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Smith to leave Paper Plus 

Wednesday, 25 June 2014
Rob Smith, CEO of Paper Plus in New Zealand, has announced that he will leave the company on 8 August.‘It has been an honour to lead the Paper Plus Group...

Quote of the week 

Wednesday, 25 June 2014
‘We’ve experienced one of the fastest growing ebook markets in the world and we’ve seen a whole bunch of new publishers starting up’—Publishers Association of New Zealand (PANZ) president Sam...

Manuscript Appraisal Agency sold to Carstairs 

Wednesday, 25 June 2014
Brian Cook has sold the Manuscript Appraisal Agency (MAA) to former Murdoch Books project editor Kit Carstairs.Cook, who established the MAA in 1997 after leaving his publishing role at HarperCollins, told...

New online literary journal ‘Bumf’ launched 

Wednesday, 25 June 2014
New online literary journal Bumf has launched and is now open for submissions.The fortnightly journal, based in Brisbane and San Francisco, is looking for pieces between 400 and 1000 words....

Rushdie to deliver 2014 MWF keynote

Tuesday, 24 June 2014
The Melbourne Writers Festival (MWF) has announced that Salman Rushdie will deliver a keynote address at this year’s festival.Rushdie, who will appear at the festival on Thursday 28 August, will speak...

John Button Prize 2014 longlist announced

Tuesday, 24 June 2014
The longlist for the 2014 John Button Prize for writing on policy and politics has been announced.The longlisted titles are: Hearts & Minds: A Blueprint for Modern Labor (Chris Bowen,...

Text acquires ‘Our Magic Hour’

Tuesday, 24 June 2014
Text Publishing has announced it has acquired Our Magic Hour by Melbourne writer Jennifer Down. Down’s manuscript was a runner-up for the 2014 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for an Unpublished...

Readings expands SLV store

Tuesday, 24 June 2014
The Readings store at the State Library of Victoria has been extended by almost a third. The store, which closed for two weeks for renovations, reopened on Thursday 19 June...

‘The Marriage Knot’ wins 2014 Margaret Medcalf Award 

Monday, 23 June 2014
Penelope Hetherington has won the 2014 Margaret Medcalf Award for her nonfiction title The Marriage Knot: Marriage and Divorce in Colonial Western Australia 1829-1900 (UWA Publishing). The annual Margaret Medcalf...

Exisle to publish 12-year-old author 

Monday, 23 June 2014
Exisle Publishing has announced it has acquired I Don’t Like Cheese by 12-year-old Hannah Chandler.Chandler’s book about a mouse that doesn’t like cheese was written in response to a challenge...

Bestsellers this week 

Monday, 23 June 2014
The standard edition of The Fault in Our Stars (John Green, Penguin) is on top of the bestsellers chart for the second week in a row, ahead of the film tie-in...

ABC opens flagship Melbourne CBD store 

Monday, 23 June 2014
The ABC has opened its flagship store at the new Emporium shopping centre in Melbourne’s CBD. The store is located on the centre’s third level and features ‘two reading areas,...

Davis to feature on ‘Australian Story’

Friday, 20 June 2014
Perth author and bookseller Brooke Davis will feature on an episode of ABC TV’s Australian Story on Monday 23 June.Davis’ debut novel Lost & Found, published by Hachette in July, caught the...

Gourmand World Cookbook Awards winners announced 

Friday, 20 June 2014
The Gourmand World Cookbook Awards for ‘Best in the World’ have been announced.Three Australian titles won first place in their respective categories:Charity and fundraising category Pacific: Limestone: Keith Hospital Cookbook (Robyn...

Wyld wins Jerwood Fiction Uncovered Prize 

Friday, 20 June 2014
Australian-born, UK-based author Evie Wyld is among eight writers to be awarded the Jerwood Fiction Uncovered Prize, Wyld was awarded the prize, which is open to British writers of fiction of...

Australian Shadows Awards winners announced 

Friday, 20 June 2014
The winners of the 2013 Australian Shadows Awards have been announced.The winners in each category are: Novel: 809 Jacob Street (Marty Young, Black Beacon Books)  Long Fiction: ‘The Unwanted Women of...

Wyld wins 2013 Encore Award

Thursday, 19 June 2014
Australian author Evie Wyld has won the £10,000 (A$18,066) Encore Award for her novel All The Birds, Singing (Vintage). The annual award is presented for the best second novel from...

Booktopia, Bookworld nominated for online retailing awards

Thursday, 19 June 2014
Booktopia and Bookworld have picked up several nominations in this year’s Online Retail Industry Awards (ORIAS).Booktopia is a finalist for Best Pureplay Online Retailer, Best Social Commerce Initiative, Best Online...

Kavanagh joins Stella Prize

Wednesday, 18 June 2014
Bec Kavanagh has been appointed education resource development officer for the Stella Prize.Kavanagh, a freelance writer and reviewer and founder of A Thousand Words Festival in Melbourne, will be responsible...

Quote of the week 

Wednesday, 18 June 2014
‘Today’s exchange rate, plus 10%, plus GST, then round up or down to the nearest 95 or 99 cents’—Peter Donoughue’s ‘golden rule in import pricing’. You can see how Donoughue’s...

Ernest Scott Prize 2014 shortlist announced

Wednesday, 18 June 2014
The shortlist for the 2014 Ernest Scott Prize for history, presented by the University of Melbourne’s Faculty of Arts, has been announced.The shortlisted titles are: Nature’s Line: George Goyder—Surveyor, Environmentalist,...

Lonely Planet to relaunch children’s list 

Tuesday, 17 June 2014
Lonely Planet will relaunch its children’s list, Not for Parents, as Lonely Planet Kids, reports the Bookseller. ‘We now feel the time is right to establish Lonely Planet Kids as...

McInnes national ambassador for the Reading Hour

Tuesday, 17 June 2014
The Reading Hour has announced Australian actor and writer William McInnes is the national ambassador for the initiative in 2014.First held during the National Year of Reading in 2012, the...

Wakefield appoints ‘geek in residence’

Tuesday, 17 June 2014
Wakefield Press has appointed Simon Collinson as the publisher’s ‘geek in residence’ until September. The role, which is part-funded by the Australia Council, will involve Collinson ‘developing ways to enhance Wakefield’s...

Writers Vic launches ‘Writers Book Club’

Tuesday, 17 June 2014
Writers Victoria has launched a new ‘professional development and networking opportunity’ for published writers, who will ‘use a newly released Australian novel as a starting point for facilitated conversation and...

Exisle acquires Rennie’s ‘Art in Nature’

Tuesday, 17 June 2014
Exisle has acquired Art in Nature, the first book by photographer David Rennie. Rennie was the 2013 winner of the Australian Geographic ANZANG Nature Photographer of the Year competition. His...