How did international book markets perform in 2019?
19 February 2020
Representatives from trade publications in the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Sweden and China have shared insights with Books+Publishing on how their respective markets fared in 2019. Across the regions,...
Fullers Bookshop celebrates 100 years of Hobart bookselling
12 February 2020
This year marks the 100-year anniversary of Fullers Bookshop in Hobart, which was opened by Bill Fuller, his wife Frances and Jim Boa on 16 February 1920. The shop was...
Making readers for life: Ursula Dubosarsky on her plans as Australian Children’s Laureate
12 February 2020
Prolific children’s author Ursula Dubosarsky has been chosen as the Australian Children’s Laureate. She spoke with Sarah Farquharson about her plans for her two-year term as laureate. What are you...
‘Changes start small’: Behind the union push at PRH
5 February 2020
Elena Gomez was part of a core team of editorial and publicity staff at Penguin Random House Australia (PRH) who initiated collective bargaining with their employer last year, resulting in...
‘Books that matter and books that sell’: Industry predictions for 2020
30 January 2020
A rise in books tackling climate change and sustainability, personal development and wellbeing titles, and ‘uplifting’ fiction and nonfiction are all predicted by senior figures from across the book trade. Books+Publishing...
Pre-Christmas bestsellers: children’s book sales not enough to counter weak adult fiction and nonfiction sales
22 January 2020
Despite a Bluey-led boost to children’s book sales, the value of the Australian book market fell by over four percent, year-on-year, in the 10-week pre-Christmas period, with weaker adult fiction...
#AuthorsForFireys raises hundreds of thousands for bushfire relief
15 January 2020
The #AuthorsForFireys campaign closed on the evening of Saturday 11 January, raising an estimated hundreds of thousands of dollars for bushfire relief across the nation, according to reports from the...
What we’ll be reading in 2020
11 December 2019
Books+Publishing editors Sarah Farquharson and Kelsey Oldham share the books they're most looking forward to reading in 2020. Sarah Farquharson: Like many others, I was beside myself to learn that...
Book bites: Starting 2020 on the right note
11 December 2019
Mischa Parkee, teacher and children’s specialist at Sydney’s Better Read Than Dead, shares her top children's picks for the new year. What better way to bring in the new year...
To market, to market: Jane Curry on marketing
4 December 2019
Ventura Press publisher Jane Curry argues that despite the dominance of multinational publishers, there are still opportunities for small presses to flourish—and sell plenty of copies. This is my final...
Christmas predictions: Tim Gott from Devonport Bookshop
29 November 2019
In the lead-up to Christmas, the busiest time of year on the bookselling calendar, Books+Publishing is asking booksellers across the country to predict their biggest sellers and surprise sellers. In this first instalment for...
Stiff competition: Pandiella, Saras, Palmisano on their challenges and successes
27 November 2019
Book marketers face many challenges. How can you experiment with new trends within a limited budget and how do you find new readers when there’s so much competition for people’s...
Christmas predictions: Nat Latter from Rabble Books & Games in Perth
22 November 2019
In the lead-up to Christmas, the busiest time of year on the bookselling calendar, Books+Publishing is asking booksellers across the country to predict their biggest sellers and surprise sellers. In this instalment, Nat...
China ‘most active’ international market for Oz kids publishers: Insights from the China Shanghai International Children’s Book Fair
20 November 2019
A delegation of Australian publishers and agents attended this year’s China Shanghai International Children’s Book Fair (CCBF), which ran from 15–17 November. Wenona Byrne, Australia Council’s director of literature, reports...
Marketing to the gatekeepers: Karys McEwen on marketing books for young people
20 November 2019
In her final column for Junior, Karys McEwen explores what works (and what doesn’t) when marketing children’s literature to the people actually purchasing books—adults. When it comes to marketing literature to...
Christmas predictions: Sean Guy from the Bookshop Darwin
15 November 2019
In the lead-up to Christmas, the busiest time of year on the bookselling calendar, Books+Publishing is asking booksellers across the country to predict their biggest sellers and surprise sellers. In this first instalment...
New decade, new nonfiction: 2020 nonfiction preview
13 November 2019
New books by Bruce Pascoe, Julia Baird, Melissa Davey and Miranda Tapsell are among next year’s most anticipated releases. Sarah Farquharson rounds up the best locally authored nonfiction to look...
Not taking cues from Melbourne and Sydney: Sisonke Msimang on Perth Festival’s Literature & Ideas program
13 November 2019
Earlier this year writer Sisonke Msimang was appointed curator of Perth Festival's 2020 Literature & Ideas program, which will include events with local authors Bruce Pascoe, Melissa Lucashenko and Charlotte...
Balancing act: Gavin Burbidge’s career journey
13 November 2019
Gavin Burbidge is an account manager at Penguin Random House Australia and a constant figure on the ABA’s shortlists for Victorian rep of the year. He shares his career journey....
Dream team: Emily Rodda & Marc McBride on ‘The Glimme’
8 November 2019
Author Emily Rodda and illustrator Marc McBride’s working relationship has spanned nearly 20 years, starting with the first ‘Deltora Quest’ book. Now, the pair are back with a new middle-grade...
State of euphoria: Alison Evans on ‘Euphoria Kids’
8 November 2019
Reviewer Jordi Kerr says Alison Evans’ YA novel Euphoria Kids (Echo, February) is ‘a tender, contemporary fairytale about magic, friendship and gender identity’ that follows three trans kids ‘learning to...
Diversity in UK publishing: what’s changed?
7 November 2019
In 2017 BookBrunch feature writer Julie Vuong reported on the UK book industry’s efforts to encourage diversity. Two years on, she considers the industry’s progress. Here we are: two years...
My life in books: Tim Gott from Devonport Bookshop
7 November 2019
Tim and Anne Gott have owned the Devonport Bookshop for almost 25 years. In his bookseller’s diary, Tim shares stories from his bookselling career and observations on Devonport’s urban renewal....
Long-term appeal: Marketing a series
7 November 2019
How—and to whom—do publishers market books as part of series? Bec Kavanagh spoke to Hardie Grant Egmont and Scholastic about their approaches to creating buzz that transforms into longevity. In two...
Among the animals: Donna Mazza on ‘Fauna’
31 October 2019
Donna Mazza’s novel Fauna (A&U, February) is set in a near-future in which a woman is enticed into an experimental program that mixes her embryo with genetically edited cells. Reviewer...
Climate change and MBS books popular at nonfiction-focused Frankfurt 2019
30 October 2019
Nonfiction titles dominated this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair (16–20 October), with books on climate change and Mind Body Spirit (MBS) in demand, according to a number of Australian publishers who...
Justin Ractliffe on reaching heavy and light readers
30 October 2019
Penguin Random House ANZ publishing director Justin Ractliffe travelled to the United States earlier in 2019 to study consumer insights and data as part of his Copyright Agency Cultural Fund...
Best book forward: 2020 fiction preview
30 October 2019
New books by Evie Wyld, Kate Mildenhall, Alice Pung and Jamie Marina Lau are among next year’s most anticipated releases. Sarah Farquharson rounds up the best locally authored fiction and...
Remember, remember the 10th of September: Release day for ‘The Testaments’
23 October 2019
Three retailers share how their release-day strategies panned out for this year’s biggest release: Margaret Atwood’s The Testaments (Vintage). The sweet spot In Fremantle, New Edition bookseller Kristy Diffey has...
2020 vision: Kids’ and YA title preview
23 October 2019
New books from favourites including Melina Marchetta, Sally Morgan and Jessica Townsend are slated for 2020 publication, alongside debuts by Danielle Binks and Georgina Young that are already generating buzz....
