, but losses on every copy of HarryNora Roberts...

ABA Victoria Christmas trivia night a success 

Tuesday, 30 October 2007
The Australian Booksellers Association (ABA)/Thorpe-Bowker Victorian Christmas party and trivia night was held last night in Melbourne.Attracting around 60 people--booksellers, publishers and ABA and Thorpe-Bowker staff, the evening saw the...

Personnel changes at Random 

Tuesday, 30 October 2007
Random House Australia has announced a number of personnel changes across its publishing, sales and marketing divisions, including new roles for Carol Davidson, Gavin Schwarcz and Jo Munroe; and the...