The shortlists for the 2016 Queensland Literary Awards have been announced. The shortlisted titles in each category are: Fiction Ghost River (Tony Birch, UQP) Between... Read more |
The Brisbane Writers Festival (BWF) has responded to US author Lionel Shriver’s controversial opening keynote by scheduling a ‘right of reply’ event. Shriver spoke about... Read more |
Jeanne Ryckmans has resigned from the position of Nero Books publisher at Black Inc. Ryckmans was appointed to the position in 2013, when Black Inc.... Read more |
A New Zealand Book Council research report into New Zealand’s reading attitudes and behaviours has found most readers had ‘an extremely negative reaction’ to New... Read more |
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Australian printer Griffin Press has launched a ‘world-first’ end-to-end digital book production line in Adelaide, including a new digital cover production facility. The printer collaborated... Read more |
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Radio host Andy Lee’s debut picture book Do Not Open This Book, illustrated by Heath McKenzie, has sold 40,000 copies in its first two days,... Read more |
Melbourne-based architecture and design publisher Images Publishing has acquired international distributor Antique Collector’s Club (ACC) Distribution and its publishing arm, ACC Art Books. ACC Distribution... Read more |
Over 20,000 students, libraries and other organisations have raised $150,000 from Great Book Swap campaigns for Indigenous Literacy Day (ILD), held this year on 7... Read more |
Thirty writers, publishers and literary organisations have received funding in the Australia Council’s June grant round. Fifteen writers received individual grants of up to $50,000... Read more |
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Tony Birch has won the $25,000 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Indigenous Writing for his novel Ghost River (UQP). Birch’s novel, ‘a coming-of-age story’ about... Read more |
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Samuel Wagan Watson has won the 2016 Scanlon Award for Indigenous Poetry for his collection Love Poems and Death Threats (UQP). The judges said Watson’s... Read more |
Australian author Nikki McWatters has won the €3000 (A$4400) Moth Short Story Prize for her story ‘Yellow Belly’. The Irish award is open to all... Read more |
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Network Ten has commissioned a two-part TV adaptation of Kenneth Cook’s 1961 novel Wake in Fright (Text), to screen in 2017. The show will be... Read more |
HarperCollins Australia is partnering with the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) NSW branch for the CBCA’s annual Aspiring Writers Mentorship Program for unpublished children’s... Read more |
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Actor Mel Gibson and producer Bruce Davey’s Icon Productions has acquired the film adaptation rights to Victoria Cross medal-winner Mark Donaldson’s autobiography The Crossroad (Macmillan).... Read more |
The Queensland Writers Centre (QWC) and Hachette Australia have announced the writers selected for their annual Manuscript Development Program. The successful writers and their manuscripts... Read more |
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The shortlist for the 2016 Man Booker Prize has been announced. The six shortlisted titles are: The Sellout (Paul Beatty, Oneworld), Hot Milk (Deborah Levy,... Read more |
In the UK, the shortlist for the £30,000 (A$52,160) Financial Times Business Book of the Year Award has been announced. The six shortlisted titles are:... Read more |
The UK Booksellers Association (BA) has launched the Booksellers Network, an ‘informal’ group for young and new booksellers that is backed by ‘significant players’ in... Read more |
A new collection of previously unpublished short stories by F Scott Fitzgerald will be published in the US in April 2017, reports the Guardian. Titled... Read more |
Sales Fiction—A&U has sold UK rights to Swimming Home (Mary-Rose MacColl); UK rights to The Teacher’s Secret (Suzanne Leal); Norwegian rights to Castle of Dreams... Read more |
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The 78-Storey Treehouse (Andy Griffiths & Terry Denton, Pan) and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child play script (J K Rowling, Jack Thorne & John... Read more |
‘Fight Like a Girl is fuelled by Ford’s clear-eyed defiance and refusal to compromise, and by her powerful combination of personal testimony and political polemic’... Read more |
‘Their immediate reaction was that all New Zealand fiction was Kiwiana, a slice of not-very-enjoyable life, plodding and dull’—a New Zealand Book Council research report has found most readers have ‘an extremely negative reaction’ to New Zealand fiction, despite enjoying the local fiction titles they do read
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Writer and historian Inga Clendinnen has died, aged 82. A leading academic in Aztec and Mayan society, Clendinnen held positions at the University of Melbourne... Read more |
The Bendigo Library in regional Victoria is replacing its library trucks with bricks-and-mortar ‘agencies’, reports the Bendigo Advertiser. The Goldfield Library Corporation (GLC), which covers... Read more |
Palmerston Council in the Northern Territory has written off more than $80,000 in lost and missing library books from the past three years, reports News.com.au.... Read more |
In the US, a new Pew Research Center survey has found that more than half of all Americans aged 16 and over used a public... Read more |
Anna Low from Potts Point Bookshop and Deb Force and Kate O’Donnell from the Younger Sun share their Christmas highlights for kids, from new releases... Read more |
Founded in Victoria in 2015, Empowering Resources specialises in children’s picture books and junior novels that ‘help people of any age explore complex and difficult... Read more |
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Jeanne Ryckmans has stepped down from her position as publisher of Nero Books after three and a half years at the imprint. (See classified.)
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Simon & Schuster Australia has appointed Sheila Vijeyarasa to the position of finance and commercial director, commencing on 10 October. (See classified.)
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Lucy Ballantyne has been appointed publicist at Text Publishing. Ballantyne replaces Léa Antigny, who has left the company.
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Bonnier Publishing Australia (incorporating Echo Publishing and Five Mile Press) is relocating its offices on 19 September 2016. The new contact details are: Level 6,... Read more |
The Indigenous Literacy Foundation is relocating its offices, and will close on Thursday, 15 September and Friday, 16 September during the move. The new contact details... Read more |
Nominations are now open for the 2016 Dromkeen Librarian’s Award and Dromkeen Medal. The Dromkeen Medal is awarded for outstanding achievement in the creation of... Read more |
Editors NSW will host a one-day workshop, Grammar in a nutshell, on Friday, 21 October from 9.30am to 4.30pm. Presented by Elizabeth Manning Murphy, the... Read more |
 Simon & Schuster Australia is pleased to announce the appointment of Sheila Vijeyarasa to the position of finance & commercial director.
Sheila has extensive experience in the publishing industry, recently as Harlequin Australia’s deputy CFO. She has also held positions at Random House Australia as head of commercial and recently worked with the Merivale Group as head of finance.
‘I am delighted to be joining Simon & Schuster, a publisher with a rich history of cultural influence and commercial publishing success,’ said Vijeyarasa.
‘I’m passionate about Australian authors and am looking forward to contributing to Simon & Schuster’s ambitions for its local publishing.’
Dan Ruffino, Simon and Schuster Australia’s managing director added:
‘I’m thrilled we’ve been able to secure the services of Sheila. Her impressive qualifications and publishing experience are the perfect fit for us as we embark on the next phase of our strategy.’
Vijeyarasa will commence her appointment on 10 October.
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 We are pleased to announce that The Five Mile Press (ABN 91 005 966 245) is changing its company name to Bonnier Publishing Australia, effective from 1 October 2016. Please update your records to reflect our new name.
Our business has been part of the global Bonnier group for many years and our new name and branding in Australia reflects this. There is no change to company ownership or management, our ABN or ACN. Under the new company name of Bonnier Publishing Australia remain our local publishing imprints of Five Mile (children’s) and Echo (adult).
We are also moving offices and will be operational at Level 6, 534 Church Street, Richmond from Monday, 19 September 2016. Please note that our office will be closed for relocation on Friday, 16 September. Our new contact line is +61 3 9421 3800.
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Jeanne Ryckmans has resigned from her position as publisher of Nero Books after three and a half years building the imprint. During her tenure, Ryckmans was responsible for publishing many outstanding projects including The Voice: My Story, by Ray Warren and Andrew Webster; Body Lengths, by Leisel Jones and Felicity McLean, Nona & Me by Clare Atkins, Gloria Steinem’s My Life on the Road and the forthcoming Peter Moody biography by Helen Thomas. Proprietor Morry Schwartz said ‘Jeanne has made an important and significant contribution to the success of Nero and the establishment of our Sydney office. We wish her the very best of luck with this next stage in her career.’
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The Indigenous Literacy Foundation would like to thank all the participating booksellers, publishers and authors, including the Australian Booksellers Association and Leading Edge, for their support during Indigenous Literacy Day (ILD) on Wednesday 7 September.
$150,000 was pledged in Great Book Swap campaigns and over 20,000 school students, libraries and organisations joined together to hold a Great Book Swap in the lead-up to ILD and on the day itself.
In one remote Aboriginal community on Cape York Peninsula, ILD was celebrated at the Child Care Centre at the Pormpur Paanthu Aboriginal Corporation: ‘The kids were so excited. One of them came up to me and said: “Thank you miss. I love my book”,’ said Erin Kendall, the director at the Centre.
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HarperCollins will assume field sales representation for Harlequin titles in bookstores in both Australia and New Zealand from 1 January 2017.
Harlequin will continue to manage head office accounts in both markets and Harper Entertainment Distribution Services (HEDS) will continue to take orders and distribute Harlequin titles to bookstores.
Harlequin would like to thank their current sales agents for their commitment, partnership and support of Harlequin titles within bookstores.
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Hardie Grant Egmont’s Ampersand Prize aims to find brilliant debut novels by young adult and middle-grade writers across all genres. The winner receives a contract, an advance and editorial development to bring their book to market.
The most recent winner, Cally Black, will release her sci-fi thriller and debut novel, In the Dark Spaces, in May 2017.
Ampersand Prize submissions are currently open and will close this Friday, 16 September. For more details and to book, visit the webpage here.
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NewSouth is thrilled to have a wide range of titles shortlisted for the QLD Premier’s Literary Awards 2016. Up for the History Book Award is Armenia, Australia and the Great War (NewSouth), Australia’s Boldest Experiment (NewSouth), Gay Sydney (NewSouth) and The Oldest Foods on Earth (NewSouth). Shortlisted for the Non-fiction Book Award is Offshore (NewSouth) and Small Acts of Disappearance (Giramondo), and up for the Fiction Book Award is One (Transit Lounge).
To order contact TL Distribution (P: +61(2) 8778 9999, E: orders@tldistribution.com.au).
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Simon & Schuster Australia is pleased to announce the appointment of Sheila Vijeyarasa to the position of finance & commercial director.
We are pleased to announce that The Five Mile Press (ABN 91 005 966 245) is changing its company name to Bonnier Publishing Australia, effective from 1 October 2016. Please update your records to reflect our new name.
