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Costa Book Awards 2018 shortlists announced

Friday, 23 November 2018
In the UK, the shortlists for the 2018 Costa Book Awards have been announced. Shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award are: The Silence of the Girls (Pat Barker, Hamish Hamilton) The...

Pitt wins 2018 Walkley Book Award for ‘The House’

Friday, 23 November 2018
Journalist and author Helen Pitt has won the 2018 Walkley Book Award for The House (A&U). Chosen from a shortlist of three, Pitt's book explores the history of the Sydney Opera...

‘Living in Hope’ wins 2018 Most Underrated Book Award

Friday, 23 November 2018
A memoir by a member of the Stolen Generations, Living in Hope (Frank Byrne with Gerard Waterford & Francis Coughlan, Ptilotus Press), has won the Small Press Network’s (SPN) Most Underrated Book...

‘The Dead Still Cry Out’ wins Nib Literary Award

Thursday, 22 November 2018
Helen Lewis' The Dead Still Cry Out (Text) has won the Waverley Council’s Mark and Evette Moran Nib Literary Award for 2018. The book tells the true story of Lewis’...

Amazon unblocks Oz shoppers from US store

Thursday, 22 November 2018
Australian consumers are now able to purchase and ship items from Amazon’s international website, according to a statement from Amazon. The retailer suspended shipping to Australian addresses from its international website...

Chinese author jailed for publishing gay erotic novel

Thursday, 22 November 2018
In China, an erotic novelist has been sentenced to over a decade in prison for writing and selling a gay porn novel, reports the Guardian. The book in question, Gongzhan...

Book-to-screen projects receive Screen Australian funding

Thursday, 22 November 2018
Two book-to-film adaptations feature among the projects receiving story development funding from Screen Australia. The projects, and their producers, are: A feature film adaptation of Finding Sanity: John Cade, Lithium and...

€98m Helsinki library to open in December

Wednesday, 21 November 2018
In Finland, Helsinki's new public library Oodi is set to open in early December, coinciding with the country's Independence Day celebrations. Oodi, which translates to ‘ode’ in English, was commissioned as...

Children’s book boom: Alice Grundy on the China Shanghai International Children’s Book Fair

Wednesday, 21 November 2018
As part of the Shanghai Visiting International Publishers Project, Brio Books associate publisher Alice Grundy travelled to China to attend the China Shanghai International Children's Book Fair (9-11 November). She...

Motorbike-riding librarians visit Bega on annual library tour

Wednesday, 21 November 2018
Motorbike library-tour group Biblio Turismo has visited Bega library as part of its annual tour of New South Wales libraries, reports Bega District News. Between 8-11 November the group visited libraries...

‘The Women in Black’ sells in multiple territories after translation rights made available after 12 years

Wednesday, 21 November 2018
Text Publishing has sold rights in multiple territories to Madeleine St John’s The Women in Black, alongside several other books by St John, after translation rights were made available for...

Riwoe sells third Heloise Chancey novel to UK’s Legend Press

Wednesday, 21 November 2018
Brisbane-based author Mirandi Riwoe has sold world rights to her historical crime fiction novel The Death of Me to UK publisher Legend Press. Rights were acquired by Legend commissioning editor Lauren...

For love or money: employment in the Australian publishing industry in 2018

Wednesday, 21 November 2018
Books+Publishing surveyed over 300 readers to create a detailed picture of employment in the book industry in 2018. Small Press Network associate producer Jessica Harvie and Books+Publishing editor-in-chief Andrew Wrathall checked the stats. These results...

Johnston awarded $5000 ALIA research grant for project on fake news

Wednesday, 21 November 2018
The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) has awarded a $5000 research grant to Nicole Johnston, a lecturer in information science at Edith Cowan University in Western Australia. Johnston will...

Please complete our reader survey: Last chance to participate

Wednesday, 21 November 2018
Books+Publishing is currently conducting a reader survey to help us improve our publications. The survey takes around 10 minutes to complete. To participate in the survey, click here. The final...

Christmas closing list: Submissions due Monday

Wednesday, 21 November 2018
Publishers and distributors are asked to submit their Christmas closing dates by 5pm, Monday 26 November. A full list will appear in the Weekly Book Newsletter on Wednesday 5 December. This is...

‘Overland’ Fair Australia Prize 2018 winners announced

Wednesday, 21 November 2018
Literary journal Overland has announced the winners for this year’s Fair Australia Prize. The Fair Australia Prize asks writers and artists to engage with the topics ‘What does unionism mean...

Edugyan wins Canada’s Giller Prize for ‘Washington Black’

Wednesday, 21 November 2018
Canadian author Esi Edugyan has won Canada’s Scotiabank Giller Prize—the country’s richest literary award—for her novel Washington Black (Serpent's Tail). Set in 19th century Canada, Washington Black tells the story of an 11-year-old boy who...

Pascoe receives Person of the Year honour at 2018 National Dreamtime Awards

Wednesday, 21 November 2018
Bunurong and Yuin writer Bruce Pascoe has won the Person of the Year award at the 2018 National Dreamtime Awards. The Dreamtime Person of the Year is awarded to an...

Australian, NZ authors on 2019 Dublin Literary Award longlist

Wednesday, 21 November 2018
Fourteen books by Australian authors and six by New Zealand authors have been nominated for the 2019 International Dublin Literary Award. Longlisted books by Australian authors are: A Long Way...

Dymocks opens new store in Melbourne; regional WA store to close

Wednesday, 21 November 2018
Chain retailer Dymocks has opened a new store at Highpoint Shopping Centre, in Melbourne's inner west. The Highpoint store is the first Dymocks to open in a new location in...

Canadian literary prize suspended after authors protest Amazon sponsorship

Tuesday, 20 November 2018
In Canada, a Québécois literary prize has been suspended by organisers after prize finalists and the public protested the sponsorship by Amazon, reports the Guardian. The five finalists for the 2019...

Blake among 2019 Zev Birger Editorial Fellows to attend Jerusalem International Book Forum

Tuesday, 20 November 2018
Penguin Random House (PRH) publisher Cate Blake has been announced as one of 34 recipients of the Zev Birger Editorial Fellowship, a week-long professional seminar that focuses on ‘significant issues...

Tim’s Bookshop Canterbury to close

Tuesday, 20 November 2018
The Canterbury branch of family-owned independent bookstore Tim’s Bookshop, in Melbourne's eastern suburbs, will close in January 2019. Owner Tim Warmington told Books+Publishing: ‘It’s the usual story of ever-increasing costs...