‘The patriarchy has it coming’: Festival director Tam Zimet on Broadside
18 September 2019
Writers including Zadie Smith, Curtis Sittenfeld and Helen Garner have recently been announced as part of the line-up for the Wheeler Centre's inaugural Broadside feminist ideas festival. Sarah Farquharson spoke...
Book designer spotlight: Hannah Janzen
18 September 2019
Hannah Janzen began designing books at Sydney design studio Xou Creative, before turning to freelance, specialising in children’s books. She was recently elected president of the Australian Book Designers Association...
Book designer spotlight: Sarah Davis
11 September 2019
After working for over a decade as a freelance picture book illustrator and designer, Sarah Davies joined Walker Books Australia as associate art director. She spoke to Books+Publishing for our ‘book...
We don’t need a map: The growth in illustrated travel titles
11 September 2019
Travellers are looking beyond traditional guidebooks for recommendations and inspiration—and publishers are finding new niche audiences in a shifting travel market. Andrea Hanke investigates the growth in illustrated travel titles....
Nine million books in Beijing: Jane Curry on the Beijing International Book Fair
4 September 2019
Ventura Press founder and publisher Jane Curry attended this year's Beijing International Book Fair, which ran from 21–25 August. I am writing these words as I prepare to fly home...
Place of exchange: Jane Stratton on Lost in Books
4 September 2019
Lost in Books is a multilingual children’s bookshop in Fairfield, Sydney. A project of the Think+Do Tank Foundation, the shop’s mission is to celebrate and support multilingual literacy and creativity....
Book designer spotlight: Andy Warren
4 September 2019
Andy Warren began his career at Hardie Grant before moving exclusively into children’s books at Five Mile. His recent designs include an award-winning range of publications celebrating Barbie’s 60th birthday....
Puffin grants in New Zealand
28 August 2019
As part of Puffin’s upcoming 80th anniversary, the publisher offered grants valuing up to NZ$5000 each to bookstores to fund initiatives to get kids reading. Brad Jefferies chatted to three...
Book designer spotlight: Ngaio Parr
28 August 2019
Independent designer and illustrator Ngaio Parr has worked with publishers including Penguin, Thames & Hudson, Hachette, Hardie Grant and Pantera Press. ‘I’m a little different to most book designers in...
Book designer spotlight: Peter Long
21 August 2019
Peter Long worked as a designer in theatre and film before moving across to the book industry, where he has worked as a freelancer for most of his career, aside...
Story you can hold: Tyson Yunkaporta on ‘Sand Talk’
21 August 2019
In Sand Talk (Text, September), researcher and arts critic Tyson Yunkaporta looks at global systems from an Indigenous perspective. Reviewer Karen Wyld said the book ‘offers fuel for timely discussions...
Baker & Taylor’s retail exit
14 August 2019
In early May, Baker & Taylor (B&T) announced it was closing its retail wholesale business—choosing instead to focus on the library market. Brad Jefferies asked local booksellers what this means...
Book designer spotlight: Sandy Cull
14 August 2019
Sandy Cull spent ‘12 wonderful years’ as a designer at Penguin Australia—where she designed the first two editions of Stephanie Alexander’s The Cook’s Companion—before returning to freelance in 2006. She...
Judging a book by its cover: Jane Curry on the influence of Instagram
7 August 2019
Ventura Press publisher Jane Curry argues that the biggest influence on design trends this decade has been Instagram. With 5000 new titles a month released into the Australian market, what...
Book designer spotlight: Evi O
7 August 2019
Evi O spent a decade working as a designer at Penguin Books Australia, where she specialised in illustrated books on food, design, art, architecture and gardens, before opening her own...
All hands on deck: Inside The Little Bookroom with Michael Earp
31 July 2019
Situated in Melbourne’s inner north, The Little Bookroom is Australia’s oldest dedicated children’s bookshop. In his bookseller’s diary, children’s literature specialist Michael Earp reveals how a combination of experience, new ideas...
It’s not easy being green: Adelaide’s Pop-up Bookshop boycots HEDS
31 July 2019
Adelaide’s Pop-up Bookshop co-owner Kate Treloar tells Books+Publishing why she decided to boycott a major book distributor on environmental grounds. In June, Adelaide’s Pop-up Bookshop announced on Facebook that it...
Book designer spotlight: Mark Campbell
31 July 2019
Mark Campbell got his break in the book industry at Hardie Grant Books, where he worked in marketing before moving over to design. He is currently head of design at...
Holiday book haul: Junior Christmas 2019 preview
24 July 2019
Kelsey Oldham rounds up some local highlights from publishers’ 2019 Christmas lists. (See our adult fiction and nonfiction highlights here.) Aussie favourites Some of our most celebrated Australian children’s authors...
Good tidings we bring: Christmas 2019 preview
24 July 2019
Sarah Farquharson rounds up this year’s top locally authored Christmas titles. (See our kids and YA Christmas highlights here.) Blockbuster fiction The small press with one of the biggest books...
Hidden in plain sight: Jane Curry on the role of the editor
17 July 2019
Ventura Press founder Jane Curry explores the role of the editor. 'Who’s the editor?’ I have only been asked this question once in my career and it was by a...
Book buyer spotlight: James Bennett’s buying team
17 July 2019
Australian library supplier James Bennett’s 11-strong buying team combines expertise from the bookselling, library and publishing sectors. Buyer Louise Oliver spoke to Books+Publishing for our ‘book buyer spotlight’ series. How long...
Susannah Bowen: Six things to know about book marketing
10 July 2019
Susannah Bowen is the head of marketing (higher education) for Cengage Australia and, with Alison Baverstock, the author of How to Market Books (Routledge). Here, Bowen shares her tips for...
Beyond just sales: Connecting to customers and communities through events
10 July 2019
Sarah Farquharson speaks to two independent bookshops about how they make connections with customers and their communities through events. The owners of BooksPlus, in the NSW town of Bathurst, and...
Book buyer spotlight: ALS Library Services’ Philippa Siebert
3 July 2019
As a member of the acquisitions team at Adelaide-based ALS Library Services, Philippa Siebert has been helping libraries stock their shelves for over a decade. She spoke to Books+Publishing for our...
Is YA okay?: The state of Australian young adult literature
3 July 2019
With reports from the UK showing a sharp decline in sales of YA fiction, Jackie Tang explores whether the Australian market is experiencing similar changes. When UK trade publication the...
Natural habitat: Kate Goldsworthy shares her career journey
26 June 2019
Over the past 10 years, Victoria-based editor Kate Goldsworthy has worked for a wide range of publishers, both in-house and as a freelancer. She shares her career journey. Since early...
Book buyer spotlight: Peter Pal’s Stuart Dunstan
19 June 2019
How does book buying differ for the library sector? Stuart Dunstan, fiction buyer for Australian library supplier Peter Pal, spoke to Books+Publishing for our ‘book buyer spotlight’ series. How long have...
Change maker: Sally Rugg on ‘How Powerful We Are’
19 June 2019
LGBTIQ rights activist Sally Rugg led the GetUp campaign for marriage equality for five years and is now executive director at change.org. Rugg’s first book, How Powerful We Are (Hachette,...
Meryl Halls: Creating better bookshops
19 June 2019
Meryl Halls recently became managing director of the UK Booksellers Association (BA). In June she’s in Australia to give the keynote address at the Australian Booksellers Association (ABA) conference. She...
