Murdoch joins PANZ Council
Monday, 10 February 2014
Te Papa Press publisher Claire Murdoch has joined the council of the Publishers Association of New Zealand (PANZ), replacing former Huia Publishers managing director Robyn Bargh who has retired. Murdoch will...
Dempster shortlisted for ‘Women’s Agenda’ Leadership Awards
Tuesday, 4 February 2014
Melbourne Writers Festival director Lisa Dempster has been shortlisted in this year’s Women’s Agenda Leadership Awards. Dempster, who has been director and CEO of the festival since the end of...
‘Writers in Conversation’ literary journal launched
Monday, 3 February 2014
The first issue of the Writers in Conversation open-access literary journal is now available. The journal, which focuses on interviews with authors, editors and translators of literary works, is jointly...
Catton to be awarded honorary doctorate
Thursday, 30 January 2014
New Zealand author Eleanor Catton will be awarded an honorary Doctor of Literature from Victoria University of Wellington, reports Booksellers NZ. Catton, whose second novel The Luminaries (Granta) won the 2013 Man Booker...
‘The Broken Shore’ to screen on ABC TV this weekend
Wednesday, 29 January 2014
The television adaptation of Peter Temple’s novel The Broken Shore (Text) will screen on ABC Television at 8.30pm on Sunday 2 February. The telemovie stars Don Hany, who has appeared in...
Booktopia counting down top 50 ‘Favourite Australian Novelists’
Wednesday, 22 January 2014
Booktopia is counting down the top 50 finalists in its annual ‘Australia’s Favourite Novelist’ promotion. On 20 January, Booktopia announced the top 50 to 41 finalists, which included Kate Grenville,...
Queensland student shortlisted for Digital Book Awards
Friday, 10 January 2014
Queensland creative writing student Donna Thompson has been shortlisted for the 2014 Digital Book Awards, to be held in New York on 14 January. Thompson is a finalist in the Ebook Fixed...
Booktopia and Bookworld win SmartCompany Web Awards
Wednesday, 8 January 2014
Online booksellers Booktopia and Bookworld are among the winners in the SmartCompany Web Awards. Booktopia picked up an award for Best Mobile Website and Bookworld won for Best Use of Social Media....
Melbourne radio show ‘Aural Text’ finishes up
Wednesday, 8 January 2014
Melbourne radio program Aural Text broadcast its final show in December 2013. The program, which focussed on books and writing, was hosted by Melbourne writer, poet and musician Alicia Sometimes...
‘The Rosie Project’ selected for Richard & Judy Book Club
Tuesday, 7 January 2014
Graeme Simsion’s The Rosie Project (Text) has been selected for the Spring season of the Richard & Judy Book Club in the UK. Simsion’s novel, which was published by Penguin in...
Voting commences in Booktopia’s search for ‘Australia’s Favourite Novelist’
Monday, 6 January 2014
Voting has commenced in Booktopia’s annual ‘Australia’s Favourite Novelist’ promotion. Booktopia accepted nominations from the public from 1 to 5 January. Heats will run from 6 to 12 January to determine...
Swinburne Bookshop Co-op Prahran closes
Wednesday, 11 December 2013
The Swinburne Bookshop Co-op in the Melbourne suburb of Prahran has closed. All stock from the store has been moved to the bookshop at the Swinburne University campus in Hawthorn, where new shelving is...
Palgrave Macmillan to be renamed Macmillan Science and Education
Tuesday, 10 December 2013
Palgrave Macmillan will be renamed Macmillan Science and Education next year. The publisher said in a statement this week that the change will take place on 1 April 2014, at...
Random House New Books App now available on Android devices
Tuesday, 10 December 2013
Random House Australia has released an Android version of its free New Books App, which is now available through the Google Play store in Australia and New Zealand. The app,...
‘The Secret River’ adaptation receives investment funding
Monday, 9 December 2013
Screen Australia has announced investment funding for the ABC’s television adaptation of Kate Grenville’s The Secret River (Text). The miniseries is being developed by producers Stephen Luby and Mark Ruse, along...
Pick-a-WooWoo shortlisted for WA business award
Tuesday, 3 December 2013
Western Australia-based publisher Pick-a-WooWoo has been named a finalist in the 2013 Regional Small Business Awards, presented by the Western Australian Government. Pick-a-WooWoo, which publishes Mind Body Spirit books for...
Pages & Pages offers ebooks from Kobo
Wednesday, 27 November 2013
Sydney independent bookseller Pages & Pages Booksellers is offering Kobo ebooks to customers via its website. The bookseller is the first member of the Australian Booksellers Association to become an...
Whitcoulls relaunches ebookstore
Tuesday, 26 November 2013
New Zealand bookselling chain Whitcoulls is once again selling ebooks through Kobo after suspending its Kobo ebookstore in mid-October. As previously reported by Books+Publishing, Whitcoulls suspended its ebookstore due to...
Scholastic recalls ‘Thea Stilton and the Blue Scarab Hunt’
Wednesday, 20 November 2013
Scholastic Australia has confirmed to Books+Publishing that it has recalled all copies of the children’s book Thea Stilton and the Blue Scarab Hunt (Geronimo Stilton) after it was revealed that...
Ackland receives PEN/Keneally Award
Tuesday, 19 November 2013
Journalist and editor Richard Ackland is the recipient of the 2013 PEN/Keneally Award for his contribution to promoting freedom of expression. Ackland, who is a legal columnist for Fairfax Media...
Australian Writers’ Centre to expand to WA
Tuesday, 19 November 2013
The Australian Writers’ Centre has announced plans to offer writing courses in Perth, Western Australia, in 2014. The centre, which was previously known as the Sydney Writers’ Centre, will offer...
Readings to sponsor ‘Age’ Short Story Award 2013
Friday, 15 November 2013
Melbourne-based bookseller Readings will sponsor the 2013 Age Short Story Award, reports the Age. The winner of this year’s award, worth $2000, will be announced in mid-December. Entries that come in second and...
Turia Pitt named ‘Cosmo’ Woman of the Year
Wednesday, 13 November 2013
Australian author Turia Pitt has been named Cosmopolitan magazine’s Woman of the Year, winning the overall prize in the magazine’s annual Fun Fearless Female Awards. Pitt, whose memoir Everything to Live...
Myer Christmas Windows based on Jan Brett picture book
Monday, 11 November 2013
This year’s Myer Christmas Windows in Bourke St, Melbourne, and Queen St, Brisbane, are based on the picture book Gingerbread Friends by US author Jan Brett (Penguin). The book follows the adventures...
Ashurst Business Literature Prize opened up to international topics
Wednesday, 6 November 2013
From 2014, books by Australian authors about international business and financial affairs will be eligible for the Ashurst Business Literature Prize. The State Library of New South Wales (SLNSW), which...
Colpoys launches online stationery business
Thursday, 31 October 2013
Freelance book designer Allison Colpoys has launched an online stationery business. The Souvenir Society, which is a collaboration between Colpoys and packaging designer Kasia Gadecki, includes a range of cards, tags,...
Lu Rees Archives receives heritage grant
Wednesday, 30 October 2013
The Lu Rees Archives of Australian Children’s Literature has received $6050 in funding as part of the federal government’s 2013 Community Heritage Grants (CHG). The Archives, which is supported by...
Author shortlisted for Melbourne Awards
Wednesday, 30 October 2013
Melbourne author and artist Maree Coote has been shortlisted for the 2013 Melbourne Awards. Now in its 11th year, the Melbourne Awards ‘honour Melburnians who have made a significant contribution to...
Courtney Love memoir delayed
Wednesday, 30 October 2013
A memoir by US singer and actress Courtney Love has been delayed until next year, despite being sold-in to Australian bookshops as a November release. A spokesperson for Pan Macmillan...
Swingler features on ‘Australian Story’
Wednesday, 30 October 2013
Susan Swingler, step-daughter of Australian author Elizabeth Jolley and author of the memoir The House of Fiction (Fremantle Press), featured on ABC TV’s Australian Story on Monday 28 October. In...





