Christmas predictions: Annie Waters from Mostly Books in Adelaide
9 November 2018
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 the second...
Podcast spotlight: Write Through the Roof
8 November 2018
Hosted by speculative fiction author Madeleine D’Este, Write Through the Roof is a podcast for writers who want to improve their craft. Guests have included crime writer Emma Viskic and...
A remarkable entry point: Terri-ann White on the Sharjah International Book Fair
8 November 2018
UWA Publishing director Terri-ann White travelled to the United Arab Emirates to attend the Sharjah International Book Fair, which runs from 31 October to 10 November. As a publisher who is...
Lifelong learning: Younger readers editions
1 November 2018
Kelsey Oldham investigates the role played by younger readers editions in the growth of children’s nonfiction. It’s a well-established fact that adult nonfiction titles sell strongly in Australia. In 2018...
Shelf talk: Crime pays
30 October 2018
As readers wave goodbye to those long lazy days surrounded by books and blankets, there are a few killer books coming out over summer to spark a bit of danger...
Shelf talk: Fantastic fiction
30 October 2018
The new year is the time I always tell myself I’m going to step back a bit and recover from the Christmas retail frenzy. I never do though, since there...
Shelf talk: Women’s stories
30 October 2018
Humour is back in a big way in women’s fiction, starting in February with The Rosie Result (Text). Could there be a more fitting title to the final book in...
Written in the stars: Minnie Darke on ‘Star-crossed’
30 October 2018
Minnie Darke’s Star-crossed (Michael Joseph, March 2019) follows an aspiring journalist who begins to tinker with her paper’s astrology section after learning that her crush consults his horoscope whenever he’s faced with...
Bound together: Kate Richards on ‘Fusion’
30 October 2018
Kate Richards’ Fusion (Hamish Hamilton, February 2019) tells the story of conjoined twins, their carer, and an injured stranger who is brought into their isolated bush home. Reviewer Jacqui Davies described...
Keen for 2019: A round-up of forthcoming children’s and YA titles
30 October 2018
2019 sees the release of new children’s books from rapper Adam Briggs, fashion designer Collette Dinnigan and engineer and media personality Yassmin Abdel-Magied, plus new YA from Jay Kristoff and...
Ringing in the new year: 2019 title preview
30 October 2018
New books by Peggy Frew, Claire G Coleman and Carrie Tiffany are among the local highlights from Australian publishers, reports Sarah Farquharson. Fiction After the success of Christian White’s The Nowhere...
Pen to paper: Publishing the writing of the African diaspora
30 October 2018
African and African-Australian writers are finding a voice in Australian literature, but they continue to face many challenges. Marisa Wikramanayake investigates. Stories from people of African descent are ‘largely missing...
Book bites: A taste of books to come
30 October 2018
Picture this With a brand new year of school on the horizon, there are plenty of picture books to get early readers prepared for their first day: On The First...
What’s cooking?: Julie Gibbs shares her career journey
30 October 2018
Trade publishing consultant Julie Gibbs shares her career journey. I was lucky enough to grow up in a bookish household in Adelaide, buying Enid Blyton books with pocket money and reading...
Reversing the cultural cringe: Martin Hughes on publishing debut fiction
30 October 2018
Publishing debut fiction in Australia is worth the risk, argues Affirm Press publisher Martin Hughes. Can anyone remember a year that has delivered so sweetly for Australian debut novels? Not...
Gift of the Blab: An interview with Aaron Blabey
30 October 2018
Aaron Blabey is the creator of the ‘Pig the Pug’ and ‘The Bad Guys’ series. Kelsey Oldham asks the author about his success. You’re known for your prolific output, which...
A right royal romance: Emma Grey on ‘Tilly Maguire and the Royal Wedding Mess’
30 October 2018
Emma Grey’s Tilly Maguire and the Royal Wedding Mess (HarperCollins, December) follows an 18-year-old aspiring writer who wins a six-week internship at a top London PR firm, and somehow gets wrapped...
Sister act: The story of The Dorothy Butler Children’s Bookshop
30 October 2018
Co-owner Mary Wadsworth tells the story of The Dorothy Butler Children’s Bookshop in Auckland, New Zealand. In 1965 Dorothy Butler established the bookshop that my sister Helen and I now...
Your store: Key takeaways of the booksellers’ training day
30 October 2018
The first ABA booksellers’ training day was held at Avid Reader Bookshop in Brisbane on 21 August. Hosted by Fiona Stager, owner of Avid Reader and children’s bookshop Where the...
Bookish backchat: Elias Grieg on ‘I Can’t Remember the Title but the Cover is Blue’
25 October 2018
Author, academic and bookseller Elias Grieg’s debut book I Can't Remember the Title but the Cover is Blue (A&U, December) is an ‘always amusing and often laugh-out-loud funny’ compendium detailing Grieg’s...
Louise Cornege on the Publishers Publicity Circle
24 October 2018
A networking group for UK publicists, the Publishers Publicity Circle (PPC), launched an Australian chapter this year. Allen & Unwin head of publicity Louise Cornege is the chair of PPC...
Making the deal: The state of rights sales in the UK
24 October 2018
While the UK remains a tough market for Australian publishers to break into, UK indies are showing an interest in Australian voices, reports Catherine Moller. Several Australian independent publishers have had...
Podcast spotlight: Bookish Friends
3 October 2018
Established in 2016, Bookish Friends is a YA and genre fiction podcast created by Diem Nguyen. Each episode features a mix of conversation, book reviews, and interviews with Australian YA authors. Nguyen...
The market down under
2 October 2018
Australian titles are faring well in a market where personal development books and crime fiction are the standout trends, reports Andrea Hanke. For the fourth year in a row, the...
A twist of fate: Leigh Sales on ‘Any Ordinary Day’
27 September 2018
Author and journalist Leigh Sales’ third work of nonfiction, Any Ordinary Day: Blindsides, Resilience and What Happens After the Worst Day of Your Life (Hamish Hamilton, October), is an incisive...
Digital Book World: Bradley Metrock on interactive books, accessibility and voice-first publishing
26 September 2018
Digital Book World (DBW) executive producer Bradley Metrock offers some insights on the topics that will be covered DBW conference, which will run from 2-4 October in Nashville, USA. The...
Podcast spotlight: The Monthly Hour
19 September 2018
Launched in 2018, The Monthly Hour is a podcast companion to The Monthly magazine, described as ‘an essential hour of news, culture and ideas that [offers] insight into each issue...
Consenting adults: Kate Cuthbert on the romance novel and representations of sexuality after #MeToo
12 September 2018
Escape Publishing managing editor Kate Cuthbert gave the keynote address at this year’s Romance Writers of Australia conference. This is an edited extract of her speech. I’d like to begin...
Bridging borders: Philippa Donovan on working between Australia, the UK and the US
30 August 2018
Literary consultant and book-to-film/TV scout Philippa Donovan has recently returned to Australia after working in the UK and the US. She shares her career journey. In 2002 I was broke...
Season’s readings: 2018 Christmas highlights
30 August 2018
Sarah Farquharson and Nathania Gilson round up this year’s Christmas highlights. Fiction as you like it This Christmas features new offerings from several bestselling Australian authors: Rosalie Ham returns with...
