Small presses, big data: Bestselling titles for small presses
Thursday, 6 October 2016
Former Nielsen Book Australia general manager Shaun Symonds takes a closer look at the small press sector and its bestselling titles. There is no standard definition of a small publisher,...
The smaller picture: Challenges and opportunities for small presses
Thursday, 6 October 2016
Small presses have been lauded for their investment in literature and new Australian authors, yet they continue to face challenges around funding, distribution and their role in an evolving publishing...
Santa baby: Children’s Christmas highlights
Monday, 11 July 2016
Anna Low from Potts Point Bookshop in Sydney and Deb Force and Kate O’Donnell from the Younger Sun in Melbourne share their Christmas highlights for kids, from new releases to...
From little things, big things grow: Behind the scenes of the Kids’ Reading Guide
Monday, 11 July 2016
Sixteen children’s book specialists are currently putting together the 16th annual ABA Kids’ Reading Guide, which is due out in November. Joanne Shiells goes behind the scenes. The Australian Booksellers...
Read it with feeling: Children’s and YA books tackle complex emotions
Monday, 11 July 2016
Carody Culver explores the market for children’s and YA books about complex emotions. Being a kid isn’t always easy. Depression, anxiety, grief, loss—none of these are exclusively adult experiences. Perhaps...
All I want for Christmas…: 2016 Christmas highlights
Friday, 8 July 2016
Andrea Hanke, Jackie Tang and Brad Jefferies preview this year’s Christmas highlights. Eat, drink and be merry Stephanie Alexander’s first new book since 2012, The Cook’s Table (Lantern, November), should...
What is a bestseller?: Cutting the sales figures
Friday, 8 July 2016
Nielsen Book Australia general manager Shaun Symonds explores the concept of a bestseller in Australia. A common question we get asked at Nielsen BookScan is ‘what is a bestseller?’ The...
Casting off: Australian publishers expanding overseas
Friday, 8 July 2016
Increasingly, Australian publishers are expanding overseas in order to enter new markets, compete for rights and hedge against the possible repeal of parallel importation restrictions, writes Simon Collinson. Australian publishers...
A tale from two cities: Bookshop inspiration from London and Paris
Friday, 8 July 2016
Earlier this year, Readings events manager Christine Gordon visited bookshops in London and Paris to gather inspiration and ideas. She shares her experiences. The sun was streaming through the huge...
Neighbourhood watch: Strengthening ties between Oz and NZ publishing
Tuesday, 10 May 2016
Why are there not stronger ties between the Australian and New Zealand publishing scenes? asks Jo Case. While there are key differences between Australia and New Zealand (particularly our relationship...
Rethinking business: The market for business books
Tuesday, 10 May 2016
Books on leadership, entrepreneurship and innovation are attracting new readers to the business books category, while a strong backlist remains essential to sales, writes Andrea Hanke. For the past two...
Grant designs: Bookstores on their James Patterson grant projects
Tuesday, 10 May 2016
Carody Culver looks at how five recipients of the Australian Booksellers Association James Patterson grants are faring with their proposals, and what they’ve learnt from the process. What do you...
Unstuck in the middle: Middle-grade fiction in Australia
Tuesday, 10 May 2016
Middle-grade children’s fiction is underrepresented—and often misunderstood—in Australian publishing, writes Danielle Binks. When people talk about younger readers, the language often invokes building and architecture—gateway literature, foundation years—and for good...
Where does a book sell and why: A look at sales for different channels
Tuesday, 10 May 2016
Nielsen Book Australia general manager Shaun Symonds takes a closer look at sales for indies, chains and discount department stores. Consumers buy books in many places, from a planned purchase...
Teens to the front: Targeting a teen audience for YA books
Monday, 21 March 2016
Finding a way to include teens in the conversations about YA books is a challenge for publishers, authors and event organisers, writes Danielle Binks. At last year’s Nielsen Children’s Book...
Smarten up: Professional development in publishing
Monday, 21 March 2016
Professional development opportunities are a ‘mixed bag’ in the publishing industry, but there are opportunities if you know where to look, writes Portia Lindsay. Professional development in the publishing industry...
Working the crowd: The ins and outs of crowdfunding campaigns
Monday, 21 March 2016
Crowdfunding can be a smart way for small and self-publishers to raise cash and kickstart their marketing campaign, but the odds of success are slim, writes Brad Jefferies. Looking at...
Colour by numbers: Shaun Symonds on 2015 and the year of the colouring book
Monday, 21 March 2016
This year Books+Publishing will publish a regular column from Nielsen Book Australia general manager Shaun Symonds on book data trends. In his first column, Symonds reflects on the year of...
A series of fortunate events: Australia’s first children’s publishing consultancy Stories Inc.
Monday, 21 March 2016
Australia’s first children’s publishing consultancy is helping publishers expand their children’s lists. Carody Culver spoke to Stories Inc. founders Susannah McFarlane and Louise Park. With Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton’s...
