Local authors grow in popularity at libraries, latest awards news and more

The annual Civica Libraries Index—produced in partnership with ALIA—has revealed the growing popularity of Australian authors among library borrowers, as well as a ‘huge spike’ in ebook and audiobook borrowing, in the year leading up to March.

The Brisbane, Canberra and Melbourne writers festivals are among the latest recipients of Copyright Agency emergency funding, as are Perth’s Centre for Stories, Sydney’s WestWords and TasWriters.

This week the winners of this year’s Text Prize and the Chief Minister’s NT Book Awards were announced. The shortlists were revealed for the Environment Award for Children’s Literature, as were the longlists for the Booksellers’ Choice 2020 Book of the Year Awards.

Overseas, Bloomsbury’s global revenue and profits were both up in 2019, however revenue was down 9% in the Australasia region. In the UK, independent publishers have spoken of their ‘huge relief’ after receiving funding from Arts Council England’s £160m emergency coronavirus package, as UK publishers prepare for a crowded autumn release schedule. In the US, the Romance Writers of America will introduce a new award—the Vivian—to replace its annual RITA awards, following the resignation of its president and board of directors earlier this year in response to accusations of racism at the organisation.

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Category: This week’s news