Inside the Australian and New Zealand book industry

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Quote of the week

Wednesday, 14 November 2018
'Once you move from thinking in terms of retrofitting to an inclusive publishing model, which embeds accessibility requirements into the publishing workflow, much of the cost actually falls away'—Sarah Runcie...

Podcast spotlight: So You Want to Be a Writer

Wednesday, 14 November 2018
Established in 2014, So You Want to Be a Writer is made by the Australian Writers’ Centre (AWC) and co-hosted by author Allison Tait and AWC CEO Valerie Khoo. Each episode covers...

Rights round-up 

Wednesday, 14 November 2018
Sales Fiction Allen & Unwin has sold UK rights to The Museum of Modern Love (Heather Rose) to Weidenfeld & Nicolson (see news); and English-language rights in the UK, Europe...

Gerald Murnane’s ‘A Season on Earth’

Wednesday, 14 November 2018
'Murnane’s early writing, as shown here, is accessible and often humorous in his own dry way. As he becomes more recognised, both locally and internationally, A Season on Earth could be recommended...

Charts this week 

Monday, 12 November 2018
Top 10 Bestsellers Index Title Author Imprint 1 The Three Secret Cities Matthew Reilly Macmillan 2 Meltdown Jeff Kinney Puffin 3 The Lost Man Jane Harper Macmillan 4 Wundersmith Jessica...

Quote of the week

Thursday, 8 November 2018
‘If we’re not encouraging our boys to read books with girls as the main characters, we’re doing them a great disservice. What are we telling our boys? That stories about...

Podcast spotlight: Write Through the Roof

Thursday, 8 November 2018
Hosted by speculative fiction author Madeleine D’Este, Write Through the Roof is a podcast for writers who want to improve their craft. Guests have included crime writer Emma Viskic and...

Rights round-up 

Thursday, 8 November 2018
Sales Fiction Allen & Unwin has sold UK rights to The Museum of Modern Love (Heather Rose) to Weidenfeld & Nicolson (see news). Jane Cockram has sold rights to her...

Kirsten Alexander’s ‘Half Moon Lake’ 

Thursday, 8 November 2018
'This isn’t simply the story of a missing boy—though that alone would have been enough to sustain a reader’s interest—it’s also a skilful exploration of multi-generational trauma, wrapped up in...

Charts this week 

Monday, 5 November 2018
Top 10 Bestsellers Index Title Author Imprint 1 Kingdom of Ash Sarah J Maas Bloomsbury 2 The Lost Man Jane Harper Macmillan 3 Nine Perfect Strangers Liane Moriarty Macmillan 4...

Lifelong learning: Younger readers editions

Thursday, 1 November 2018
Kelsey Oldham investigates the role played by younger readers editions in the growth of children’s nonfiction. It’s a well-established fact that adult nonfiction titles sell strongly in Australia. In 2018...

Quote of the week 

Wednesday, 31 October 2018
‘Currently, many decisions are made on instinct and impulse ... It’s [hard] to get good data on the most basic question: Who is buying the book? Imagine if the publishing...

Rights round-up 

Wednesday, 31 October 2018
Sales Fiction Amanda Urban at ICM Partners sold North American and Canadian rights to The Book of Science and Antiquities (Thomas Keneally) to Atria Books. Nonfiction Lucia Osborne-Crowley has sold...

Podcast spotlight: Seeking Tumnus

Wednesday, 31 October 2018
Established in 2015, Seeking Tumnus is a podcast in which its hosts 'revisit the books of [their] youth and ... explore the uncanny wilds of contemporary adolescent fiction'. Hosted by...

Written in the stars: Minnie Darke on ‘Star-crossed’ 

Tuesday, 30 October 2018
Minnie Darke’s Star-crossed (Michael Joseph, March) follows an aspiring journalist who begins to tinker with her paper’s astrology section after learning that her crush consults his horoscope whenever he’s faced with making...

Bound together: Kate Richards on ‘Fusion’ 

Tuesday, 30 October 2018
Kate Richards’ Fusion (Hamish Hamilton, February 2019) tells the story of conjoined twins, their carer, and an injured stranger who is brought into their isolated bush home. Reviewer Jacqui Davies described...

Gift of the Blab: An interview with Aaron Blabey 

Tuesday, 30 October 2018
Aaron Blabey is the creator of the ‘Pig the Pug’ and ‘The Bad Guys’ series. Kelsey Oldham asks the author about his success. You’re known for your prolific output, which...

Charts this week 

Monday, 29 October 2018
Top 10 Bestsellers Index Title Author Imprint 1 Nine Perfect Strangers Liane Moriarty Macmillan 2 The Barefoot Investor Scott Pape John Wiley & Sons 3 Bridge of Clay Markus Zusak...

Quote of the week 

Wednesday, 24 October 2018
'In a shrinking and fragmented media environment a publicist’s job can be challenging but having a group of book publicists and journalists in a room does remind you how much...

Podcast spotlight: Hope Book Club

Wednesday, 24 October 2018
Launched in 2018, the Hope Book Club is a podcast focusing on books that will 'enrich your life'. Co-hosts Katrina Roe and Natasha Moore discuss what they've been reading and...

Brad Cooper’s ‘The Finest Gold’

Wednesday, 24 October 2018
'While The Finest Gold is ostensibly a sporting memoir—and it does cover in fascinating detail the punishing regimes and mental requirements for success—its real charm lies in Cooper’s dazzling, shimmering...

Rights round-up 

Wednesday, 24 October 2018
Sales Nonfiction Monash University Publishing has sold Greek-language rights for Half the Perfect World: Writers, Dreamers and Drifters on Hydra, 1955-1964 (Paul Genoni & Tanya Dalziell) to Potamos Publishers. Children’s...

Louise Cornege on the Publishers Publicity Circle 

Wednesday, 24 October 2018
A networking group for UK publicists, the Publishers Publicity Circle (PPC), launched an Australian chapter this year. Allen & Unwin head of publicity Louise Cornege is the chair of PPC...

Making the deal: The state of rights sales in the UK 

Wednesday, 24 October 2018
While the UK remains a tough market for Australian publishers to break into, UK indies are showing an interest in Australian voices, reports Catherine Moller. Several Australian independent publishers have had...