Making connections: Cath Moore on ‘Metal Fish, Falling Snow’
Wednesday, 13 May 2020
Cath Moore's debut YA novel Metal Fish, Falling Snow (Text, July) is an 'astonishingly original, heartfelt and funny' exploration of self-acceptance, identity and belonging, says reviewer Jacqui Davies. She spoke to...
At your service: Nic Bottomley on creative bookselling
Wednesday, 13 May 2020
Nic Bottomley is president of the UK Booksellers Association (BA) and the owner of Bath bookshop Mr B’s Emporium. He was to be the keynote speaker at the Australian Booksellers...
Browsing online: how has book buying changed during the pandemic?
Monday, 11 May 2020
Isolation, lockdown and the closure of physical bookstores have resulted in a massive spike in online retail. Books+Publishing investigates what book buying looks like during Covid-19 and asks whether the...
Under the covers: Tegan Bennett Daylight on ‘The Details’
Wednesday, 6 May 2020
Tegan Bennett Daylight's new collection of essays The Details: On love, death and reading (Scribner, July) explores her own memories and experiences through the lens of her life in reading and...
US Independent booksellers rally together via Bookshop.org
Wednesday, 6 May 2020
Bookshop.org has raised more than US$1.2 million (A$1.86m) for independent bookstores in the US. Could a similar model work here? Jinghua Qian reports. The book world has watched the rise...
Will Covid-19 permanently change the book industry?
Wednesday, 29 April 2020
As booksellers and publishers innovate their businesses in response to the Covid-19 lockdown, Books+Publishing's columnist Veronica Sullivan looks at which of their measures are only temporary, and which may be...
‘It’s been quite amazing to see the shift’: How Farrells fast-tracked its online store during Covid-19
Wednesday, 22 April 2020
After more than 40 years in the business, Farrells on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula launched their online store last week, fast-tracking a three-month process into three weeks to meet customer demand...
Bookselling in the time of Covid-19
Thursday, 16 April 2020
In late 2019 Readings marketing and events coordinator Ellen Cregan was selected as one of four booksellers to participate in the Melbourne City of Literature’s Bookseller in Residence program. Little...
European markets and Covid-19: Consumers brace for quarantine with ebooks
Wednesday, 8 April 2020
European members of PubMagNet—a network of publishing and bookselling trade publications from across the globe—have shared with Books+Publishing summaries of how their book markets are faring, and how each country's...
In our nature: Robbie Arnott on ‘The Rain Heron’
Wednesday, 1 April 2020
The Rain Heron (Text, June), Robbie Arnott's follow-up to his 2018 debut Flames, blurs the line between reality and myth as its isolated protagonist is drawn to a soldier on...
Ten rules for successful remote working
Wednesday, 1 April 2020
Pantera Press CEO Alison Green has extensive experience in working from home. Here, she shares her 10 rules for WFH success in a time of social distancing, explaining that ‘it's...
Literary awards go digital
Wednesday, 25 March 2020
Following the federal and state governments’ bans on mass gatherings in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, organisers of literary awards are turning to live-streaming their ceremonies to replace their scheduled...
CYL may be gone but YA can still thrive through grassroots advocacy
Wednesday, 25 March 2020
In her first op-ed as Junior columnist for 2020, Adele Walsh investigates the vacuum left by the shuttering of the Centre for Youth Literature last year, and what can be...
Australian bookshops respond to Covid-19
Wednesday, 18 March 2020
Australian booksellers, like many retailers, are facing a big challenge right now. At this stage some shops have moved to online only, but many stores remain open and are trying...
Feeling seen: Kay Kerr on ‘Please Don’t Hug Me’
Thursday, 5 March 2020
Kay Kerr's YA novel Please Don't Hug Me (Text, May) follows 17-year-old Erin as she relays life as a teenager with autism in letters to her brother. Reviewer Charlotte Guest...
‘Knowing your worth’: The UK publication highlighting female leadership in publishing
Wednesday, 4 March 2020
The FLIP is a monthly newsletter that publishes interviews with women who are leading the way in the UK book industry. Andrea Hanke spoke with co-founder Ella Horne about the...
The elephant in the room: Chris Flynn on ‘Mammoth’
Friday, 28 February 2020
Chris Flynn’s third novel Mammoth (UQP, May) handles an ambitious conceit and makes it work, according to reviewer Brad Jefferies. Narrated by the fossil of a 13,000-year-old mammoth, the novel...
The bookseller’s dilemma: What bookstores won’t stock
Wednesday, 26 February 2020
As conversations proliferate about cultural appropriation in literature, debates about whether—and how—bookstores should stock controversial books have been renewed. In her first column for 2020, Books+Publishing's new columnist Veronica Sullivan...
Why are booksellers leaving Leading Edge?
Wednesday, 26 February 2020
A number of Australia’s most prominent independent booksellers are leaving Leading Edge Books in favour of a new buying group set up by the Australian Booksellers Association. Sarah Farquharson reports....
How did international book markets perform in 2019?
Wednesday, 19 February 2020
Representatives from trade publications in the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Sweden and China have shared insights with Books+Publishing on how their respective markets fared in 2019. Across the regions,...
Fullers Bookshop celebrates 100 years of Hobart bookselling
Wednesday, 12 February 2020
This year marks the 100-year anniversary of Fullers Bookshop in Hobart, which was opened by Bill Fuller, his wife Frances and Jim Boa on 16 February 1920. The shop was...
Making readers for life: Ursula Dubosarsky on her plans as Australian Children’s Laureate
Wednesday, 12 February 2020
Prolific children’s author Ursula Dubosarsky has been chosen as the Australian Children’s Laureate. She spoke with Sarah Farquharson about her plans for her two-year term as laureate. What are you...
‘Changes start small’: Behind the union push at PRH
Wednesday, 5 February 2020
Elena Gomez was part of a core team of editorial and publicity staff at Penguin Random House Australia (PRH) who initiated collective bargaining with their employer last year, resulting in...
Spheres of influence: Ronnie Scott on ‘The Adversary’
Monday, 3 February 2020
Ronnie Scott’s debut novel The Adversary (Hamish Hamilton) follows an unnamed protagonist as he navigates gay friendship and wrestles with self-doubt over the course of a hot Melbourne summer. Scott spoke...
‘Books that matter and books that sell’: Industry predictions for 2020
Thursday, 30 January 2020
A rise in books tackling climate change and sustainability, personal development and wellbeing titles, and ‘uplifting’ fiction and nonfiction are all predicted by senior figures from across the book trade. Books+Publishing...
Pre-Christmas bestsellers: children’s book sales not enough to counter weak adult fiction and nonfiction sales
Wednesday, 22 January 2020
Despite a Bluey-led boost to children’s book sales, the value of the Australian book market fell by over four percent, year-on-year, in the 10-week pre-Christmas period, with weaker adult fiction...
#AuthorsForFireys raises hundreds of thousands for bushfire relief
Wednesday, 15 January 2020
The #AuthorsForFireys campaign closed on the evening of Saturday 11 January, raising an estimated hundreds of thousands of dollars for bushfire relief across the nation, according to reports from the...
What we’ll be reading in 2020
Wednesday, 11 December 2019
Books+Publishing editors Sarah Farquharson and Kelsey Oldham share the books they're most looking forward to reading in 2020. Sarah Farquharson: Like many others, I was beside myself to learn that...
Book bites: Starting 2020 on the right note
Wednesday, 11 December 2019
Mischa Parkee, teacher and children’s specialist at Sydney’s Better Read Than Dead, shares her top children's picks for the new year. What better way to bring in the new year...
To market, to market: Jane Curry on marketing
Wednesday, 4 December 2019
Ventura Press publisher Jane Curry argues that despite the dominance of multinational publishers, there are still opportunities for small presses to flourish—and sell plenty of copies. This is my final...
