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Quote of the week 

Wednesday, 1 June 2016
‘Somehow we have to try to find a solution to put this issue to bed’—Readings MD Mark Rubbo discusses parallel importation restrictions at the ABA conference

Rights round-up 

Wednesday, 1 June 2016
Sales Fiction—Text has sold Italian rights to Our Tiny, Useless Hearts (Toni Jordan) to Marsilio; and world audio rights to A Few Days in the Country: And Other Stories (Elizabeth...

Charts this week 

Monday, 30 May 2016
Top 10 Bestsellers Index Title Author Imprint 1 The Last Mile David Baldacci Macmillan 2 Me Before You Jojo Moyes Michael Joseph 3 My Life on the Road Gloria Steinem...

Quote of the week 

Wednesday, 25 May 2016
‘It exemplifies how much stronger each year the children’s component of the festival is ... the book sales for kids were enormous’—Gleebooks’ David Gaunt reports on the bestsellers at this...

RiP Gillian Mears

Wednesday, 25 May 2016
Author Gillian Mears has died, aged 51. Mears was the author of several novels and short stories, including her debut The Mint Lawn (A&U), for which she won the Australian/Vogel...

‘Myriad possibilities’ explored at 2016 CBCA conference 

Wednesday, 25 May 2016
The 2016 Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) National Conference was held in Sydney from 20-21 May under the theme ‘Myriad possibilities’, with stimulating sessions on picture-book partnerships, the role...

Retail rewards: An interview with Len Vlahos 

Wednesday, 25 May 2016
US book-industry insider, bookseller and YA author Len Vlahos will deliver the keynote at the Australian Booksellers Association conference this weekend. He spoke to Andrea Hanke about the opportunities and...

Small publisher spotlight: Spinifex Press 

Wednesday, 25 May 2016
Melbourne-based feminist publisher Spinifex Press has been publishing since 1991. The biggest challenge, say co-founders Susan Hawthorne and Renate Klein, has been ‘resisting being pigeon-holed’. ‘As a feminist press there...

Rights round-up 

Wednesday, 25 May 2016
Sales Nonfiction—Black Inc. (Nero) has sold Russian rights to Forever Young: The Story of Troye Sivan (Alana Wulff) to AST Publishing Group. Acquisitions Fiction—Penguin has acquired ANZ rights to Loose...

Emily Gale’s ‘The Other Side of Summer’ 

Wednesday, 25 May 2016
‘A beautifully rendered portrayal of grief, family and leaving things behind, The Other Side of Summer is a welcome addition to the shelves of Australian middle fiction’ ... read Bec...

MWF 2016 schools program released

Monday, 23 May 2016
The Melbourne Writers Festival has released its schools program for 2016. This year’s program, which runs from 29 August to 1 September, features Magda Szubanski, John Marsden, Anna Funder, Alice...

Charts this week 

Monday, 23 May 2016
Top 10 Bestsellers Index Title Author Imprint 1 The Last Mile David Baldacci Macmillan 2 The Hidden Oracle Rick Riordan Puffin 3 The 8-Week Blood Sugar Diet Michael Mosley Simon...

CBCA Awards 2016 shortlists announced

Friday, 20 May 2016
The shortlists for this year’s Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) Book of the Year Awards have been announced. The shortlisted titles in each of the categories are: Book of...

Lessac, Carnavas win SCBWI Crystal Kite Award

Friday, 20 May 2016
Frané Lessac’s A is for Australia (Walker Books) and Peter Carnavas’ Blue Whale Blues (New Frontier) have jointly-won the Australian and New Zealand division of this year’s Crystal Kite Member...

BBC education app promotion concerns UK publishers

Thursday, 19 May 2016
In the UK, educational publishers have expressed concerns over the BBC’s study revision platform Bitesize, arguing that the reach of the app through promotion on the broadcaster’s various platforms is anticompetitive...

Bruce Pascoe’s ‘Mrs Whitlam’ 

Wednesday, 18 May 2016
‘This new book by Bruce Pascoe (Fox a Dog, Sea Horse) has plenty to satisfy any horse lover, but also deftly handles issues of race and privilege’ ... read Angela...

Rights round-up 

Wednesday, 18 May 2016
Sales Fiction—UQP has sold Turkish rights to The Midnight Dress (Karen Foxlee) to Gunisigi Publishing via UQP Turkish sub-agent The Kayi Agency; film rights to Blood (Tony Birch) to Lavarch...

Quote of the week 

Wednesday, 18 May 2016
‘The argument is regularly heard that the arts should pay for themselves. This misunderstands the reality of subsidy, because the fact is that there are very few areas of our...

Pricing our business: Terri-ann White on book prices 

Wednesday, 18 May 2016
UWA Publishing director Terri-ann White calls for industry-wide resistance to lower book prices and greater efficiency in distribution, including a ‘modified returns policy that kicks in with a minimum order...

Small publisher spotlight: Aboriginal Studies Press 

Wednesday, 18 May 2016
ACT-based Aboriginal Studies Press has been publishing titles since 1987, including The Little Red Yellow Black Book: An Introduction to Indigenous Australia, which has sold over 50,000 copies. ‘Like many...

NZ publisher Book Island moves headquarters to UK 

Wednesday, 18 May 2016
Children’s book publisher Book Island has announced it is moving its headquarters from Raumati South, New Zealand to Bristol, England in order to expand the publisher’s UK business. Book Island,...

First authors announced for Byron Writers Festival

Wednesday, 18 May 2016
Pulitzer Prize-winning author and journalist William Finnegan and novelist and memoirist Cheryl Strayed are among the first guests announced for the 20th Byron Writers Festival, which runs from 5-7 August....