Book buyer spotlight: Dymocks’ Imogen Neely
Wednesday, 5 June 2019
Imogen Neely is the merchandise manager for Dymocks. She spoke to Books+Publishing for our ‘book buyer spotlight’ series. How long have you been in the role and what did you do...
The freelance life
Thursday, 30 May 2019
Is freelancing as an editor all that it is purported to be? Marisa Wikramanayake investigates pay and working conditions for freelance editors. It is a common dream to work as...
Sharing the truth: Stephanie Wood on ‘Fake’
Thursday, 30 May 2019
Fake (Vintage, July) is journalist Stephanie Wood’s account of her relationship with a man who turned out to be not who he said he was, interweaved with expert opinion and...
Book buyer spotlight: Gleebooks’ Morgan Smith
Wednesday, 29 May 2019
Morgan Smith has worked for Sydney’s Gleebooks for close to 25 years, and is currently the manager and book buyer at Gleebooks’ Dulwich Hill store. She spoke to Books+Publishing for our...
The ‘new Australian sensibility’: Literary agent Barbara J Zitwer on discovering Australian writers
Friday, 24 May 2019
New York-based literary agent Barbara J Zitwer represents writers including Man Booker International Prize-winner Han Kang, and recently sold rights on behalf of her Australian authors Jamie Marina Lau and...
Georgia Spanos on ‘When the Tomatoes Are Ready’
Wednesday, 22 May 2019
Georgia Spanos is a Melbourne-based writer, editor and 'advocate for all things food and culture'. When she’s not the digital editor at Halliday magazine, she is working on her second...
Book buyer spotlight: Harry Hartog and Berkelouw Books’ Maxine Ryan
Wednesday, 22 May 2019
Maxine Ryan has been working as a book buyer for Harry Hartog and Berkelouw Books for over 20 years. She spoke to Books+Publishing for our ‘book buyer spotlight’ series. How long...
Karys McEwen: Age advice
Tuesday, 21 May 2019
Secondary school librarian Karys McEwen explains why, when it comes to teen readers, age may not be the best indicator of whether a book is ‘suitable’. A student approached my library...
Galleys and galleries: The art and design book market
Wednesday, 15 May 2019
Australian art gallery attendance is at an all-time high and BookScan data suggests a correlation between gallery attendance and the sales of illustrated art and design books. Kelsey Oldham explores the...
Book buyer spotlight: WHSmith’s Ruth Ellis
Wednesday, 15 May 2019
Ruth Ellis worked for Dymocks and Berkelouw before joining WHSmith as a buyer two years ago. She spoke to Books+Publishing for our ‘book buyer spotlight’ series. How long have you been...
Book buyer spotlight: Readings’ Angela Crocombe
Wednesday, 8 May 2019
Angela Crocombe has worked as an author, publicist, sales rep and in foreign rights before joining Readings as its children’s book buyer. She spoke to Books+Publishing for our ‘book buyer...
Class act: Facilitating in-school author visits
Wednesday, 8 May 2019
An inspiring in-school appearance from an author is often the key to getting kids interested in reading. Andrea Hanke spoke to four speakers’ agencies about facilitating these important interactions. For Victoria-based...
Book buyer spotlight: Big W’s Meredith Drake
Wednesday, 1 May 2019
Meredith Drake has been a book buyer at Big W for over 10 years, and was once described by the Australian as ‘the most influential figure on the local book...
Book buyer spotlight: Collins Booksellers’ Diana Johnston
Wednesday, 24 April 2019
Collins Booksellers national buying manager Diana Johnston ran the Collins Bairnsdale store in regional Victoria for over 15 years before becoming a buyer in the company’s head office. She spoke...
Jane Curry: What makes a good author?
Thursday, 18 April 2019
In her first opinion column of the year, Ventura Press founder Jane Curry shares her thoughts on the traits that make a successful author. Writing is a solitary and fiercely...
Middle-grade in demand at Bologna; kindness and environmental themes among new trends
Wednesday, 17 April 2019
Australian publishers have reported an ‘upbeat’ Bologna Children’s Book Fair (1-4 April), with middle-grade books continuing to dominate the market, and kindness and environmental themes emerging as new trends. Books...
A love letter to the Centre for Youth Literature: Zhana Maticevski-Shumack on the closure of CYL
Wednesday, 17 April 2019
State Library Victoria's controversial announcement in early March that it was 'retiring' the Centre for Youth Literature (CYL) was met with backlash from across the literary community. In this opinion...
Meet the ABIA Rising Stars 2019: Sam Cooney
Wednesday, 17 April 2019
The Australian Book Industry Awards’ (ABIA) Rising Star of the Year is awarded to an emerging talent in Australian publishing who has spent less than 10 years in the industry....
Meet the ABIA Rising Stars 2019: Mark Campbell
Tuesday, 16 April 2019
The Australian Book Industry Awards’ (ABIA) Rising Star of the Year is awarded to an emerging talent in Australian publishing who has spent less than 10 years in the industry....
Meet the ABIA Rising Stars 2019: Catriona Murdie
Monday, 15 April 2019
The Australian Book Industry Awards’ (ABIA) Rising Star of the Year is awarded to an emerging talent in Australian publishing who has spent less than 10 years in the industry....
Meet the ABIA Rising Stars 2019: Ella Chapman
Friday, 12 April 2019
The Australian Book Industry Awards’ (ABIA) Rising Star of the Year is awarded to an emerging talent in Australian publishing who has spent less than 10 years in the industry. In this...
Meet the ABIA Rising Stars 2019: Alice Wood
Thursday, 11 April 2019
The Australian Book Industry Awards’ (ABIA) Rising Star of the Year is awarded to an emerging talent in Australian publishing who has spent less than 10 years in the industry....
The prize is right: Authors on winning an unpublished manuscript prize
Wednesday, 10 April 2019
How does winning an unpublished manuscript prize affect the careers of debut authors? Jackie Tang talks to two recent winners. It’s difficult to ignore the sheer number of unpublished manuscript...
LBF ‘as busy as ever’; Australians report interest in ‘uplifting nonfiction’ and self-help for kids
Wednesday, 27 March 2019
Australian publishers attending the 2019 London Book Fair (LBF) reported an interest in ‘uplifting or inspiring nonfiction’ and ‘self-development, self-esteem, resilience and mental health books for children and adolescents’, among...
The author next door: Stocking self-published books
Tuesday, 19 March 2019
Kelsey Oldham talks to booksellers about stocking self-published books. Most Australian bookshops acknowledge that stocking self-published books is important—in theory. In practice, however, store policies are often opaque or ad-hoc,...
University presses in Australia: ‘remarkable, robust and flourishing’
Tuesday, 19 March 2019
After disruptions at Melbourne University Publishing (MUP) and a glut of mainstream media coverage about the state of scholarly publishing in Australia, Sarah Farquharson spoke to the country’s other university...
Tales of the unexpected: Events at Riverbend Books
Tuesday, 19 March 2019
Events manager Vicky Tosh shares the joys and hiccups of managing author events at Brisbane’s Riverbend Books. Before I was hired at Riverbend Books, I had never worked in a...
Waging battles: Author income in Australia
Tuesday, 19 March 2019
The book industry begins with authors. They toil for hours to release their ideas on the page, but each day they also struggle with making ends meet. Elizabeth Flux looks...
The ASA: The story so far
Tuesday, 19 March 2019
The Australian Society of Authors is the professional association for Australiaʼs authors and illustrators. CEO Juliet Rogers shares some history and future plans of the organisation. Once upon a time,...
Unlikely heroes: R W R McDonald on ‘The Nancys’
Tuesday, 19 March 2019
R W R McDonald’s debut novel The Nancys (A&U in June) was highly commended in the 2017 Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards unpublished manuscript prize. Reviewer Fiona Hardy spoke to the author...
