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PRH acquires supernatural YA series ‘Valentine’ from AAPS

Thursday, 18 February 2016
Penguin Random House Australia has acquired the rights to debut author Jodi McAlister’s supernatural YA series ‘Valentine’ in a multi-book deal from Alex Adsett Publishing Services. The series follows four...

Seattle’s first independent library opens 

Wednesday, 17 February 2016
Seattle’s first independent library has opened its doors, reports local radio station KPLU News. The Folio library occupies 1800 square metres in the city’s YMCA and is filled with thousands...

New mobile library for regional NSW 

Wednesday, 17 February 2016
The Richmond Upper Clarence Library in regional NSW has a new ‘state-of-the-art’ mobile library, reports the Northern Star. The $479,665 van was jointly funded by a $200,000 NSW Library Development...

NLA considering staff, programming cuts

Wednesday, 17 February 2016
National Library of Australia (NLA) is considering cuts to staff numbers and programming in response to budget cuts imposed by the federal government, reports the Guardian. NLA director-general Anne-Marie Schwirtlich...

Aurealis Awards 2015 finalists announced

Wednesday, 17 February 2016
The finalists for the 2015 Aurealis Awards, presented for science-fiction, fantasy and horror writing in Australia, have been announced. Among the categories are: Fantasy novel In the Skin of a...

Alice Grundy on OzCo’s exploratory trip to India

Wednesday, 17 February 2016
The Australia Council for the Arts supported a delegation of publishers and writers’ festival programmers to travel to India from 13-25 January to ‘investigate artistic development, market and exchange opportunities...

Rakuten writes off $96m from Kobo

Wednesday, 17 February 2016
Kobo parent company Rakuten has revealed a ¥7.8bn (A$96m) write-down on Kobo in its 2015 financial report, reports the Digital Reader. The A$96m ‘goodwill impairment’ on Kobo, which the company...

Graham longlisted for 2016 Greenaway Medal

Wednesday, 17 February 2016
Bob Graham’s How the Sun Got to Coco’s House (Walker Books) is one of 20 books longlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal for distinguished illustration in children’s books. The longlists...

‘Overland’ poetry prize 2015 shortlist announced

Wednesday, 17 February 2016
The shortlist for the 2015 Overland Judith Wright Poetry Prize for New and Emerging Poets has been announced. The eight shortlisted poems are: ‘In civilization diminishing’ (Geraldine Burrowes) ‘Swarm’ (Emily...

New children’s bookshop opens in Fremantle

Wednesday, 17 February 2016
A new bookshop specialising in children’s books and art supplies has opened in Fremantle. The Paper Bird is located in the Moores Art Building on Henry Street and includes a...

New Canberra Writers Festival announced 

Tuesday, 16 February 2016
A new Canberra Writers Festival, to be held from 26-28 August 2016, has been announced. Organisers said in a statement that the festival has the support of ‘a number of...

Australian anthology shortlisted for UK sci-fi award

Letters to Tiptree Monday, 15 February 2016
Australian anthology Letters to Tiptree (ed by Alexandra Pierce & Alisa Kranostein, Twelfth Planet) has been shortlisted for the 2016 British Science Fiction Association (BSFA) Awards. The collection is one...

S&S sales up slightly in 2015

Monday, 15 February 2016
Simon & Schuster has recorded global sales of US$780m (A$1,098m) in 2015, up 0.25% from US$778m (A$1,095m) the previous year, report Publishers Weekly and the Bookseller. Parent company CBS released...

Ditmar Awards 2016 ballot announced

Monday, 15 February 2016
The ballot for the 2016 Ditmar Awards has been announced. The shortlisted works include: Best Novel The Dagger’s Path (Glenda Larke, Orbit) Day Boy (Trent Jamieson, Text) Graced (Amanda Pillar,...

Express Media to host Canberra, Western Sydney events

Monday, 15 February 2016
Melbourne-based Express Media will host ‘pop-up events’ outside of Victoria as part of its first annual Tracks program. The program will host workshops, masterclasses and other events for young writers...

writingWA Awards 2015 winners announced

Monday, 15 February 2016
The winners of the 2015 writingWA Awards, which support emerging writers based in regional Western Australia, have been announced. Marc Simojoki was awarded the Curtin University Prize for Fiction for...

Dawkins cancels Australian tour

Monday, 15 February 2016
UK author Richard Dawkins has cancelled his upcoming Australian and New Zealand tour after suffering a ‘minor stroke’ in the UK. Dawkins was scheduled to speak at a number of...

Hachette US and UK sales drop in 2015

Friday, 12 February 2016
Hachette parent company Lagardere Publishing has reported a rise in sales for 2015, despite a drop in sales at Hachette US and UK that was attributed to declining ebook sales. Overall,...

Cassandra Clare sued for copyright infringement

Friday, 12 February 2016
US fantasy author Sherrilyn Kenyon is suing Cassandra Clare, author of the ‘Mortal Instruments’ and ‘Shadowhunters’ series (Walker Books), for alleged copyright infringement, reports the Guardian. In a lawsuit filed...

Noted Festival 2016 program announced

Friday, 12 February 2016
The program for Canberra’s second Noted ‘experimental’ writing festival, running from 16-20 March, has been announced. The festival program includes a literary bar hop, multi-art collaborations, and online and live...

International guests announced for PANZ conference

Friday, 12 February 2016
The Publishers Association of New Zealand (PANZ) has announced a number of international guests appearing at its 2016 conference. They are: Diana Broccardo, sales and marketing director at Profile Books...

QWC announces new fellowship for women writers

Friday, 12 February 2016
The Queensland Writers Centre (QWC) has announced a new fellowship for women writers. The Maher Fellowship for Women Writers will be awarded to three recipients, with each receiving $500 to...

SWF 2016 schools program announced

Thursday, 11 February 2016
The Sydney Writers’ Festival (SWF) has announced the authors and illustrators participating in its 2016 Primary and Secondary School Days programs, to be held from 16 to 20 May. Writer...

Harry Potter play to be published in July

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Thursday, 11 February 2016
The script of J K Rowling’s forthcoming play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child will be published on 31 July following the play’s opening in London on 30 July. Harry...

Two WA Dymocks stores close 

Wednesday, 10 February 2016
Dymocks stores in two Perth shopping centres—Carousel in Cannington and Midland Gate in Midland—closed on 3 February. Both stores were owned by the same franchise owner. Dymocks MD Steve Cox...

Contract signed for new $5.6m library for Mackay 

Wednesday, 10 February 2016
Mackay Regional Council has signed off on a $5.6m contract with construction firm Fergus Builders to build the new ‘hi-tech’ Mackay City Library, reports the Daily Mercury. Construction will begin...

Library Lovers’ Day celebrations planned 

Wednesday, 10 February 2016
Libraries around Australia will be participating in Library Lovers’ Day celebrations on Sunday 14 February. The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA), which runs the initiative, offers a list of suggestions for...