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Borders’ strategic review ‘progressing’ 

Tuesday, 19 June 2007
Borders has announced that its ‘review of strategic alternatives' for its Australia and New Zealand business is ‘progressing as planned', with KPMG Corporate Finance preparing an information memorandum that is...

APA hits the road for series of forums 

Tuesday, 19 June 2007
The Australian Publishers Association (APA) has announced it will hold twice-yearly, state-based forums ‘where issues and ideas can be canvassed.' ‘We welcome not just the APA delegate [from each member company] but...

Foley goes into Orbit 

Tuesday, 19 June 2007
Hachette Livre Australia publisher Bernadette Foley has been appointed the Australian publisher for the Orbit science fiction list. The new position, which is in addition to Foley's current role, will...

APA launches DataPage 

Tuesday, 19 June 2007
The Australian Publishers Association (APA) has launched a new ‘comprehensive title download service', DataPage. The service, which was launched on 18 June at the ABA conference in Melbourne, is part...

Defamation precedent raises eyebrows 

Tuesday, 19 June 2007
Media commentators fear a ruling by Australia's High Court that a restaurant review was defamatory has set an unwelcome precedent for reviewers in all fields. The 6-1 ruling found that...

‘Salvation Creek’ is booksellers’ choice 

Tuesday, 19 June 2007
Susan Duncan's Salvation Creek (Bantam) was announced as the winner of the 2007 Nielsen BookData Booksellers Choice Award at the Booksellers' Dinner held as a central social event of this year's...

Quote of the week 

Tuesday, 19 June 2007
‘I've not yet met a bookseller who's cynical or who's lost their passion for books.'--Susan Duncan, on accepting the Booksellers Choice award for Salvation Creek at the ABA conference's Booksellers'...

ABA conference: trade day a hit 

Tuesday, 19 June 2007
The ABA conference program included Monday's very well-attended trade display day, featuring over 70 publishers, distributors, non-book suppliers and service providers. There was a strong crowd all day, with conference delagates boosted by...

In brief 

Tuesday, 19 June 2007
Spielberg buys film rights to ‘The Unknown Terrorist'Steven Spielberg's Dreamworks Studio has reportedly paid ‘a massive sum' to secure the film rights to Richard Flanagan's novel The Unknown Terrorist (Picador).The...

‘Carpentaria’ wins Miles Franklin 

Tuesday, 19 June 2007
This year's Miles Franklin Literary Award has been won by Alexis Wright for her novel Carpentaria, published by Giramondo.The Miles Franklin is widely regarded as Australia's most prestigious literary prize,...

Stager is new ABA president 

Sunday, 17 June 2007
The AGM of the Australian Booksellers Association (ABA) was held on the opening day of the 83rd ABA conference.The committee of the ABA for 2007-08 is:president: Fiona Stager, Avid Reader...

TAFE bookseller fears closures 

Tuesday, 12 June 2007
The campus bookselling chain United Campus Bookshops fears several of its NSW TAFE bookshops with contracts currently under review by the NSW education department may be set to close at...

Around the world 

Tuesday, 12 June 2007
Among the stories added to our Around the World blog in the past week:Reuters on HP discountingCharkin 'borrows' Google computers at BEAEgmont and Bonnier merge in Denmark and SwedenPoet is...

Achebe wins Booker International 

Tuesday, 12 June 2007
Nigerian author Chinua Achebe has been announced as the second recipient of the Man Booker International Prize, worth £60,000 (A$135,000).Achebe is known as 'the father of modern African literature'. The...

Quotation of the week 

Tuesday, 12 June 2007
'There were lots of books we rejected--about personal female issues, the loss of a child, the break-up of a marriage, thinly veiled autobiographical things of no consequence...'Orange Prize judge Muriel...

Bestsellers this week 

Tuesday, 12 June 2007
There's nothing like a little murder and mayhem to while away the winter nights. Dead bodies, missing persons and battle-weary detectives characterise this week's top 10 with new entries from...

Temple and Robotham aim for dagger 

Tuesday, 12 June 2007
Peter Temple is the first Australian author to be shortlisted for the UK Crime Writers' Association's Duncan Lawrie Dagger Award (formerly know as the Gold Dagger).Temple's The Broken Shore (Text)...

In brief 

Tuesday, 12 June 2007
RFID roll-out in librariesAll public libraries in the ACT and a number in Victoria are moving quickly to implement RFID technology. The ACT Library and Information Service received $1.6 million...

Vella awarded Beatrice Davis fellowship 

Tuesday, 12 June 2007
Colette Vella, editorial manager at Murdoch Books, has been awarded 2007 Beatrice Davis Editorial Fellowship. The fellowship, which was announced at the Sydney Writers' Festival on 1 June, recognises editors...

Auslit adds ‘Black Words’ section 

Tuesday, 12 June 2007
Auslit, the research network created by several Australian universities and the National Library of Australia to promote Australian literature, has announced the creation of ‘Black Words', a new section of...

Ditmar awards 

Tuesday, 12 June 2007
The Ditmar Awards for science fiction were presented last weekend in Melbourne at the Convergence 2 conference.Among the winners are:novel: The Pilo Family Circus (Will Elliot, ABC Books)novella/novelette: ‘The Devil...

Griffin Poetry Prize announced 

Tuesday, 12 June 2007
The winners of this year's Griffin Poetry Prize were announced at an awards ceremony in Toronto on 6 June. Scar Tissue by US author Charles Wright (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)...

‘The Arrival’ wins WA Premier’s Prize 

Tuesday, 12 June 2007
Shaun Tan's The Arrival (Hachette Livre Australia) has been named winner of the Premier's Prize in this year's WA Premier's Book Awards, announced on 8 June. Tan's graphic novel, which...

‘Half of a Yellow Sun’ wins Orange Prize 

Tuesday, 12 June 2007
Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has received this year's Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction, worth £30,000 (A$67,000), for her novel Half of a Yellow Sun (HarperCollins). The novel, which is...

SLV fellowships 

Tuesday, 12 June 2007
The State Library of Victoria has announced the recipients of its annual Creative Fellowships, this year worth a total of $165,000. The Fellowships allow writers, artists, historians and others to...

Ligare gets private equity partner 

Tuesday, 12 June 2007
Ligare, which is the third-largest book-printing company in Australia, has announced that it has secured a private equity partner, with New Zealand-based Knox Partners taking a majority shareholding in the Sydney-based...

Forthcoming events 

Tuesday, 12 June 2007
Trade events coming up over the next week, as shown on our events calendar, include:International Booksellers Federation Conference, Cape Town, 13-16 JuneCape Town Book Fair, 16-19 JuneABA Annual Conference, 17-19...