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Ismail wins Deborah Cass Prize 2017

Wednesday, 10 January 2018
Perth writer Rafeif Ismail has won Writers Victoria’s 2017 Deborah Cass Prize for emerging writers from migrant backgrounds for her manuscript extract ‘Almitra Amongst Ghosts’. ‘Almitra Amongst Ghosts’ was announced...

Goldsworthy wins Horne Prize 2017

Wednesday, 10 January 2018
The Saturday Paper and cosmetics company Aesop announced writer Kerryn Goldsworthy as the winner of the $15,000 Horne Prize 2017 for her essay, ‘The Limit of the World’. ‘The Limit of...

ABIAs 2018 date, venue announced

Wednesday, 10 January 2018
The Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIAs) will be held on Thursday, 3 May this year. This year’s awards will be held at the International Convention Centre Sydney to accommodate the...

Story Prize 2018 finalists announced

Wednesday, 10 January 2018
In the US, the three finalists for the 2018 Story Prize have been announced. The finalists are: The King is Always above the People (Daniel Alarcón, Riverhead Books) Homesick for...

Please complete our post-Christmas survey

Tuesday, 9 January 2018
Books+Publishing is currently conducting its annual post-Christmas survey of booksellers and publishers. Please take a few minutes to complete the survey online. Booksellers If you are a bookseller, please complete...

Pape tops 2017 bestsellers chart

Monday, 8 January 2018
Scott Pape’s The Barefoot Investor (Wiley) was the highest selling book in Australia in 2017, selling 438,000 copies, reports Fairfax. According to statistics provided by Nielsen BookScan, five of the...

PANZ to lead Bologna delegation

Monday, 8 January 2018
The Publishers Association of New Zealand (PANZ) will have a New Zealand collective stand for the first time at Bologna Children’s Book Fair in 2018. With the support of Creative...

Costa Book Awards 2017 category winners announced 

Monday, 8 January 2018
In the UK, the five category winners for the 2017 Costa Book Awards have been announced, with three of the winning titles published by HarperCollins UK imprints. The five winners...

Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature shortlists announced

Monday, 8 January 2018
The shortlists have been announced for this year’s Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature, presented biennially by the South Australian government. The shortlisted works in each category are: Children’s Rockhopping (Trace...

Text acquires new YA debut

Monday, 8 January 2018
Text has acquired world rights to debut author Kay Kerr’s YA novel, Please Don’t Hug Me. Kerr’s novel is a ‘contemporary coming-of-age tale’ about ‘a neuro-diverse and socially awkward year...

The books: Strong offerings boost booksellers’ confidence 

Friday, 15 December 2017
Most booksellers were pleased with the line-up of books this Christmas, with 71% considering the books on offer ‘strong’, and only three percent considering them ‘disappointing’. Another 29% considered the...

Supply, stock, staff and sales 

Friday, 15 December 2017
Many booksellers reported improved delivery services so far this Christmas, although issues with supply availability, damages and unavailable titles remain a problem for some. ‘It’s been pretty good this year’,...

Publishers’ perspectives 

Friday, 15 December 2017
Australia’s large and medium-sized publishers are expecting a steady 2017 Christmas trading period, with most reporting that sales are either up or ‘about the same’ compared to the same time...

Expectations in check 

Friday, 15 December 2017
After a slow start to Christmas sales, booksellers are almost unanimously keeping their expectations in check, despite what’s hoped to be a bumper last week of sales. Almost four in...

Online sales and ebooks 

Friday, 15 December 2017
Thirty-seven percent of bookstores surveyed aren’t selling print books online this Christmas, with 17% not having a store website at all. For those that are selling online, the majority are...

Book blogger spotlight: Book Bloggers Australia

Wednesday, 13 December 2017
Established in 2010 by blogger Margaret Bates, Book Bloggers Australia is an online directory and forum where Australian bloggers can discuss books and blogging, and connect with others in the...

Natasha Lester signs four-book UK deal

Wednesday, 13 December 2017
Hachette Australia has sold UK and Commonwealth (ex ANZ) rights to four historical fiction novels by Natasha Lester to UK publisher Sphere. Rights were acquired by Sphere commissioning editor Viola...

Australian public library stats report for 2015-16 released

Wednesday, 13 December 2017
National and State Libraries Australasia (NSLA) has released its annual Australian Public Libraries Statistical Report for the period 2015-2016. The report found that total expenditure on public libraries increased from...

Echo acquires world rights to d’Alpuget’s fiction backlist

Wednesday, 13 December 2017
Bonnier Publishing Australia’s Echo imprint has acquired world rights to bestselling novelist Blanche D’Alpuget’s backlist. Echo will publish the last two titles in D’Alpuget’s ‘Birth of the Plantagenets’ series in...

WA state government to overhaul public library system

Tuesday, 12 December 2017
The Western Australian state government has announced an overhaul of the state’s 231 public libraries, including replacing a 1950s-era funding model, and introducing a single-library-card system for all libraries, reports...

Report shows 105 UK libraries closed last year

Tuesday, 12 December 2017
In the UK, a report by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) has found 105 libraries closed in the UK last year, with £66m (A$117m) slashed from...