2019 VIPs program highlights US market, inclusivity and creating buzz
15 May 2019
This year’s annual Visiting International Publishers (VIPs) program was held alongside the Sydney Writers’ Festival and ran from Tuesday, 30 April through to Friday, 3 May. The 2019 program was...
SWF 2019: paid attendance figures, book sales up in second year at Carriageworks
15 May 2019
This year's Sydney Writers' Festival (SWF) had the third highest paid attendance in the festival's 22-year history, with more than 52,500 ticket sales bringing in over $1.2 million in revenue....
Lost in Books to host IBBY Honour Books exhibition
10 May 2019
Multilingual children’s bookshop Lost in Books, situated in the Sydney suburb of Fairfield, is hosting the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) Best Books of the World Exhibition,...
First authors announced for Byron Writers Festival
8 May 2019
The first authors have been announced for the 2019 Byron Writers Festival, which runs from 2–4 August. International guests include Kurdish-Iranian refugee Behrouz Boochani (who will appear via livestream from...
Program for inaugural Storyfest announced
1 May 2019
The program for the inaugural Storyfest, running on the NSW South Coast from 21-23 June, has been announced. The festival’s gala dinner, featuring a conversation with Maggie Beer at Cupitt’s...
NT Writers’ Festival 2019 program announced
23 April 2019
The program for the 2019 NT Writers’ Festival, to be held from 16-19 May, has been announced. The annual festival alternates between Darwin and Alice Springs, and will this year...
Middle-grade in demand at Bologna; kindness and environmental themes among new trends
17 April 2019
Australian publishers have reported an ‘upbeat’ Bologna Children’s Book Fair (1-4 April), with middle-grade books continuing to dominate the market, and kindness and environmental themes emerging as new trends. Books...
2019 Scribblers Festival full program announced
12 April 2019
The line-up for the second annual Scribblers Festival, which celebrates children's literature and arts, has been announced. Running from 8–12 May in the Perth suburb of Claremont, Scribblers Festival will...
EWF announces 2019 festival ambassadors
2 April 2019
The Emerging Writers’ Festival (EWF) has announced the five writers appointed ambassadors for the National Writers’ Conference, which runs from 22-23 June at State Library Victoria. The ambassadors are Katherine...
Over 200 attend 2019 Leading Edge Books conference
27 March 2019
Just over 100 booksellers, more than 100 publishers and suppliers and 35 authors attended this year’s Leading Edge Books (LEB) conference, which was held in Adelaide from 17-19 March. LEB...
ABA announces 2019 conference program; Halls to give keynote
27 March 2019
The Australian Booksellers Association (ABA) has announced the program for its 2019 conference, to be held at Pullman Melbourne on the Park from 23-24 June. The conference will be organised around the...
First AWW from Jo Dyer attracts new audiences; Dalton tops bestsellers
27 March 2019
Adelaide Writers’ Week (AWW) has reported it brought new demographics to the 2019 festival, which ran from 2-7 March 2019. In her first year as AWW director, Jo Dyer said...
SWF 2019 program announced
15 March 2019
The program has been announced for this year’s Sydney Writers’ Festival (SWF), which runs from 29 April to 5 May. Fifty-five international guests and 360 Australian writers, academics and public...
Queenscliffe Literary Festival breaks ticket sales record
14 March 2019
The Queenscliffe Literary Festival (QLF) has broken its record for ticket sales. Running from 11-26 May in the Victorian beachside towns of Queenscliff and Point Lonsdale, the festival will feature...
Publishers Publicity Circle launches Melbourne chapter
7 March 2019
After launching in Australia late last year, the Publishers Publicity Circle (PPC), a networking group for book publicists, is opening a Melbourne chapter. Based on the UK model, which has...
Clunes Booktown Festival 2019 program announced
1 March 2019
The program for the 2019 Clunes Booktown Festival, to be held from 4-5 May in Clunes, Victoria, has been announced. Around 25 writers will appear at the festival, including Robbie...
Inaugural crime fiction festival in Tasmania announces first guests
21 February 2019
A new biennial festival focused on crime fiction has announced the first guests for its inaugural program. Taking place in Cygnet and locations around Tasmania’s Huon Valley over Halloween (31...
Writers to pitch work for screen adaptation at inaugural SQ/QWC Adaptable Program
19 February 2019
Twenty-five writers will pitch their work to film industry figures as part of a new initiative run by Screen Queensland (SQ) and the Queensland Writers Centre (QWC), which aims to...
VIPs announced for SWF 2019
18 February 2019
The Australia Council for the Arts has announced the guests attending the 2019 Visiting International Publishers (VIPs) program, to be held alongside the Sydney Writers’ Festival in late April and...
FitzSimons announced as ambassador for inaugural International Military Writers’ Festival
13 February 2019
A new three-day festival focusing on military writing has been announced as part of the inaugural Territory Tribute series of events in Darwin. Running from 5-7 April, the International Military...
Full program announced for IPEd National Editors Conference 2019
12 February 2019
The full program has been announced for the Institute of Professional Editors’ (IPEd) National Editors Conference, which runs from 8-10 May in Melbourne. Running under the theme ‘Beyond the page’,...
MWF to move to State Library Victoria
5 February 2019
The Melbourne Writers Festival (MWF) will move its headquarters this year to State Library Victoria (SLV), after 10 years of being based at Federation Square. The library’s ongoing Vision2020 redevelopment...
Inaugural summit of Australian Children’s Laureates announced for 2019
4 February 2019
The Australian Children’s Laureate Foundation (ACLF) will hold the inaugural Australian Children’s Laureate Summit on 28 February and 1 March 2019 in Sydney. The event brings together all of Australia’s...
Full program announced for 2019 Perth Writers Week
15 January 2019
The full program has been announced for the 2019 Perth Festival Writers Week, which runs from 18-24 February. International guests attending the festival include Man Booker Prize-winning Nigerian novelist and...
IPEd announces keynotes for 2019 conference
12 December 2018
The Institute of Professional Editors (IPEd) has announced four keynote presentations for its ninth National Editors Conference, held in Melbourne on 8-10 May 2019. Keynotes include: Macquarie Dictionary former editor Susan Butler will...
Audiobooks, data-driven publishing discussed at FutureBook 2018
12 December 2018
The ‘audio gold rush’, data-driven publishing and the importance of surprise in an increasingly algorhythmic world were some of the topics covered at this year’s wide-ranging FutureBook Live conference, which...
Attendance up at SPN conference 2018, ‘incredibly positive’ response
5 December 2018
The Small Press Network’s (SPN) seventh Independent Publishing Conference was held at the Wheeler Centre in Melbourne on 22-24 November. SPN general manager Tim Coronel said the response to this...
RightsTech: Europe conference announced for Frankfurt in 2019
5 December 2018
Frankfurt Book Fair (FBF) has partnered with RightsTech Project (RTP) to launch a new conference called RightsTech: Europe, to be held in Frankfurt, Germany, on 9-10 April 2019. Modelled on...
Blake among 2019 Zev Birger Editorial Fellows to attend Jerusalem International Book Forum
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...
Leading Edge to hold 2019 conference in Adelaide
14 November 2018
Leading Edge Books (LEB) will hold its annual conference on 17-19 March at the Hilton Adelaide in South Australia. With the theme ‘making connections’, the conference program will incorporate the...
