Winter Institute 2019: Staff engagement, tech tools and ‘surviving the political divide’
Wednesday, 13 February 2019
Jay Lansdown, owner of Sydney bookshop The Constant Reader and vice-president of the Australian Booksellers Association, attended this year’s Winter Institute, an annual conference held by the American Booksellers Association, which...
Podcast spotlight: what’s next?
Friday, 21 December 2018
Over the last 12 months, Nathania Gilson has been interviewing Australian book podcasters—from passion projects to national radio broadcasters, from hybrid experiments to extensions of retail brands, festivals or traditional...
Podcast spotlight: The Wheeler Centre podcast
Wednesday, 12 December 2018
Established in 2010, The Wheeler Centre (TWC) podcast features full recordings of talks hosted in TWC building in Melbourne. TWC senior digital editor Jon Tjhia has been working on the...
Christmas predictions: Louise Pfanner from Gleebooks in Sydney
Wednesday, 12 December 2018
In the lead-up to Christmas, the busiest time of year on the bookselling calendar, Books+Publishing is asking booksellers across the country to predict their biggest sellers and ‘surprise sellers’. In this final instalment...
Audiobooks, data-driven publishing discussed at FutureBook 2018
Wednesday, 12 December 2018
The ‘audio gold rush’, data-driven publishing and the importance of surprise in an increasingly algorhythmic world were some of the topics covered at this year’s wide-ranging FutureBook Live conference, which...
Attendance up at SPN conference 2018, ‘incredibly positive’ response
Wednesday, 5 December 2018
The Small Press Network’s (SPN) seventh Independent Publishing Conference was held at the Wheeler Centre in Melbourne on 22-24 November. SPN general manager Tim Coronel said the response to this...
Podcast spotlight: Sisteria
Wednesday, 5 December 2018
Launched in 2016, Sisteria is a Melbourne-based podcast about 'women's experiences as creators and consumers of arts and culture'. Hosted by Stephanie Van Schilt and Veronica Sullivan, and produced by Jessica Lukjanow, the...
Christmas predictions: Katy Downey from the Leaf Bookshop in Ashburton
Friday, 30 November 2018
In the lead-up to Christmas, the busiest time of year on the bookselling calendar, Books+Publishing is asking booksellers across the country to predict their biggest sellers and 'surprise sellers'. In...
Podcast spotlight: The New Zealand Society of Authors (NZSA) Oral History Podcast
Wednesday, 28 November 2018
Launched in late 2018, the New Zealand Society of Authors (NZSA) Oral History podcast delves into the organisation's archives, sharing authors' stories of 'fighting institutions, government—and sometimes, each other—to advocate...
Christmas predictions: James Redden from Harry Hartog in Canberra
Friday, 23 November 2018
In the lead-up to Christmas, the busiest time of year on the bookselling calendar, Books+Publishing is asking booksellers across the country to predict their biggest sellers. In the this week's...
Podcast spotlight: The ‘Good Reading’ podcast
Wednesday, 21 November 2018
The Good Reading podcast, launched in July 2018, publishes episodes weekly with the aim of helping readers ‘discover [their] next favourite read’. Hosted by Emma Harvey, Angus Dalton and Greg Dobb, the...
Children’s book boom: Alice Grundy on the China Shanghai International Children’s Book Fair
Wednesday, 21 November 2018
As part of the Shanghai Visiting International Publishers Project, Brio Books associate publisher Alice Grundy travelled to China to attend the China Shanghai International Children's Book Fair (9-11 November). She...
For love or money: employment in the Australian publishing industry in 2018
Wednesday, 21 November 2018
Books+Publishing surveyed over 300 readers to create a detailed picture of employment in the book industry in 2018. Small Press Network associate producer Jessica Harvie and Books+Publishing editor-in-chief Andrew Wrathall checked the stats. These results...
Open Your Eyes: Jax Jacki Brown on access and inclusion in publishing
Wednesday, 21 November 2018
Writers Victoria and Arts Access Victoria are offering disability awareness training tailored specifically to the publishing industry at the upcoming Independent Publishing Conference in Melbourne. The workshop will cover best-practice language, the...
Accessible print for all: Sarah Runcie on the Australian Inclusive Publishing Initiative
Wednesday, 14 November 2018
In October Sarah Runcie from the Australian Publishers Association (APA) travelled to Tokyo to address the Advanced Publishing Lab at Keio University about the APA's Australian Inclusive Publishing Initiative (AIPI). She...
Podcast spotlight: So You Want to Be a Writer
Wednesday, 14 November 2018
Established in 2014, So You Want to Be a Writer is made by the Australian Writers’ Centre (AWC) and co-hosted by author Allison Tait and AWC CEO Valerie Khoo. Each episode covers...
Podcast spotlight: Write Through the Roof
Thursday, 8 November 2018
Hosted by speculative fiction author Madeleine D’Este, Write Through the Roof is a podcast for writers who want to improve their craft. Guests have included crime writer Emma Viskic and...
A remarkable entry point: Terri-ann White on the Sharjah International Book Fair
Thursday, 8 November 2018
UWA Publishing director Terri-ann White travelled to the United Arab Emirates to attend the Sharjah International Book Fair, which runs from 31 October to 10 November. As a publisher who is...
Lifelong learning: Younger readers editions
Thursday, 1 November 2018
Kelsey Oldham investigates the role played by younger readers editions in the growth of children’s nonfiction. It’s a well-established fact that adult nonfiction titles sell strongly in Australia. In 2018...
Frankfurt 2018: crime, ‘uplit’ and ‘big ideas’ books in demand
Wednesday, 31 October 2018
Australian publishers who attended this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair (10-14 October) reported emerging trends around crime fiction and thrillers, ‘uplit’ and popular science books. Black Inc. international director Sophy Williams...
Podcast spotlight: Seeking Tumnus
Wednesday, 31 October 2018
Established in 2015, Seeking Tumnus is a podcast in which its hosts 'revisit the books of [their] youth and ... explore the uncanny wilds of contemporary adolescent fiction'. Hosted by...
Written in the stars: Minnie Darke on ‘Star-crossed’
Tuesday, 30 October 2018
Minnie Darke’s Star-crossed (Michael Joseph, March) follows an aspiring journalist who begins to tinker with her paper’s astrology section after learning that her crush consults his horoscope whenever he’s faced with making...
Bound together: Kate Richards on ‘Fusion’
Tuesday, 30 October 2018
Kate Richards’ Fusion (Hamish Hamilton, February 2019) tells the story of conjoined twins, their carer, and an injured stranger who is brought into their isolated bush home. Reviewer Jacqui Davies described...
What’s cooking?: Julie Gibbs shares her career journey
Tuesday, 30 October 2018
Trade publishing consultant Julie Gibbs shares her career journey. I was lucky enough to grow up in a bookish household in Adelaide, buying Enid Blyton books with pocket money and reading...
Gift of the Blab: An interview with Aaron Blabey
Tuesday, 30 October 2018
Aaron Blabey is the creator of the ‘Pig the Pug’ and ‘The Bad Guys’ series. Kelsey Oldham asks the author about his success. You’re known for your prolific output, which...
Sister act: The story of The Dorothy Butler Children’s Bookshop
Tuesday, 30 October 2018
Co-owner Mary Wadsworth tells the story of The Dorothy Butler Children’s Bookshop in Auckland, New Zealand. In 1965 Dorothy Butler established the bookshop that my sister Helen and I now...
Bookish backchat: Elias Grieg on ‘I Can’t Remember the Title but the Cover is Blue’
Thursday, 25 October 2018
Author, academic and bookseller Elias Grieg’s debut book I Can't Remember the Title but the Cover is Blue (A&U, December) is an ‘always amusing and often laugh-out-loud funny’ compendium detailing Grieg’s...
Podcast spotlight: Hope Book Club
Wednesday, 24 October 2018
Launched in 2018, the Hope Book Club is a podcast focusing on books that will 'enrich your life'. Co-hosts Katrina Roe and Natasha Moore discuss what they've been reading and...
Louise Cornege on the Publishers Publicity Circle
Wednesday, 24 October 2018
A networking group for UK publicists, the Publishers Publicity Circle (PPC), launched an Australian chapter this year. Allen & Unwin head of publicity Louise Cornege is the chair of PPC...
Making the deal: The state of rights sales in the UK
Wednesday, 24 October 2018
While the UK remains a tough market for Australian publishers to break into, UK indies are showing an interest in Australian voices, reports Catherine Moller. Several Australian independent publishers have had...
