Tuesday, 17 November 2009
New Zealand author Witi Ihimaera, whose failure to acknowledge passages from other authors in his recent novel The Trowenna Sea (Raupo) has caused controversy recently, has been named a laureate...

Tuesday, 17 November 2009
Dymocks CEO Don Grover is calling for a booksellers meeting to discuss and launch a campaign for reform to the industry, following the Government's rejection last week of the Productivity Commission's...

Tuesday, 17 November 2009
Australian Children's Literature Alliance website launchedThe Australian Children's Literature Alliance (ACLA) has launched its website at http://www.acla.org.au/. The site features an events calendar of upcoming children's book events, as well as...

Tuesday, 17 November 2009
Text Publishing and the Griffith REVIEW have announced the creation of a new prize for emerging writers. The GREW Prize offers a week's residency at the Varuna writers' house, manuscript...

Tuesday, 17 November 2009
The shortlist for this year's ACT Book of the Year Awards has been announced. Twenty-three nominations were received for the $10,000 award, which recognises ‘excellence in quality contemporary literary works...

Tuesday, 17 November 2009
In rights news this week: Fiction--Fremantle Press has sold Italian-language rights to The Edge of the World (Marcella Polain) to Gingko edizioni.Nonfiction--Murdoch Books has sold German rights to Homestyle Cookies,...

Tuesday, 17 November 2009
‘I think it's a shame that a minister makes comments such as "go buy your books overseas"'--Australian Publishers Association CEO Maree McCaskill, responding to comments by Consumer Affairs Minister Craig Emerson,...

Tuesday, 17 November 2009
Gerald Murnane was announced as the winner of this year's Melbourne Prize for Literature last Wednesday 11 November, with Nam Le picking up the Best Writing Award for The Boat...

Tuesday, 17 November 2009
Australian-born author Geraldine Brooks has been announced as the winner of this year's Peggy V Helmerich Distinguished Author Award. The US$40,000 (A$42,800) award will be presented by the Tulsa Library...

Tuesday, 17 November 2009
Several New Zealand book industry organisations have formed an alliance to promote books in the country. The National Library of New Zealand, the Publishers Association of New Zealand, Booksellers New...

Tuesday, 17 November 2009
Former UNSW Press director John Green has launched the new publishing house Pantera Press. The Press, which will launch its first titles in May next year, will adopt a joint venture...

Tuesday, 17 November 2009
Works by Australian rightsholders are among the significantly reduced number of titles affected by the Google Settlement, after an amended Settlement was filed in the US last week. The proposed...

Tuesday, 17 November 2009
The University of Adelaide has launched its own e-press. The University, which has published scholarly works under various guises since the 1920s (including the Hassell Press which merged with Griffin...

Tuesday, 17 November 2009
The unthinkable has happened--there's not one Stephenie Meyer title in the Bestsellers chart (top ten) nor the top five of the Highest New Entries or Fastest Mover charts this week....

Tuesday, 17 November 2009
Trade events coming up over the next week, as shown on our events calendar, include: ABA NSW & Publishers 2009 Christmas Party, Glebe, NSW, 18 NovemberA Thousand Words Festival--A festival...

Tuesday, 17 November 2009
Barbara Kingsolver, author of The Poisonwood Bible, received all manner of mentions in Media Extra this week. Her new book, The Lacuna, has been keenly awaited as it's her first...

Tuesday, 17 November 2009
Authors on tour from November to March 2010: NovemberSusan Duncan, Random House (A Life on Pittwater)Ben Elton, Random House (Meltdown)Danny Buderus, Random House (Talent is Not Enough)Judy Nunn, Random House...

Tuesday, 17 November 2009
Bob Bryant from Quarto Marketing Australia writes: ‘Steve Evans, managing director of QED Publishing, has died in London after battling cancer for the past eight months. He was 49. Steve...

Tuesday, 17 November 2009
Author, art historian and former professor Donald Harington has died, aged 73. He wrote 15 novels about a fictional town called ‘Stay More'. His last novel, Enduring was published this...

Tuesday, 17 November 2009
Thanks to Madman Entertainment, WBN is giving away some vampire books with a difference. To be in the running for one of two eight-title packs of Madman Entertainment's Manga Vampire series,...

Monday, 16 November 2009
The Books Alive campaign will be renamed ‘Get Reading' after wide industry consultation and the use of the phrase as a slogan during the 2009 campaign. The name change will...

Tuesday, 10 November 2009
The PMP printing group, which acquired the Scribo distribution business under its Gordon & Gotch subsidiary earlier this year, will launch a new retail website to sell books, CDs, DVDs,...

Tuesday, 10 November 2009
Murdoch Books has announced it will be responsible for sales and distribution of Black Dog Books titles from 1 February 2010. ‘New titles publishing from 1 February 2010 will be...

Tuesday, 10 November 2009
Among the international booktrade stories added to our Around the World blog in the past week:Amazon launches 'Kindle for PC' app Google Settlement extension granted Borders to close 200 stores...

Tuesday, 10 November 2009
Canberra to host Spring Poetry FestivalThe ACT Writers Centre will host a Spring Poetry Festival this weekend from 13 to 15 November. The festival will include the announcement of the...

Tuesday, 10 November 2009
Penguin New Zealand publishing director Geoff Walker has said The Trowenna Sea by Witi Ihimaera (Raupo) will not be withdrawn from sale, following the author's admission that the novel includes...