Is YA okay?: The state of Australian young adult literature
3 July 2019
With reports from the UK showing a sharp decline in sales of YA fiction, Jackie Tang explores whether the Australian market is experiencing similar changes. When UK trade publication the...
Natural habitat: Kate Goldsworthy shares her career journey
26 June 2019
Over the past 10 years, Victoria-based editor Kate Goldsworthy has worked for a wide range of publishers, both in-house and as a freelancer. She shares her career journey. Since early...
Book buyer spotlight: Peter Pal’s Stuart Dunstan
19 June 2019
How does book buying differ for the library sector? Stuart Dunstan, fiction buyer for Australian library supplier Peter Pal, spoke to Books+Publishing for our ‘book buyer spotlight’ series. How long have...
Change maker: Sally Rugg on ‘How Powerful We Are’
19 June 2019
LGBTIQ rights activist Sally Rugg led the GetUp campaign for marriage equality for five years and is now executive director at change.org. Rugg’s first book, How Powerful We Are (Hachette,...
Meryl Halls: Creating better bookshops
19 June 2019
Meryl Halls recently became managing director of the UK Booksellers Association (BA). In June she’s in Australia to give the keynote address at the Australian Booksellers Association (ABA) conference. She...
Meet the ABA Young Booksellers of the Year: Eadie Allen from the Sun Bookshop
19 June 2019
In the lead-up to the Australian Booksellers Association (ABA) 2019 conference, Books+Publishing spoke to each of the five shortlisted nominees for the Young Bookseller of the Year award ahead of the winner announcement on...
Meet the ABA Young Booksellers of the Year: Aisling Lawless from Dymocks Joondalup
14 June 2019
In the lead-up to the Australian Booksellers Association (ABA) 2019 conference, Books+Publishing spoke to each of the five shortlisted nominees for the Young Bookseller of the Year award ahead of...
The regional bookshops competing with Big W
13 June 2019
Brad Jefferies speaks to independent booksellers in regional areas about the impending closure of around 30 Big W stores. Reactions were mixed when it was reported in March that up...
Meet the ABA Young Booksellers of the Year: Kate Adams from Better Read Than Dead
12 June 2019
In the lead-up to the Australian Booksellers Association (ABA) 2019 conference, Books+Publishing spoke to each of the five shortlisted nominees for the Young Bookseller of the Year award ahead of...
Meet the ABA Young Booksellers of the Year: Simon McDonald from Potts Point Bookshop
7 June 2019
In the lead-up to the Australian Booksellers Association (ABA) 2019 conference, Books+Publishing spoke to each of the five shortlisted nominees for the Young Bookseller of the Year award ahead of...
Nervous laughter: Nina Kenwood on ‘It Sounded Better in My Head’
6 June 2019
Nina Kenwood won the 2018 Text Prize for her YA debut It Sounded Better in My Head (Text, August), which follows neurotic 18-year-old Natalie as she navigates first love during...
Meet the ABA Young Booksellers of the Year: Michael Earp from The Little Bookroom
5 June 2019
In the lead-up to the Australian Booksellers Association (ABA) 2019 conference, Books+Publishing spoke to each of the five shortlisted nominees for the Young Bookseller of the Year award ahead of...
Book buyer spotlight: Dymocks’ Imogen Neely
5 June 2019
Imogen Neely is the merchandise manager for Dymocks. She spoke to Books+Publishing for our ‘book buyer spotlight’ series. How long have you been in the role and what did you do...
The freelance life
30 May 2019
Is freelancing as an editor all that it is purported to be? Marisa Wikramanayake investigates pay and working conditions for freelance editors. It is a common dream to work as...
Sharing the truth: Stephanie Wood on ‘Fake’
30 May 2019
Fake (Vintage, July) is journalist Stephanie Wood’s account of her relationship with a man who turned out to be not who he said he was, interweaved with expert opinion and...
Book buyer spotlight: Gleebooks’ Morgan Smith
29 May 2019
Morgan Smith has worked for Sydney’s Gleebooks for close to 25 years, and is currently the manager and book buyer at Gleebooks’ Dulwich Hill store. She spoke to Books+Publishing for our...
The ‘new Australian sensibility’: Literary agent Barbara J Zitwer on discovering Australian writers
24 May 2019
New York-based literary agent Barbara J Zitwer represents writers including Man Booker International Prize-winner Han Kang, and recently sold rights on behalf of her Australian authors Jamie Marina Lau and...
Georgia Spanos on ‘When the Tomatoes Are Ready’
22 May 2019
Georgia Spanos is a Melbourne-based writer, editor and 'advocate for all things food and culture'. When she’s not the digital editor at Halliday magazine, she is working on her second...
Book buyer spotlight: Harry Hartog and Berkelouw Books’ Maxine Ryan
22 May 2019
Maxine Ryan has been working as a book buyer for Harry Hartog and Berkelouw Books for over 20 years. She spoke to Books+Publishing for our ‘book buyer spotlight’ series. How long...
Galleys and galleries: The art and design book market
15 May 2019
Australian art gallery attendance is at an all-time high and BookScan data suggests a correlation between gallery attendance and the sales of illustrated art and design books. Kelsey Oldham explores the...
Book buyer spotlight: WHSmith’s Ruth Ellis
15 May 2019
Ruth Ellis worked for Dymocks and Berkelouw before joining WHSmith as a buyer two years ago. She spoke to Books+Publishing for our ‘book buyer spotlight’ series. How long have you been...
Book buyer spotlight: Readings’ Angela Crocombe
8 May 2019
Angela Crocombe has worked as an author, publicist, sales rep and in foreign rights before joining Readings as its children’s book buyer. She spoke to Books+Publishing for our ‘book buyer...
Class act: Facilitating in-school author visits
8 May 2019
An inspiring in-school appearance from an author is often the key to getting kids interested in reading. Andrea Hanke spoke to four speakers’ agencies about facilitating these important interactions. For Victoria-based...
Book buyer spotlight: Big W’s Meredith Drake
1 May 2019
Meredith Drake has been a book buyer at Big W for over 10 years, and was once described by the Australian as ‘the most influential figure on the local book...
Book buyer spotlight: Collins Booksellers’ Diana Johnston
24 April 2019
Collins Booksellers national buying manager Diana Johnston ran the Collins Bairnsdale store in regional Victoria for over 15 years before becoming a buyer in the company’s head office. She spoke...
Jane Curry: What makes a good author?
18 April 2019
In her first opinion column of the year, Ventura Press founder Jane Curry shares her thoughts on the traits that make a successful author. Writing is a solitary and fiercely...
Middle-grade in demand at Bologna; kindness and environmental themes among new trends
17 April 2019
Australian publishers have reported an ‘upbeat’ Bologna Children’s Book Fair (1-4 April), with middle-grade books continuing to dominate the market, and kindness and environmental themes emerging as new trends. Books...
A love letter to the Centre for Youth Literature: Zhana Maticevski-Shumack on the closure of CYL
17 April 2019
State Library Victoria's controversial announcement in early March that it was 'retiring' the Centre for Youth Literature (CYL) was met with backlash from across the literary community. In this opinion...
Meet the ABIA Rising Stars 2019: Sam Cooney
17 April 2019
The Australian Book Industry Awards’ (ABIA) Rising Star of the Year is awarded to an emerging talent in Australian publishing who has spent less than 10 years in the industry....
Meet the ABIA Rising Stars 2019: Mark Campbell
16 April 2019
The Australian Book Industry Awards’ (ABIA) Rising Star of the Year is awarded to an emerging talent in Australian publishing who has spent less than 10 years in the industry....
