Pan Mac cuts ties with Evans, PMLA shortlists announced

Pan Macmillan is finalising its contractual relationship with Pete Evans, following a social media post by the cookbook author that included a symbol appropriated by Nazis and recognised as a hate symbol by the Anti-Defamation League.

Meanwhile, a team of publishing professionals have created the Australian First Nations and People of Colour in Publishing Network, and a new online bookstore specialising in BIPOC books has launched. Another new initiative launched recently is Leaf Mag, an online publication that aims to demystify the book industry. In other news, the cover of Anita Heiss’s forthcoming novel will feature the title in Wiradjuri, and a number of authors and industry researchers appeared at the parliamentary inquiry into arts funding.

In awards this week, the shortlists for this year’s Prime Minister’s Literary Awards were announced, as was the winner of the Nib Literary Award, the Dymocks Book of the Year shortlist, and the recipients of Next Chapter 2020 and the UQP Writing Mentorship.

In the UK, book sales were down 11% for the first half of the year, as retailer WHSmith posted a £69 million loss. In other international news, the winners of the Goldsmiths Prize and Canada’s Giller Prize were both announced.

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Category: This week’s news