Tuesday, 29 July 2014
New Zealand literary agent Michael Gifkins has died, aged 68.Former Penguin NZ publishing director Geoff Walker writes:‘For many years New Zealand’s leading literary agent, Michael died yesterday after suffering from prostate cancer...

Tuesday, 29 July 2014
Jo Goodman, former president of the Victorian branch of the Children’s Book Council of Australia, has died, aged 73. The CBCA Victorian Branch committee writes:‘The Children’s Book Council of Australia...

Tuesday, 29 July 2014
SalesFiction—HarperCollins has sold Polish rights to Six Days in Leningrad (Paullina Simons).Nonfiction—Black Inc. has sold North American rights to Born Bad: Original Sin and the Making of the Western World...

Friday, 25 July 2014
A new survey of Australian reading habits by Roy Morgan Research has found that the proportion of Australians reading has declined over the past decade. ‘The decline in the proportion...

Friday, 25 July 2014
The Australian book industry has recorded a small increase in book sales for the first half of 2014.According to Nielsen BookScan, sales were up 1.3% in volume and value in the...

Thursday, 24 July 2014
New Zealand author Eleanor Catton has been longlisted for the 2014 International Dylan Thomas Prize for The Luminaries (Granta).The full longlist is: At Night We Walk in Circles (Daniel Alarcón, Fourth...

Thursday, 24 July 2014
US author, publisher and philanthropist Dave Eggers will give the opening address at Brisbane Writers Festival on 4 September and be part of a Literary Vaudeville Show at Brisbane Powerhouse...

Wednesday, 23 July 2014
The finalists of this year’s New Zealand Post Book Awards have been announced. The shortlisted titles in each category are:Fiction The Luminaries (Eleanor Catton, Victoria University Press) The Last Days...

Wednesday, 23 July 2014
The Australian Writers’ Guild (AWG) has announced the nominees for the 47th Annual AWGIE Awards for screen, television, stage and radio writing. Among the nominees are a number of works adapted from...

Tuesday, 22 July 2014
Allen & Unwin (A&U) has announced the resignation of children’s book director Liz Bray. Bray, who joined A&U in 1998 following many years as an independent bookseller, was appointed children’s...

Tuesday, 22 July 2014
SalesFiction—HarperCollins has sold US English-language rights to White Gardenia and Golden Earrings (Belinda Alexandra); and Turkish rights to Flowers of Baghdad (Bruce Lyman).Nonfiction—Black Inc. has sold world (ex. ANZ rights) to...

Monday, 21 July 2014
Penguin Random House (PRH) has announced the retirement of Penguin sales director Peter Blake. Following Blake’s departure on 28 November, Random House sales director Gavin Schwarcz will take on the new...

Monday, 21 July 2014
John Green novels and Minecraft manuals continue to dominate the bestsellers chart. The regular and film tie-in edition of The Fault in Our Stars (Penguin) are in first and second place, while...

Monday, 21 July 2014
Catherine Saxelby’s Complete Food and Nutrition Companion: The Ultimate A-Z Guide (Hardie Grant) has won the Bruce Chandler Book Prize. The prize is awarded by the Australian Institute of Food...