News | Books+Publishing

Inside the Australian and New Zealand book industry

News >

Red Room Poetry fellowship shortlist announced

Friday, 22 March 2019
Red Room Poetry has announced the shortlist for its 2019 fellowship, which recognises the achievements and artistic goals of contemporary Australian poets. The 11 shortlisted poets are: Richard James Allen...

Report says up to 60 Big W stores could close

Thursday, 21 March 2019
Up to 60 Big W stores may be forced to close according to a recent Macquarie Wealth Management report, first reported in the Australian. Woolworths Group, which owns the discount...

Red Room Poetry expands Poetry in First Languages schools program to QLD, NT, ACT

Thursday, 21 March 2019
Red Room Poetry is expanding its Poetry in First Languages (PIFL) program in 2019 to include Queensland, the Northern Territory and the ACT. The PIFL program teaches poetry, music, dance...

US Christian bookstore chain to close 170 bricks-and-mortar stores

Thursday, 21 March 2019
In the US, Christian bookstore chain LifeWay Christian Resources has announced that it will close all 170 of its physical stores by the end of 2019, reports Publishers Weekly. LifeWay...

Forthcoming Wood novel sold to US, UK

Wednesday, 20 March 2019
Charlotte Wood's forthcoming novel The Weekend (A&U, October) has been sold to Riverhead in the US and Weidenfeld & Nicolson (W&N) in the UK, reports the Bookseller. The novel, Wood's first...

Australian Library Design Awards 2019 winners announced

Wednesday, 20 March 2019
The winners of the 2019 Australian Library and Information Association’s (ALIA) Library Design Awards for new and refurbished libraries have been announced. The winning libraries are: Public libraries Shellharbour City...

Trump budget proposes elimination of US federal library funding

Wednesday, 20 March 2019
US president Donald Trump’s 2020 budget proposes the permanent elimination of the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) ‘and with it virtually all federal library funding’, reports Publishers...

‘The Trauma Cleaner’ shortlisted for Wellcome Book Prize

Wednesday, 20 March 2019
Sarah Krasnostein’s The Trauma Cleaner: One Woman’s Extraordinary Life in Death, Decay and Disaster (Text) is one of six books shortlisted for the UK’s Wellcome Book Prize. The annual prize,...

2019 Carnegie and Kate Greenaway medals shortlists announced

Wednesday, 20 March 2019
In the UK, the shortlists for the Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals 2019 have been announced. The works shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal for an outstanding book for children and...

ABDA launches half-price student membership; announces 2019 awards date

Wednesday, 20 March 2019
The Australian Book Designers Association (ABDA) has introduced its first student membership. Available to full-time and part-time students studying graphic or communication design in Australia, the student membership is priced...

Muhling appointed EWF executive director

Wednesday, 20 March 2019
Alice Muhling has commenced in her role as executive director of the Emerging Writers' Festival (EWF). A creative producer and arts manager, Muhling has previously held the positions of acting...

The author next door: Stocking self-published books

Tuesday, 19 March 2019
Kelsey Oldham talks to booksellers about stocking self-published books. Most Australian bookshops acknowledge that stocking self-published books is important—in theory. In practice, however, store policies are often opaque or ad-hoc,...

University presses in Australia: ‘remarkable, robust and flourishing’

Tuesday, 19 March 2019
After disruptions at Melbourne University Publishing (MUP) and a glut of mainstream media coverage about the state of scholarly publishing in Australia, Sarah Farquharson spoke to the country’s other university...

Tales of the unexpected: Events at Riverbend Books

Tuesday, 19 March 2019
Events manager Vicky Tosh shares the joys and hiccups of managing author events at Brisbane’s Riverbend Books. Before I was hired at Riverbend Books, I had never worked in a...

Waging battles: Author income in Australia

Tuesday, 19 March 2019
The book industry begins with authors. They toil for hours to release their ideas on the page, but each day they also struggle with making ends meet. Elizabeth Flux looks...

The ASA: The story so far

Tuesday, 19 March 2019
The Australian Society of Authors is the professional association for Australiaʼs authors and illustrators. CEO Juliet Rogers shares some history and future plans of the organisation. Once upon a time,...

Editor’s picks: What we’re reading

Tuesday, 19 March 2019
Andrew Wrathall: I enjoyed Claire G Coleman’s style of turning the narrative on its head to make readers see things from another perspective in Terra Nullius (Hachette), so I’m looking...

Local voices on the global stage: International rights sales of Indigenous-authored books

Tuesday, 19 March 2019
Are we entering a growth period for international rights sales of Indigenous-authored books for young people? Sarah Farquharson reports. Two recent international rights successes for children’s books by Indigenous authors—Ambelin...