Buchmesse buzz: how bestsellers originate at Frankfurt
21 October 2020
Publishing academics Beth Driscoll and Claire Squires conducted fieldwork at Frankfurt Buchmesse 2017–2019 to examine what makes a bestseller at the fair. The result was The Frankfurt Book Fair and...
Celebrating in a pandemic: 30 years of independence at A&U
21 October 2020
Several publishers had big plans for significant birthdays this year, until Covid came along. In the third of a series of birthday profiles, we hear about 30 years of independence...
Rewriting the long lunch
21 October 2020
In the Australian publishing landscape, the long lunch occupies a contentious space, provoking a mixture of envy, nostalgia, delight and judgement. Books+Publishing's columnist Veronica Sullivan asks: is the practice a...
Meet UQP rights and contracts manager Kate McCormack
14 October 2020
In the lead up to this year's virtual Frankfurt Book Fair, Books+Publishing’s sister publication Think Australian profiled UQP rights and contract manager Kate McCormack about her rights list and how Covid-19 has...
Celebrating in a pandemic: Thames & Hudson Australia turns 50
14 October 2020
Several publishers had big plans for significant birthdays this year, until Covid came along. In the second of a series of birthday profiles, we hear about 50 years of Thames...
Christmas buyers’ picks: the Booktopia team
14 October 2020
In the lead-up to Christmas 2020, Books+Publishing is asking book buyers across the country to share which titles they’re investing in for the busiest time of year on the bookselling calendar....
Outer limits: Philip Bunting on ‘Give Me Some Space!’
7 October 2020
Philip Bunting's picture book Give Me Some Space! (December, Omnibus) follows Una, whose determination to explore space results in a new mission—to take care of our own planet. Reviewer Bronte Coates...
A most extraordinary year in books
7 October 2020
Australian Booksellers Association CEO Robbie Egan says readers are spoiled for choice this Christmas—but in addition to shopping local, they’ll have to shop early. Those in the book trade will...
Celebrating in a pandemic: Monash University Publishing turns 10
7 October 2020
Several publishers had big plans for significant birthdays this year, until Covid came along. In the first of a series of birthday profiles, we hear about 10 years of publishing...
Christmas buyers’ picks: Ruth Ellis at WHSmith
30 September 2020
In the lead-up to Christmas 2020, Books+Publishing is asking book buyers across the country to share what titles they're investing in for the busiest time of year on the bookselling calendar. In...
Fend for yourselves: Katrina Nannestad on ‘We Are Wolves’
23 September 2020
Katrina Nannestad's new middle-grade novel is based on the real-life Wolfskinder, East Prussian children who were left to survive on their own in the aftermath of World War II. We Are...
Caravan of dreams: Kerry Ridley on My Little Bookshop
23 September 2020
Kerry Ridley is the owner of My Little Bookshop, a mobile bookseller that travels around Perth and regional Western Australia. Here she shares her bookseller's diary. The idea of starting...
Everyday heroes: Jamila Rizvi on ‘I’m a Hero Too’
16 September 2020
Jamila Rizvi's picture book I'm a Hero Too (illus by Peter Cheong, Puffin, November) 'provides gentle positive reinforcement for children who feel helpless and scared' in the face of changes...
Good Books: a new bookshop for Wellington
16 September 2020
Writers Catherine Robertson and Jane Arthur will open their new bookshop Good Books in Wellington in early October. Books+Publishing spoke to the pair about venturing into retail post–New Zealand lockdown....
Light bulb moment: why stories of women in STEM are important
9 September 2020
Books+Publishing's Junior columnist Adele Walsh reflects how far we've come and how far we still need to go when it comes to the representation of women in STEM in books...
Outsider art: Sofie Laguna on ‘Infinite Splendours’
2 September 2020
Infinite Splendours (A&U, November), Sofie Laguna's fourth novel for adults, charts the life of eccentric, artistic outsider Lawrence Loman. Conveyed through poetic prose that 'creates a tangible sense of beauty,...
Nathan Hollier on the Malaysian book market
2 September 2020
Over the past two years, Melbourne University Publishing CEO Nathan Hollier attended book fairs in Indonesia, India and Malaysia and researched the book markets in each country as part of...
Adventure time: Shivaun Plozza on ‘The Boy, the Wolf and the Stars’
26 August 2020
Shivaun Plozza's middle-grade debut The Boy, the Wolf and the Stars (Puffin, 20 October) is a fantasy adventure about a boy who is tasked with returning the stars to the sky....
Nathan Hollier on the Indian book market
24 August 2020
Over the past two years, Melbourne University Publishing CEO Nathan Hollier attended book fairs in Indonesia, India and Malaysia and researched the book markets in each country as part of...
Hope in chaos: Asphyxia on ‘Future Girl’
19 August 2020
Writer and artist Asphyxia's illustrated YA novel Future Girl (A&U, October) is set in an 'eerily plausible' dystopian Melbourne, and follows a Deaf teen Piper as she learns to embrace her...
Nathan Hollier on the Indonesian book market
19 August 2020
Over the past two years, Melbourne University Publishing CEO Nathan Hollier attended book fairs in Indonesia, India and Malaysia and researched the book markets in each country as part of...
Meet the ABDA Emerging Designers of the Year: Vanessa Masci
12 August 2020
In the lead-up to the 2020 Australian Book Designers Association (ABDA) awards, Books+Publishing spoke to the two shortlisted nominees for Emerging Designer of the Year. In this second and final instalment we talk...
Glowing up: Claire Christian on ‘It’s Been a Pleasure, Noni Blake’
5 August 2020
Claire Christian's second novel It's Been a Pleasure, Noni Blake (Text, October) is a queer romantic comedy that follows the eponymous Noni, who decides to overhaul her life after the end...
Meet the ABDA Emerging Designers of the Year: Akiko Chan
5 August 2020
In the lead-up to the 2020 Australian Book Designers Association (ABDA) awards, Books+Publishing spoke to the two shortlisted nominees for Emerging Designer of the Year. In this first instalment we...
The unequal impact of Covid-19 on publishers
29 July 2020
Although the major publishers appear to be holding up well in spite of the chaos wrought by Covid-19, it's a different story for many smaller publishers. Books+Publishing investigates the impact...
The golden age of middle-grade
29 July 2020
In the four years since Danielle Binks wrote about the under-representation of middle-grade literature, the genre has exploded. Now a middle-grade author herself, Binks follows up with a look at...
Magic man: Nicholas J Johnson on ‘Tricky Nick’
22 July 2020
Magician Nicholas J Johnson's debut book for children, Tricky Nick (Pan, September), won reviewer Annie Waters over in its first 20 pages. She spoke to the author about this embellished...
Sales down but community spirit up: Melbourne booksellers enter second lockdown
22 July 2020
As Melbourne enters its second week of renewed lockdown, booksellers across the city are feeling disappointed yet buoyed by community support. On Thursday, 9 July Melbourne re-entered stage three restrictions...
Green dream: Ketan Joshi on ‘Windfall’
15 July 2020
Windfall: Unlocking a fossil-free future (NewSouth, September) is renewable energy industry insider Ketan Joshi's account of two decades’ worth of climate wars in Australia. 'The minutiae of climate science can...
Sensitive subjects: The value of sensitivity reading
8 July 2020
Australian authors are increasingly employing sensitivity readers to ensure their representations of diverse characters are respectful and authentic. But who is regulating the practice, and what are the risks when...
