Book Club – this month’s reads
Friday, 12 June 2026
Looking for your next great group read? Our monthly Book Club rounds up new release titles perfect for sparking conversation and perhaps even some debate. From compelling fiction to thought-provoking...
Has the number of bookshops in Australia really halved? Probably not, but we should still be worried
Wednesday, 10 June 2026
It’s a dramatic and depressing statistic: that in the decade to 2023, the number of bookshops in Australia roughly halved; but it’s also based on unverified data and unlikely to...
Visiting International Publishers on commercial fiction trends in Indonesia, Italy and France
Wednesday, 10 June 2026
As part of the Visiting International Publishers (VIPs) program, Writing Australia held an industry forum and networking lunch at the State Library of NSW in Sydney on 20 May. The...
Junior Book Club – this month’s reads
Friday, 5 June 2026
Searching for your next great read to share with kids? Our Junior Book Club highlights new titles each month that are perfect for classrooms, libraries and family reading time. From...
Fiction Over Reality on bookshop life in Queensland’s Wellington Point
Wednesday, 3 June 2026
Late last year, new bookstore Fiction Over Reality opened in the seaside suburb of Wellington Point in Queensland. Owner Aimee Boyd spoke with Books+Publishing about the first months of operation and...
The changing shape of the pathway: The entry to entry-level roles in publishing
Wednesday, 27 May 2026
Nonie Trainor is completing their Work Integrated Learning at Books+Publishing as a second-year student of the Master of Writing and Publishing program at RMIT University. During this period, Nonie is...
“I can almost hear the em-dashes”: Impressions from MWF opening night
Wednesday, 20 May 2026
Nonie Trainor is completing their Work Integrated Learning at Books+Publishing as a second-year student of the Master of Writing and Publishing program at RMIT University. Trainor attended the Athenaeum theatre...
Susannah Bowen: “It’s frustrating to not have a central place for customers to go to buy a book if they prefer to support local”
Wednesday, 20 May 2026
Australian Booksellers Association (ABA) CEO Susannah Bowen has been visiting a lot of bookseller members since she was appointed to the role in October last year. Books+Publishing caught up with...
Chris Ames on “I Made This Just for You”
Tuesday, 19 May 2026
Chris Ames is a Melbourne-based writer originally from California whose debut short story collection, I Made This Just for You (Ultimo), was already generating attention before publication, having won the...
Chris Ames recommends
Tuesday, 19 May 2026
Why We Are Here by Briohny Doyle. It’s technically about the heaviest material possible – an honest look at grief during the pandemic – yet due to the skill and...
Book Club – this month’s reads
Friday, 15 May 2026
Looking for your next great group read? Our monthly Book Club rounds up new release titles perfect for sparking conversation and perhaps even some debate. From compelling fiction to thought-provoking...
Walking the literary and literal landscape: Introducing the 2026 VIPs
Wednesday, 13 May 2026
This year, 12 publishing professionals from 8 different countries will base themselves in Sydney, Gadigal Country, from 18 to 22 May (alongside the Sydney Writers’ Festival) for the Visiting International...
Maria Takolander recommends
Tuesday, 12 May 2026
Jennifer Mills’ Salvage (Picador, 2025) is a clear-eyed imagining of a climate-ravaged future and of the self-destructive dream of autonomy – the idea that we can be independent of an...
Maria Takolander on “The End of Romance”
Tuesday, 12 May 2026
In The End of Romance, Finnish Australian author Maria Takolander imagines a dystopian world in which boys are conscripted to the army at 16, never to return. Takolander spoke with...
Junior Book Club – this month’s reads
Friday, 8 May 2026
Searching for your next great read to share with kids? Our Junior Book Club highlights new titles each month that are perfect for classrooms, libraries and family reading time. From...
Words and numbers: The reality of entry-level roles in publishing
Wednesday, 6 May 2026
Nonie Trainor is completing their Work Integrated Learning at Books+Publishing as a second-year student of the Master of Writing and Publishing program at RMIT University. In the first of two...
“Customers were incredibly generous with their purchase sizes”: Local booksellers report back from Global Book Crawl 2026
Wednesday, 6 May 2026
Booksellers who took part in this year’s Global Book Crawl said the event attracted “entirely new shoppers”, while boosting sales and inter-bookshop connections. It wasn’t just books on offer at...
Opinion: The UQP “Bila” controversy reveals the tension between board governance and editorial independence
Wednesday, 6 May 2026
The decision by the University of Queensland Press to destroy 5000 copies of a picture book had nothing to do with its contents or Indigenous author, writes Penni Russon. It...
Jessy Wu on “Good Intentions”
Tuesday, 5 May 2026
Jessy Wu is a Sydney-based writer and entrepreneur whose debut novel, Good Intentions (Macmillan), is a fast-paced millennial romance set in the worlds of investigative journalism and futures trading. Books+Publishing...
Jessy Wu recommends
Tuesday, 5 May 2026
I joke that Nick McKenzie's Crossing the Line (Hachette, 2023) is the unofficial companion text to Good Intentions. McKenzie is one of Australia's most decorated – and I think most...
Thorpe-Bowker: “A well-written book is no longer sufficient on its own”
Tuesday, 5 May 2026
In the lead-up to the 2026 Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIAs), Books+Publishing is inviting the event’s major sponsors to share little-known facts about their organisations, their top tips for booksellers...
Mother’s Day recommendations from B+P reviewers
Friday, 1 May 2026
In the lead-up to Mother’s Day, one of the busiest book-buying times of the year, we’ve rounded up some of our reviewers’ favourite April and May releases, with an eye...
“I do not believe we counter racism, antisemitism, homophobia or transphobia by boycotts and cancellations”: Dennis Altman on the cancellation of “Bila”
Wednesday, 29 April 2026
UQP has cancelled a children’s book illustrated by Matt Chun, citing antisemitism. Dennis Altman, Vice Chancellor’s Fellow and Professorial Fellow, Institute for Human Security and Social Change, La Trobe University,...
“Safe, loved and connected”: what publishers at Bologna want from kids’ books now
Wednesday, 29 April 2026
Last-minute cancellations, yes, but a “new and positive vibe” at the new-look Australian stand. Those who made it to Bologna report back on the trends and conversations at the 2026...
The Rose Read Bookshop to open in Summer Hill
Wednesday, 29 April 2026
The Rose Read Bookshop will soon be opening in the Sydney suburb of Summer Hill. Co-founders Stephanie Beck and Mischa Parkee spoke with Books+Publishing about their vision for the shop....
Times Printers: “Every story deserves a beautiful beginning”
Wednesday, 29 April 2026
In the lead-up to the 2026 Australian Book Industry Awards, Books+Publishing is inviting the event’s major sponsors to share little-known facts about their organisations, their top tips for booksellers and...
“Numbers are powerful”: University of Melbourne researchers on the APA workforce survey
Wednesday, 22 April 2026
University of Melbourne researchers Beth Driscoll, Sandra Phillips and Claire Parnell are working on the second Australian Publishing Industry Workforce Survey on Diversity and Inclusion, in conjunction with the Australian...
Penguin Random House Australia: “The Penguin Modern Australian Classics will be treasured by readers for years to come”
Wednesday, 22 April 2026
In the lead-up to the 2026 Australian Book Industry Awards, Books+Publishing is inviting the event’s major sponsors to share little-known facts about their organisations, their top tips for booksellers and...
Book Club – this month’s reads
Friday, 17 April 2026
Looking for your next great group read? Our monthly Book Club rounds up new release titles perfect for sparking conversation and perhaps even some debate. From compelling fiction to thought-provoking...
Ingram: “Forecasting demand has become more challenging for retailers”
Wednesday, 15 April 2026
In the lead-up to the 2026 Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIAs), Books+Publishing is inviting the event’s major sponsors to share little-known facts about their organisations, their top tips for booksellers and publishers,...
