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Inside the Australian and New Zealand book industry

Charts this week

Monday, 9 December 2019
Top 10 bestsellers Index Title Author Imprint 1 Bluey: The Beach Bluey Puffin 2 Wrecking Ball Jeff Kinney Puffin 3 Bluey: Fruit Bat Bluey Puffin 4 Bluey: Time to Play!...

‘Bridget Crack’ wins 2019 Tasmania Book Prize

Friday, 6 December 2019
The winners of the 2019 Tasmanian Premier’s Literary Prizes have been announced. The winning works and their authors are: Tasmania Book Prize for the best book with Tasmanian content in...

Chen wins Deborah Cass Prize 2019

Friday, 6 December 2019
Writer Janette Chen has won the 2019 Deborah Cass Prize for emerging writers from migrant backgrounds for her manuscript extract ‘Wall of Men’. Chosen from a shortlist of 10, ‘Wall of...

Aman, Brabon named joint winners of the David Harold Tribe Fiction Award

Thursday, 5 December 2019
Writers Claire Aman and Katherine Brabon are the joint winners of the 2019 David Harold Tribe Fiction Award, worth $12,000. The award is offered by the University of Sydney’s Department...

MidnightSun acquires Steve Heron picture book

Thursday, 5 December 2019
MidnightSun has acquired world rights to the picture book Ling Li’s Lantern, by Steve Heron and illustrated by Benjamin Johnston. Ling Li’s Lantern follows Ling Li on a quest that...

Big Sky sells six children’s titles to US imprint Windmill Books

Thursday, 5 December 2019
Big Sky Publishing has sold North American and US territories rights to six children’s titles to Windmill Books, an imprint of independent educational publishing house Rosen Publishing. The deal, which...

Marketing for small publishers

Wednesday, 4 December 2019
‘We have to create demand for our books precisely because they are not stacked up at the front of the shop—on ‘the dick table’ as Clare Wright so memorably called...

Rights round-up

Wednesday, 4 December 2019
Sales Fiction Text Publishing has sold Chinese-language rights to The Death of Noah Glass (Gail Jones) to Writers Publishing House; Czech-language rights to Bad Debts (Peter Temple) to Mystery Press;...

SPN conference 2019: ‘Extremely positive’ feedback from delegates

Wednesday, 4 December 2019
The Small Press Network’s (SPN) eighth Independent Publishing Conference was held at the Wheeler Centre in Melbourne on 21–23 November. SPN general manager Tim Coronel said that 180 tickets were...

RiP Clive James

Wednesday, 4 December 2019
Broadcaster, critic and author Clive James has died, aged 80. James was born and raised in Sydney, but moved to the UK after graduating from university. In 1972 he became a...

To market, to market: Jane Curry on marketing

Wednesday, 4 December 2019
Ventura Press publisher Jane Curry argues that despite the dominance of multinational publishers, there are still opportunities for small presses to flourish—and sell plenty of copies. This is my final...

Marchetta’s ‘On the Jellicoe Road’ to be adapted for drama series

Wednesday, 4 December 2019
Melina Marchetta’s 2006 young adult novel On the Jellicoe Road (Penguin) is being adapted for a young adult drama series, reports Deadline. The project is a co-production by the US’s...

Hardie Grant Travel acquires Steffensen’s book on Indigenous fire management

Wednesday, 4 December 2019
Hardie Grant Travel has acquired world rights to Fire Country, the memoir of Indigenous fire practitioner Victor Steffensen. Steffensen is a Tagalaka descendant from Far North Queensland who is dedicated...

‘The Book Ninja’ optioned for film

Wednesday, 4 December 2019
Ali Berg and Michelle Kalus’ novel The Book Ninja (S&S) has been optioned for film by producers Chris Brown of Pictures in Paradise and Veronica Fury of Fury Film Co....

Beasley wins inaugural OzCo Arts and Disability Award for an emerging artist

Wednesday, 4 December 2019
Tennant Creek-based artist and illustrator Dion Beasley was one of three winners at the Australia Council’s inaugural Arts and Disability Awards, presented at a ceremony at Canberra’s National Portrait Gallery...

Van Zweden wins 2019 KYD unpublished manuscript award

Wednesday, 4 December 2019
Literary journal Kill Your Darlings (KYD) has announced Sam van Zweden as the winner of its 2019 unpublished manuscript award for her manuscript ‘Eating with my Mouth Open’. Van Zweden...

Indie Book Awards 2020 longlists announced

Wednesday, 4 December 2019
Leading Edge Books has announced the longlists for the 2020 Indie Book Awards for books published in 2019. The longlisted titles in each category are: Fiction The White Girl (Tony...

More than 380,000 UK children don’t own a single book: National Literary Trust

Tuesday, 3 December 2019
In the UK, research from the National Literary Trust (NLT) has found more than 380,000 children don’t own a single book, reports the Bookseller. The research found children who own...

Former Macmillan Education staff launch new educational publisher

Tuesday, 3 December 2019
Former staff from Macmillan Education Australia’s school division have formed a new educational publishing company called Matilda Education. After Macmillan Education Australia announced in August that it would withdraw its...