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Quotation of the week 

Tuesday, 5 June 2007
‘There's always certain politics among writers.'Wendy Were, SWF artistic director, on the reported tension between some of this year's Festival guests. 

Around the world 

Tuesday, 5 June 2007
Among the stories added to our Around the World blog this week:US book sales ‘struggling', says ‘NY Times'BookSurge steps up PoD effortsIPA criticises UN Human Rights CouncilOprah picks ‘Middlesex'Trade needs...

Clive James, Dave Eggers to open MWF 

Tuesday, 5 June 2007
The Melbourne Writers Festival has announced authors Clive James and Dave Eggers will launch this year's festival on Friday 24 August. James will discuss his latest work Cultural Amnesia (Picador) in the...

In brief 

Tuesday, 5 June 2007
LP author missingAustralian travel writer Clem Lindenmeyer, who has written a number of books for Lonely Planet, has gone missing in Tibet. He is now the subject of a search...

New name for DA Trade 

Tuesday, 5 June 2007
DA Information Services has announced that its trade distribution arm will be renamed Central Book Services.Central Book Services will ‘focus on effective trade marketing and bookseller services,' according to a...

979-prefix ISBNs on the way in 2008 

Tuesday, 5 June 2007
The International ISBN Agency has announced that it expects that ISBNs with a 979 prefix will begin to be issued in the second quarter of 2008.All 13-digit ISBNs issued to...

SWF wraps up 

Tuesday, 5 June 2007
The Sydney Writers' Festival (SWF) has wrapped up for another year, with new festival director Wendy Were concluding that her first program had ‘been successful on every level.'Attendances at this...

BEA ‘one of the best ever’ 

Tuesday, 5 June 2007
Brendan Gullifer reports:Organisers of Book Expo America (BEA) 2007 are hailing it as one of their best events ever.Despite New York sweltering in 30-plus degree heat and high humidity, early...

Bestsellers this week 

Tuesday, 5 June 2007
The battle of the non-believers heats up this week with chart newcomer Christopher Hitchens muscling in on Richard Dawkins' territory. Hitchens' case against organised religion God Is Not Great is one of the highest new entries, while Dawkins,...

Forthcoming events 

Tuesday, 5 June 2007
Trade events coming up over the next week, as shown on our events calendar, include:State Library of Victoria's ‘All about Books' Week, which runs from 3-9 JuneDymocks Literary Foundation Great...

RiP Lynne Wilding 

Tuesday, 5 June 2007
Linda Funnell writes: ‘Much-loved author Lynne Wilding passed away on Saturday after a long battle with cancer. In characteristic style she dealt with her illness with courage and good spirits,...

RiP Max Ell 

Tuesday, 5 June 2007
Ernie Mason, former managing director of Random House, writes: ‘Max Ell passed away on Thursday 24 May after a short battle with cancer.Max was one of the old school and...

Serdiuk new director of Aurealis Awards 

Tuesday, 5 June 2007
Ron Serdiuk, owner and manager of Brisbane's Pulp Fiction bookshop, has been appointed awards director for the Aurealis Awards--Australia's leading speculative fiction awards. Serduik, who said he wanted to make...

Henderson joins HarperCollins 

Tuesday, 5 June 2007
HarperCollins has announced that Fiona Henderson, currently publisher at Hachette Livre Australia and formerly publishing director at Random House, will take up the newly created full-time role of consulting publisher...

RiP Trevor Craker 

Tuesday, 5 June 2007
Former Thames & Hudson sales manager Trevor Craker, an ‘Australophile' who was instrumental in establishing the Australian branch of the business, has died at the age of 89. Craker personally...

Montana NZ Book Awards shortlist announced 

Tuesday, 5 June 2007
The shortlist of finalist titles in the Montana New Zealand Book Awards has been announced. The shortlisted titles are: FictionThe Cowboy Dog (Nigel Cox, Victoria University Press); The Fainter (Damien...

Copyright Council responds to digital copyright concerns 

Tuesday, 5 June 2007
The Australian Copyright Council has released a new book Technology, Contracts and Paracopyright, in response to the concerns of those using copyright material that usage is becoming increasingly restricted. ‘Gaining...

Bestsellers this week 

Tuesday, 29 May 2007
As the cold weather sets in, it seems readers are resisting the temptation of comfort food by following the practical advice of the CSIRO. Storming back up the charts this...

NSW Premier’s Literary Awards announced 

Tuesday, 29 May 2007
Shaun Tan's extraordinary picture book The Arrival (Hachette Livre Australia)--the story of one man's immigrant experience, told entirely without words--has been named Book of the Year at the 2007 NSW...

Brisbane Writers Festival moves to new SLQ 

Tuesday, 29 May 2007
The Brisbane Writers Festival has announced it will move to the newly transformed State Library of Queensland in 2007. ‘We are thrilled to work together with the State Library to...

Tenth SWF kicks off 

Tuesday, 29 May 2007
The 2007 Sydney Writers' Festival (SWF) is underway, under the banner 'a city transformed by words.'By the time the festival's official opening address is presented tonight by award-winning British writer Andrew O'Hagan, more...

In brief 

Tuesday, 29 May 2007
Garrett on ‘Book Show' Following new federal Minister for the Arts Senator George Brandis' interview on ABC Radio National's ‘Book Show', federal shadow Minister for the Arts Peter Garrett has...

Quotation of the week 

Tuesday, 29 May 2007
‘At its best, powerful writing about Australia feeds into the soul of the country.' Shadow Minister for the Arts Peter Garrett on ABC Radio National's Book Show.

Borders unlocks HP7 ‘gold’ 

Tuesday, 29 May 2007
Borders has announced its Australian pre-order sales for the final Harry Potter instalment are currently five times that of the sixth book in the series. ‘We've been gearing up for...

APA Book Design Awards winners announced 

Tuesday, 29 May 2007
Trish Garner was awarded the Lamb Print Best Designed Book of the Year award for Florence Broadhurst (Helen O'Neil, Hardie Grant Books) and Deborah Brash was awarded the Joyce Thorpe...

Auckland writers festival a success, goes annual 

Tuesday, 29 May 2007
This year's Auckland Writers and Readers Festival, which ran from 24 to 27 May, was ‘without a doubt our best festival ever' according to festival marketing manager Shona Gow. ‘Our...

Amazon buys Brilliance Audio 

Tuesday, 29 May 2007
Following the news last week that ABC Enterprises is closing its audio books production department, online bookseller Amazon.com has announced the expansion of its audio books offering with the acquisition...