Weekly Book Newsletter (end March 2022)
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12 April 2017

‘WBN’ published Thursday next week x

Please note that, due to the Easter holidays, the next Weekly Book Newsletter will be published on Thursday 20 April. The deadline for classifieds and job advertisements... Read more
 
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SWF 2017 program announced

The program has been announced for this year’s Sydney Writers’ Festival, which runs from 22-28 May. More than 400 events featuring over 450 writers will... Read more
 

Wenona Byrne appointed OzCo literature director

Allen & Unwin rights and international sales director Wenona Byrne has been appointed the Australia Council’s director of literature. Byrne will replace former director Jill... Read more
 
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Scholastic acquires Minchin’s ‘Matilda’ picture book

Scholastic has acquired world rights to a picture book by Australian musician and comedian Tim Minchin, based on Minchin’s lyrics to the musical Matilda. The... Read more
 

 

Hachette to publish new books by Maxine Beneba Clarke, Jessica Watson

Two new books from Maxine Beneba Clarke and a YA novel by Jessica Watson are among Hachette Australia’s recent acquisitions. Hachette publishing director Fiona Hazard... Read more
 
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Affirm expands younger readers editorial team x

Affirm Press has expanded its younger readers editorial team, appointing Davina Bell as senior editor and promoting Clair Hume to commissioning editor. Bell was previously... Read more
 

 

Hachette sells UK, translation rights to Sophie Green novel

Hachette Australia has sold UK and Commonwealth (excluding ANZ) and translation rights to Sophie Green’s The Inaugural Meeting of the Fairvale Ladies Book Club to Little,... Read more
 

New Frontier sets up London office

New Frontier Publishing has set up a London office to focus on the UK market. The children’s publisher released its first books in the UK this... Read more
 

Brisbane Powerhouse to host inaugural international Writers + Ideas series in May

The Brisbane Powerhouse will host five visiting authors in May as part of its inaugural international Writers + Ideas series. Authors to appear at the events... Read more
 

Woollahra Council announces new digital writing awards worth $6000

Woollahra Libraries in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs has announced a new national literary award for writing first published online or electronically. Two prizes worth $3000 each... Read more
 

 

Clunes Booktown Festival 2017 program announced

The program for the 2017 Clunes Booktown Festival, to be held from 6-7 May in Clunes, Victoria, has been announced. Just under 30 writers will... Read more
 

 

2017 NT Writers Festival program launched

The program for the 2017 Northern Territory Writers’ Festival program has been announced. Held in Alice Springs from 18-21 May, this year’s festival will explore the theme... Read more
 

Varuna announces recipients for 2017 Publisher Introduction Program

The recipients of Varuna’s 2017 Publisher Introduction Program have been announced. The program offers writers a one-week residency at Varuna and the opportunity to have... Read more
 

Cribb appointed CEO of New Zealand Book Council

The New Zealand Book Council has appointed Jo Cribb as its new CEO, effective from 8 May. Cribb served as the CEO of the New... Read more
 

IPEd conference program speakers announced

The Institute of Professional Editors has announced some of the speakers for its biennial conference, to be held in Brisbane from 13-15 September. The keynote... Read more
 

 

Whitehead wins 2017 Pulitzer Prize for fiction

Colson Whitehead has won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for fiction for his novel The Underground Railroad (Sphere), becoming the seventh author to win the Pulitzer... Read more
 

International Dublin Literary Award 2017 shortlist announced

The shortlist for the 2017 International Dublin Literary Award has been announced. The 10 shortlisted titles are: A General Theory of Oblivion (José Eduardo Agualusa,... Read more
 

Relaunched Folio Prize releases shortlist

In the UK, the shortlist for the relaunched Rathbones Folio Prize, which has been expanded to include nonfiction, has been announced. The shortlisted titles are:... Read more
 

Digital media company RBmedia launches, acquires Audiobooks.com

A new company specialising in the production and distribution of spoken audio content and digital media has been established in the US. RBmedia, which is... Read more
 

Sales down, profits up at HarperCollins UK

In the UK, HarperCollins has recorded a drop in sales from £186m (A$307m) to £184m (A$303m) in the 2015-16 financial year, but an increase in... Read more
 

Bologna organisers to host New York trade show in 2018

The organisers of the Bologna Children’s Book Fair have announced plans for a new rights and licensing trade show in New York in 2018, reports... Read more
 

PRH acquires Spanish-language publisher Ediciones B

Penguin Random House (PRH) has signed an agreement with Grupo Zeta to acquire its Spanish-language publisher Ediciones B. Ediciones B and its imprints will join... Read more
 

Rights round-up x

Sales Fiction—Hachette has sold UK and Commonwealth (ex ANZ) and translation rights to The Inaugural Meeting of the Fairvale Ladies Book Club (Sophie Green) to... Read more
 

 

Bestsellers this week x

This week’s bestsellers chart has a new number one, with Really Weird! WeirDo (Anh Do, Scholastic) topping both the overall bestsellers and the fastest movers charts. The Barefoot Investor... Read more
 

Briohny Doyle’s ‘Adult Fantasy’ x

‘Doyle explores changing adulthood in historical, social and cultural contexts (including a piercing ongoing analysis of the role of consumer culture), helping extend the book’s... Read more
 

Quote of the week x

‘Now, more than ever, I think that readers will be turning to literature as a place of refuge’Sydney Writers’ Festival artistic director Michaela McGuire on the launch of the festival’s 2017 program.

 

 

RiP John Clarke

Comedian and satirist John Clarke has died, aged 68. Clarke was the author of numerous books, including A Dagg at My Table, The Howard Miracle,... Read more
 

More than 70 Auckland Libraries staff take redundancies

More than 70 Auckland Libraries staff have accepted redundancies and more than 700 staff will have to reapply for their jobs as part of an... Read more
 

ALA reveals ‘most frequently challenged books’ in 2016

The American Library Association (ALA) has released its list of most frequently challenged books in 2016. Topping the list was This One Summer (Mariko Tamaki, illus... Read more
 

More young people using UK libraries

New research has found the number of young people using UK libraries has increased over the past five years, reports the BBC. The Carnegie UK... Read more
 

Diversity matters: Representation in children’s publishing x

Three years on from the ‘We Need Diverse Books’ campaign, Jordi Kerr examines the state of diversity in children’s publishing and finds that we don’t... Read more
 

Book blogger spotlight: Angel Reads x

Angel Reads is a YA book blog run by Angel Gouvas, who writes about ‘everything and anything to do with young adult books and pop... Read more
 

Editors NSW: An evening with Macquarie Dictionary editor Susan Butler x

Editors NSW will host an evening with Macquarie Dictionary editor Susan Butler to discuss her more than 30 years of adventures in Australian English. Butler... Read more

Early release of Stella Prize-shortlisted ‘Dying: A Memoir’ by Cory Taylor (B format) x

Due to strong demand for the hardback edition of Dying: A Memoir by Cory Taylor, Text Publishing is immediately releasing the B-format edition (ISBN 9781925498639). Orders can be placed through UBD and PRH sales representatives. Please note Dying: A Memoir HB (ISBN 9781925355772) is currently out of stock with reprint under consideration.

 

The 10th Annual Text Prize for Young Adult and Children’s Writing: shortlist announcement x

The 2017 shortlist for the $10,000 Text Prize for Young Adult and Children’s Writing will be announced on Wednesday, 19 April. It’s been an outstanding year for manuscripts, with nearly 300 entries received. The announcement will be made via B+P, the Text website and social media.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

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