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Momentum to drop DRM on all titles 

Wednesday, 30 May 2012
Pan Macmillan’s digital-only imprint Momentum has announced its titles will be released without digital rights management (DRM) protection by August. ‘We feel strongly that Momentum’s goal is to make books as...

Townsville Literary Festival program launched 

Wednesday, 30 May 2012
The program for the 2012 Townsville Literary Festival, which runs from 4-12 June, has been launched. Authors, illustrators and other presenters featured at this year’s festival include James Moloney, Matthew...

Light in Winter Festival 

Wednesday, 30 May 2012
The annual Light in Winter Festival at Melbourne's Federation Square will this year run an inaugural International Festival of Literature, Ideas and Translation on 15-17 June. Celebrating the work of more...

NLA celebrates Patrick White’s 100th birthday 

Wednesday, 30 May 2012
The National Library of Australia celebrated what would have been Patrick White's 100th birthday on 28 May with a party featuring music, cake and special guests.   White, who died...

International library news 

Wednesday, 30 May 2012
Senior US librarian charged with forgery The incoming Oregon state librarian, appointed last October, abruptly resigned last December after being investigated and charged with second-degree forgery for falsely claiming he...

Schools ditch books for digital information 

Wednesday, 30 May 2012
Several schools are scrapping all their physical books in favour of creating digital libraries. According to The Australian, Henley High School in Adelaide donated its 10,000 collection to charity, turning...

Amazon, IPG settle ebooks dispute 

Wednesday, 30 May 2012
Amazon and US book distributor Independent Publishers Group (IPG) have reached a settlement in the ebook sales dispute which began in February, reports the Bookseller. According to news reports in...

Quote of the week 

Wednesday, 30 May 2012
‘In the end, it took Joel [Naoum] and I all of about two minutes to decide that all of my ebook-only titles would be sold at the lower “American” price and...

Melbourne Writers Festival Schools’ Program launched 

Wednesday, 30 May 2012
The 2012 Melbourne Writers Festival Schools’ Program has been launched and is available on the website. Tickets are also now available for purchase. Authors featured in this year’s schools’ program,...

Writing Australia launches new regional residency program

Wednesday, 30 May 2012
Writing Australia has announced a new regional residency program. The Writing Australia Places program offers four-week regional writing residencies in Lake St Clair and Bruny Island in Tasmania, Kangaroo Island...

Brown to appear as keynote speaker at BBWF 

Wednesday, 30 May 2012
The Byron Bay Writers Festival has confirmed Greens Senator Bob Brown will be a keynote speaker at this year’s event. Brown, who recently stepped down from his role as Greens...

New owner for Better Read Than Dead 

Wednesday, 30 May 2012
Independent Sydney bookstore Better Read Than Dead has been sold to Parkstone Investments, a private company led by businessman and arts patron Pat Corrigan. Derek Dryden, who opened Better Read...

Get Reading! drops free book incentive 

Wednesday, 30 May 2012
Following the news that the '50 Books You Can’t Put Down' list will be all-Australian for the first time this year, Get Reading! has revealed that this year’s campaign will...

Rolley to leave SWF

Tuesday, 29 May 2012
The Sydney Writers’ Festival (SWF) has announced that current director Chip Rolley will leave the festival in August to take up the role of editor of the ABC’s The Drum....

Canongate, Faber to co-publish audiobooks 

Tuesday, 29 May 2012
UK publishers Canongate and Faber will launch an audiobook co-publishing venture later this year, reports the Bookseller. Under the arrangement, Canongate will handle the sales and production of the audio...

RiP Carlos Fuentes 

Tuesday, 29 May 2012
Latin American author Carlos Fuentes has died aged 83. Fuentes's best-known works include The Death Of Artemio Cruz, The Old Gringo and The Crystal Frontier.

RiP Sue Gillies 

Tuesday, 29 May 2012
Sue Gillies, who was the business development manager at Five Mile Press prior to her retirement, has died. Five Mile Press writes: ‘It is with great sadness we must let you...

Simpson awarded Michael King Writers’ Fellowship 

Tuesday, 29 May 2012
New Zealand writer, scholar and curator Peter Simpson has been announced as the recipient of this year’s Creative New Zealand Michael King Writers’ Fellowship. Simpson will use the NZ$100,000 (approximately...

Bestsellers this week 

Tuesday, 29 May 2012
The erotic fiction of the ‘Fifty Shades’ trilogy (E L James, Arrow Books) dominate the top of the bestsellers chart this week with Fifty Shades of Grey again in first place, followed by...

Rights round-up 

Tuesday, 29 May 2012
Sales Nonfiction—Exisle has sold rights to The Happiness Trap (Dr Russ Harris) to Finland and Poland; The Reality Slap (Dr Russ Harris) to Italy, Denmark and Sweden; French-language rights to...

APA Book Design Awards 2012 winners announced

Monday, 28 May 2012
The winners of this year's Australian Publishers Association (APA) Book Design Awards were announced on Thursday 17 May in Sydney as part of the Sydney Writers' Festival (SWF). The winning...

2012 ABIA winners announced

Monday, 28 May 2012
The winners of this year’s Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIAs) were announced on Friday 18 May at a special event in Sydney. Hosted by the ABC’s Paul Barclay, this year’s...

NSW tribunal to consider Judith Wright poetry case

Monday, 28 May 2012
An application has been made to the New South Wales Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal (CTTT) by publisher Gumquest/Editions Tom Thompson (ETT) Imprint regarding the publication of poems from Judith Wright’s...

Introducing the PM’s Literary Awards fiction shortlist 

Monday, 28 May 2012
The Prime Minister’s Literary Awards shortlists have been announced, and in the fiction category Miles Franklin contenders All That I Am and Foal’s Bread are joined by Sarah Thornhill, Autumn Laing and Forecast:...