ABIA winners, Dymocks reduces online range, latest funding recipients and more

Last week, the ABIA awards were announced at a virtual event streamed live on YouTube, with Bluey: The Beach becoming the first children’s picture book to take home the top award.

As Covid-19 restrictions begin to ease, some NSW-based publishing staff have started returning to their offices. Also this week, Dymocks announced it has ‘significantly’ reduced the range of products available from its website, due to a backlog of orders stemming from the pandemic.

The Australia Council has announced its latest funding recipients, including Think+Do Tank Foundation, which will partner with children’s publisher Scribble on a mentorship program for  culturally and linguistically diverse writers, illustrators and translators. Meanwhile, WritingWA is the latest recipient of the Copyright Agency’s emergency funding.

The recipients of the 2020 black&write! fellowships for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writers have been announced, as has the shortlist for this year’s ALS Gold Medal and the longlist for the Peter Carey Short Story Award.

In news from the UK this past week, wholesaler Bertrams has been put up for sale; people are reading more under lockdown, but not necessarily buying more books; and Waterstones has revealed plans to put books handled by browsers under 72-hour quarantine. Meanwhile, US writer Bryan Washington has won the £30,000 (A$56,800) International Dylan Thomas Prize.

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Category: This week’s news