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NZ author Salmond shortlisted for UK Nayef Al-Rodhan Prize

Wednesday, 12 September 2018
New Zealand author Anne Salmond’s Tears of Rangi: Experiments Across Worlds (Auckland University Press) has been shortlisted for the British Academy’s 2018 Nayef Al-Rodhan Prize. Salmond's book examines the early encounters...

Maitland councillors lodge rescission motion over public library funding

Wednesday, 12 September 2018
In NSW's Lower Hunter Valley region, three Liberal councillors from Maitland City Council have lodged a motion to reverse council support for public library funding, following the state government’s announcement of a $60...

$132k granted to regional NSW mobile library for upgrades

Wednesday, 12 September 2018
The Clarence Valley Council has upgraded its mobile library service after being granted $132,000 by the NSW state government for a new van, reports the Daily Examiner. The more ‘cost-efficient’...

Consenting adults: Kate Cuthbert on the romance novel and representations of sexuality after #MeToo

Wednesday, 12 September 2018
Escape Publishing managing editor Kate Cuthbert gave the keynote address at this year’s Romance Writers of Australia conference. This is an edited extract of her speech. I’d like to begin...

Dennis Jones & Associates: staff owed $170,000, secured creditor owed $250,000

Wednesday, 12 September 2018
The liquidators of Dennis Jones & Associates (DJA) held a creditors’ meeting in Melbourne on Monday, 10 September. Liquidators Scott Howell and Steven Kugel from The Insolvency Experts told the Melbourne...

Melbourne Prize for Literature finalists announced

Wednesday, 12 September 2018
Finalists have been announced for this year's Melbourne Prize for Literature, as well as the Best Writing Award and the Readings Residency Award. The finalists for the $60,000 Melbourne Prize for...

IPA condemns issue of international arrest warrant for exiled Turkish publisher

Wednesday, 12 September 2018
In Turkey, a court has issued an Interpol red notice for exiled Turkish publisher and human rights activist Ragip Zarakolu, reports Turkish newspaper Ahval. Zarakolu is the director of Belge Publishing House,...

Australian publishers report interest in parenting, children’s titles in Beijing

Wednesday, 12 September 2018
Independent Australian publishers attending the Beijing International Book Fair (BIBF), running from 22-26 August, have reported interest in the categories of children's, parenting, and education. Ventura Press director Jane Curry...

MWF reports ‘strongest first day’ in ticket sales; Boochani tops bestseller chart

Tuesday, 11 September 2018
This year's Melbourne Writers Festival (MWF), which ran from 24 August to 2 September, attracted audiences that were 'excited by the fresh offer' of a more performance-based program, according to festival...

Queer literature festival to launch in India

Tuesday, 11 September 2018
In India, a new literary festival for LGBTIQIA+ readers and writers will be hosted by the city of Lucknow in November, reports the Times of India. Organised by the the Awadh...

Writers, literary orgs among latest OzCo funding recipients

Tuesday, 11 September 2018
Twenty-nine writers and literary organisations are among the recipients of the latest Australia Council grants round, which awarded $6.3 million to more than 200 projects. Grants in the literary category...

Harper wins Barry Award for Best First Novel

Tuesday, 11 September 2018
Jane Harper has won the Barry Award for Best First Novel for her 2017 novel The Dry (Pan). The annual literary crime awards, named for American critic and crime fiction...

Lush announced as SWF head of children’s & YA programs

Tuesday, 11 September 2018
The Sydney Writers' Festival (SWF) has appointed Amelia Lush as its new head of children's and YA programs. Lush has been a children's and YA bookseller in Sydney for 10...

McLean’s debut mystery novel sold in four territories

Tuesday, 11 September 2018
Australian author Felicity McLean’s forthcoming debut novel The Van Apfel Girls are Gone (HarperCollins, April 2019) has been sold in four territories, including to Algonquin Books in North America and...

Orr, Groth named as finalists in Canadian children’s book awards

Monday, 10 September 2018
Two Australian authors are among the finalists of the Canadian Children’s Book Centre’s (CCBC) children’s book awards. Dragonfly Song (A&U) by Canadian-born Australian author Wendy Orr has been shortlisted for the...

Waterstones buys Foyles

Monday, 10 September 2018
British bookshop chain Waterstones has acquired independent bookselling chain Foyles, reports the Bookseller. Foyles has been a family-run business for 115 years, and currently operates four shops in London, and...

Puncher & Wattmann launches First Poetry Book Prize

Monday, 10 September 2018
Independent publisher Puncher & Wattmann (P&W) has announced the inaugural First Poetry Book Prize (FPBP). Open to Australian citizens and writers who have lived in Australia for at least three...

Jackson-Bourke named inaugural Emerging Pasifika Writer in Residence

Monday, 10 September 2018
Auckland-based playwright Leki Jackson-Bourke has been announced as the inaugural Emerging Pasifika Writer in Residence. Run by the International Institute of Modern Letters (IIML) at Victoria University of Wellington, the...