Redundancies at Booktopia as CEO resigns; Coronel to depart as SPN looks to expand board; full BookUp program released
Some significant role changes in the book industry this week, as Booktopia CEO David Nenke resigns and the bookseller announces it is considering at least 50 roles for redundancy; meanwhile, at the Small Press Network, general manager Tim Coronel finished in the role on 31 May, as the organisation confirmed it would remain on hiatus for the next few months, but wished to expand its board and look to new activities following support from members and stakeholders.
Also this week, the Australian Publishers Association released the full program for this year’s BookUp conference; and Gleebooks and Readings have shared the bestselling books at Sydney Writers’ Festival and Melbourne Writers Festival, respectively.
In awards news, Aotearoa New Zealand writer Pip Robertson has won the Pacific category of the 2024 Commonwealth Short Story Prize and goes into the running for the overall prize, while the 2024 YABBA (Young Australians Best Book Awards) shortlists have also been announced.
Meanwhile, in the UK, Bloomsbury Publishing acquired the academic publishing business of US publisher Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group (RLPG); Yepoka Yeebo won the 2024 Jhalak Prize for Anansi’s Gold: The man who swindled the world (Bloomsbury), while Hiba Noor Khan won the Jhalak Children’s & Young Adult Prize for Safiyyah’s War (Andersen Press); audiobook sales are up 9% in the US, amid concerns about author payments; and a recent report has found a 4.4% drop in the number of books being read by children.
In acquisitions news this week, NewSouth acquired a new biography of Australian novelist Elizabeth Harrower by Susan Wyndham; Affirm acquired Pip Fioretti’s second outback noir novel, Skull River, a follow-up to Bone Lands; and A&U acquired the debut novel Love on the Air by radio presenter and podcaster Ash London.
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Category: This week’s news
