Category: News

  • EU agrees on copyright directive

    The European Parliament, the Council of the EU and the European Commission have made an agreement on the Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market, which modernises copyright law for the first time in 18 years. The parliament had adopted the directive in September 2018, which makes online platforms and aggregators liable for copyright infringements where only a small part…

  • New Macquarie Uni research to examine Aus rights sales

    The Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund and the Australia Council for the Arts will contribute $30,000 each to a new Macquarie University study examining the international rights sales and export of Australian books over the past 10 years. In conjunction with book industry representatives, Macquarie University academics David Throsby, Paul Crosby and Jan Zwar will conduct…

  • ASA advises authors to send takedown notices to Internet Archive

    The Australian Society of Authors (ASA) has condemned the activities of the Internet Archive’s Open Library in its unlicensed lending of scanned copies of physical books and is advising authors to contact the Internet Archive and request the removal of their titles from the Library. The ASA’s advice follows a response from the Internet Archive to…

  • Upcoming events

    March Adelaide Writers’ Week (2–7 March), Pioneer Women’s Memorial Garden, Adelaide Leading Edge Books conference (17–19 March), Hilton, Adelaide April International Military Writers’ Festival (5–7 April) Sydney Writers’ Festival (29 April–5 May), Carriageworks, Eveleigh, NSW May Clunes Booktown Festival (4–5 May), Clunes, Vic Scribblers Festival (8–10 May), The Goods Shed, Claremont, WA Institute of Professional Editors conference (8–10…

  • All-women shortlist announced for inaugural Selfies Awards

    In the UK, BookBrunch has announced the shortlist for the inaugural Selfies Awards for a self-published novel. The new prize was unveiled in December 2018, and aims to ‘discover new talent and recognise the best self-published titles each year’. In the inaugural year, the award is for adult fiction only, but will expand to include other categories in…

  • Self-published Aussie novel longlisted for Republic of Consciousness Prize

    Brisbane author Nicholas John Turner’s debut self-published novel Hang Him When He Is Not There has been longlisted for the Republic of Consciousness Prize. Turner’s novel, which was sold into the UK and Ireland to Birmingham-based small press Splice in May last year, was praised by judges as ‘the novel as hall of mirrors, and it rewards you for…

  • Amazon unblocks Oz shoppers from US store

    Australian consumers are now able to purchase and ship items from Amazon’s international website, according to a statement from Amazon. The retailer suspended shipping to Australian addresses from its international website on 1 July 2018 in a move to comply with GST laws affecting online retailers. Amazon had established a ‘global store’ option on its Australian site offering…

  • New pricing model at PublishDrive

    PublishDrive, a global ebook distribution platform for authors and independent publishers, has introduced a new subscription pricing option, reports Publishers Weekly. Under the new plan, authors will pay a flat fee of $100 per month and keep all of their sales revenue, no matter how much they sell. PublishDrive CEO Kinga Jentetics said that the…

  • SPN Independent Publishing Conference 2018 program: publishing in the age of Trump, podcasts, disability awareness

    The Small Press Network (SPN) has announced the full program for its 2018 Independent Publishing Conference, which will run at the Wheeler Centre in Melbourne from 22-24 November. The three-day conference comprises an industry research day, a trade day and a ‘fundamentals of publishing’ day, as well as the presentation of the Most Underrated Book…

  • EU council allows VAT-free status for ebooks and audio books

    The European Union’s (EU) Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) has agreed to allow all member states to give ebooks and audiobooks the same value-added tax (VAT) status as printed books, reports the Bookseller. While the new rules do not compel EU member states to align the ebook and print book rates, it would mean a 20% reduction…