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Australia Reads campaign: Nielsen reports sales up almost 5%

Thursday, 5 November 2020
Nielsen Book Australia reports that sales of print books are up nearly 5% on the previous year. Territory manager Bianca Whiteley said that, for the year to the week ending...

Reviews round-up

Thursday, 5 November 2020
In October Books+Publishing reviewed more than a dozen forthcoming titles due to be published in December 2020 and January 2021. In adult fiction, lighthearted summer reads The Funny Thing About...

Out of the box: Rebecca Lim on ‘Tiger Daughter’

Thursday, 5 November 2020
Rebecca Lim says her forthcoming novel Tiger Daughter (A&U, February) is 'a lot more personal' than the urban fantasy or mystery novels the author usually writes. Reviewer Mischa Parkee describes...

LBF moved to June 2021; new director named

Thursday, 5 November 2020
In the UK, the London Book Fair (LBF) has announced next year’s event will take place from 29 June to 1 July, according to the Bookseller. The fair was originally scheduled...

Bloomsbury to repay pandemic pay cuts

Thursday, 5 November 2020
Bloomsbury Australia’s parent company in the UK has announced it will repay almost £700,000 (A$985,000) to staff who took a pay cut during the first months of the Covid-19 pandemic,...

Turn the page: 2021 fiction preview

Thursday, 5 November 2020
Next year looks to be a big one for first-time authors, with an abundance of fiction debuts in the pipeline. Here, Books+Publishing rounds up publishers’ fiction highlights for the coming year....

Time differences, but more time: Australians’ experiences of ‘virtual’ Frankfurt

Thursday, 5 November 2020
Australian publishers largely relied on Zoom to attend this year's virtual Frankfurt Book Fair. They told Andrea Hanke about the upsides, drawbacks, and the genres in demand at this year's...

Serong shortlisted for 2020 Staunch Book Prize

Wednesday, 4 November 2020
Australian author Jock Serong has been shortlisted for the 2020 Staunch Book Prize, having won the inaugural award in 2018 for On the Java Ridge (Text). Serong is shortlisted for...

‘The Killing Streets’ wins 2020 Danger Prize

Wednesday, 4 November 2020
The Killing Streets by Tanya Bretherton (Hachette) has won the 2020 Danger Prize. Bretherton, who has been shortlisted for the prize for each of her three books, thanked prize administrators...

Bookshop.org makes £65,000 in UK launch

Wednesday, 4 November 2020
In the UK, online retailer Bookshop.org made sales of around £65,000 (A$119,000) in its first day of trade on 2 November, reports the Bookseller. Around 150 independent bookshops have signed...

Hicks wins inaugural SBS Emerging Writers’ Competition

Wednesday, 4 November 2020
Papua New Guinean–Australian digital content maker, writer, director and producer Alana Hicks has won the inaugural SBS Emerging Writers’ Competition. Hicks’s entry was chosen as the winner from more than...

Report: Aus market up 4%, almost half of consumer sales online

Wednesday, 4 November 2020
A report commissioned by Booktopia from consultants Frost & Sullivan has forecast that Australia’s overall book sales in the 2021 financial year will be up 4% on the previous year,...

Booktopia to list on ASX in December

Wednesday, 4 November 2020
Australian online bookseller Booktopia has lodged a prospectus with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) to raise $43.1 million and list on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) in December....

Ngaio Marsh Award 2020 winners announced

Monday, 2 November 2020
Debut novelist Becky Manawatu has won the 2020 Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel for Auē (Makaro Press). A novel portraying domestic violence and gang life, the book is...

Victorian libraries to celebrate Australian Reading Hour with ‘Dressmaker’ exclusive

Monday, 2 November 2020
More than 40 Victorian library services will promote a shared online Victoria Reads event to celebrate Australian Reading Hour on 12 November. The event, to be hosted by new Public...

‘Printed on Stone’ wins Victorian Premier’s History Award

Monday, 2 November 2020
Printed on Stone: The lithographs of Charles Troedel (Amanda Scardamaglia, Melbourne Books) has won the Victorian Premier’s History Award, as part of the Victorian Community History Awards. Scardamaglia’s book, about...

No ‘Daily’ on Tuesday

Monday, 2 November 2020
Please note that, due to the Melbourne Cup holiday on Tuesday, the next Daily newsletter will be published on Wednesday, 4 November. This week's Weekly Book Newsletter will be published...

French bookshops to re-enter lockdown

Friday, 30 October 2020
French bookshops and libraries will close for at least 15 days from 30 October, as the country enters a second lockdown to curb the rise in Covid-19 cases, reports the...

Wollongong Writers Festival 2020 program announced

Friday, 30 October 2020
The program for the eighth Wollongong Writers Festival, which will run online from 23 to 29 November, has been announced. Helen Garner, Tara June Winch, Bruce Pascoe, Dervla McTiernan and...

‘Smart Ovens for Lonely People’ wins 2020 Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction

Friday, 30 October 2020
The winner of the 2020 Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction is Smart Ovens for Lonely People by Elizabeth Tan (Brio). Readings Carlton manager Joe Rubbo, who judged the award...

Six Australian nominees for 2021 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award

Friday, 30 October 2020
Six Australian authors, illustrators and organisations have been announced as candidates for the 2021 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, the world’s richest prize for children’s literature. The Australian candidates are: Jeannie...

‘The Unforgiven’ shortlisted for UK sports book award

Friday, 30 October 2020
Ashley Gray’s The Unforgiven (Pitch Publishing) has been shortlisted for the UK-based William Hill Sports Book of the Year award. The Unforgiven tells the story of the 20 West Indies...

Wakefield announces YA horror anthology winning submissions

Thursday, 29 October 2020
Wakefield Press has announced the winning submissions to its national callout for contributions to its YA fiction anthology Hometown Haunts: #LoveOzYA Horror Tales. The four winning stories are: An 'intense,...

Inaugural $50k Historical Novel Prize shortlist announced

Thursday, 29 October 2020
The Historical Novel Society Australasia (HNSA) has announced the shortlist for the inaugural ARA Historical Novel Prize. The shortlisted novels are: Master of My Fate (Sienna Brown, Vintage) Shepherd (Catherine...

McClymont receives Danger Lifetime Achievement Award

Thursday, 29 October 2020
Walkley Award–winning investigative journalist Kate McClymont is the winner of the 2020 Danger Lifetime Achievement Award, presented by Bad: Sydney Crime Writers Festival. ‘Kate McClymont is a genuine investigative journalist....