For the love of poetry: Looking beyond Instapoetry
Tuesday, 3 July 2018
Angela Elizabeth finds out how local publishers are committing to poetry beyond the ‘Instapoetry’ trend. ‘Poetry is the medium of the moment,’ proclaimed UK National Poetry Day executive director Susannah...
Cover new ground: Rejacketing a children’s book series
Tuesday, 3 July 2018
Nathania Gilson asks publishers and booksellers about the art of rejacketing a children’s book series. When Tristan Bancks, co-creator and author of the Tom Weekly junior-fiction series, was presented with...
Back to the drawing board: Publishing local board books
Tuesday, 3 July 2018
Danielle Binks explores the rising demand for homegrown board books. In her Ten Commandments for reading aloud with children, author Mem Fox’s number-one rule is: ‘Spend at least ten wildly...
Finding your centre: Megan Daley on her career journey
Wednesday, 27 June 2018
‘A school library is at the very centre of creative school communities,’ writes teacher-librarian and book blogger Megan Daley. She shares her career journey. I studied early childhood teaching, always...
Talking less and listening more: Martin Hughes on creating safer workplaces
Wednesday, 27 June 2018
Affirm Press publisher Martin Hughes (with senior editor Ruby Ashby-Orr) explores what it means to shape a better culture and create safer workplaces. At the recent Leading Edge Books conference...
Podcast spotlight: Spun Stories
Wednesday, 27 June 2018
Established in 2015, Spun: True Stories Told in the Territory evolved from a quarterly live storytelling event in Darwin that showcases ‘extraordinary stories by ordinary people’. Hosted and produced by...
Podcast spotlight: Dymocks Podcast
Wednesday, 20 June 2018
Established in 2012, the Dymocks Podcast includes author interviews and conversations about the world of books and publishing. Released on a weekly basis, and with an extra condensed video version...
The ‘B+P’ guide to the Miles Franklin 2018 shortlist
Wednesday, 20 June 2018
Six titles are vying for this year’s Miles Franklin Literary Award. Two of these are from multinational publishers (one each from HarperCollins and Pan Macmillan), three are from small, independent...
Podcast spotlight: ABC Radio National’s The Hub on Books
Thursday, 14 June 2018
ABC Radio National’s (RN) The Hub on Books is a weekly radio program and podcast featuring author interviews as well as news and analysis about the book industry. Journalist Claire Nichols,...
The perfect Foyles: ABA conference keynote speaker Paul Currie on the UK book industry
Thursday, 14 June 2018
Paul Currie, CEO of Foyles Bookshop in the UK, will deliver the keynote address at this year’s Australian Booksellers Association conference. He spoke to Jackie Tang about what Australian booksellers...
Podcast spotlight: Pratchat
Wednesday, 6 June 2018
Pratchat is a monthly 'book club' podcast hosted by Elizabeth Flux and Ben McKenzie that aims to discuss every Terry Pratchett novel ever written. Each episode, Flux and McKenzie are joined...
Acquiring new languages: Exploring the world of bilingual children’s books
Wednesday, 6 June 2018
Jackie Tang asks publishers, booksellers and librarians if there is an increased demand in foreign-language children’s books. When Allen & Unwin published Joanne O’Callaghan and Kori Song’s Found in Melbourne,...
Podcast spotlight: The Rereaders
Wednesday, 30 May 2018
Established in 2011, The Rereaders is a fortnightly literary and cultural podcast that has been described as Melbourne's answer to the Slate Culture Gabfest. Each episode is hosted by culture...
Podcast spotlight: Audacious
Wednesday, 23 May 2018
First established in 2015, Audacious is the audio-journal of arts organisation Melbourne Spoken Word (MSW). Each 'issue' of the paid-for audio-journal is produced as a quarterly album of spoken-word performances. A...
Fire in the belly: Laura Kroetsch on Dark Mofo’s Dark and Dangerous Thoughts program
Wednesday, 16 May 2018
Former Adelaide Writers’ Week director Laura Kroetsch's move into a new role as the curator of Dark Mofo's Dark and Dangerous Thoughts symposium has seen her programming with a 'more philosophical...
Podcast spotlight: Future Perfect (the EWF podcast)
Wednesday, 16 May 2018
Future Perfect is a podcast produced by the Emerging Writers' Festival (EWF) that asks storytellers about 'what they do, how they do it, and why'. Season 1 launched in the...
Outside the lines: Meet Scribblers festival director Katherine Dorrington
Wednesday, 9 May 2018
After 12 years at Perth Writers Festival (PWF), Katherine Dorrington has stepped straight back into programming as the director of Scribblers Festival, a new festival celebrating children's literature and arts....
Balm for our souls: Suzy Wilson on a life with books
Wednesday, 9 May 2018
Independent bookseller and Indigenous literacy advocate Suzy Wilson was awarded the Lloyd O’Neil Award for outstanding service to the Australian book industry at this year’s Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIAs)...
Podcast spotlight: One More Page
Wednesday, 9 May 2018
Launched in February, One More Page is a fortnightly podcast for lovers of children's books, hosted by Kate Simpson, Liz Ledden and Nat Amoore. With seven episodes under their belt...
Podcast spotlight: The Booktopia Podcast
Wednesday, 2 May 2018
Established in 2015, The Booktopia Podcast publishes weekly episodes involving author interviews, book reviews, recommendations and bookish banter, with a focus on Australian-authored books. Hosted by a rotating cast of...
Literary Wall Street: Jane Curry on the 2018 London Book Fair
Wednesday, 2 May 2018
Ventura Press founder and director Jane Curry attended this year’s London Book Fair, and came away with several lessons for first-time and returning Australian attendees. She reports: The London Book...
Podcast spotlight: The Morning Bell
Thursday, 26 April 2018
Established in 2014, the Morning Bell is a literary podcast recorded live at the Brunswick Street Bookstore every second Wednesday. For each episode, a guest joins host Joel Martin and co-hosts...
Up for promotion: Digital marketing strategies
Tuesday, 24 April 2018
Danielle Binks investigates how publishers and authors are using digital marketing and promotional strategies to reach new readers. Word-of-mouth, it has been said, sells books. But the question remains: how...
Personal growth: 2017’s fastest growing categories
Friday, 20 April 2018
This year Books+Publishing will publish a regular column from Nielsen BookScan Australia associate director Julie Winters on book data trends. In her first column, Winters looks at the fastest-growing subject...
Prime location: thriving in sobering times at Avenue Elsternwick
Friday, 20 April 2018
When Melbourne’s Avenue Bookstore owner Chris Redfern opened a second store in Elsternwick in 2012, the year after the REDgroup collapse, some were sceptical. Bookseller Savannah Indigo explains how the...
Oh! The Horror! The rise of horror in children’s fiction
Thursday, 19 April 2018
Danielle Binks explores youth literature’s reanimated interest in the horror genre. Stephen King once said, ‘We make up horrors to help us cope with the real ones’, and it certainly...
Podcast spotlight: Better Reading Podcast
Wednesday, 18 April 2018
Established in 2017, Better Reading Podcast is a weekly bookish podcast where Better Reading founder and director Cheryl Akle holds in-depth conversations with both Australian and international authors. Spanning over...
Come together: Jemma Birrell’s career journey
Wednesday, 18 April 2018
Tablo creative director Jemma Birrell has spent her career connecting audiences with books, whether it be in bookshops, at festivals or online. She shares her career journey. I started working...
Podcast spotlight: From the Lighthouse
Wednesday, 11 April 2018
Established in 2017, From the Lighthouse is a fortnightly literary podcast produced by the English department at Macquarie University. Each episode is hosted by academics Dr Stephanie Russo and Dr...
Publishing, fast and slow: Martin Hughes on ‘slow’ media
Wednesday, 11 April 2018
Martin Hughes is the co-founder and publisher of Affirm Press, the former editor of the Big Issue and, in 2018, a regular columnist for Books+Publishing. In his first column, Hughes...





