Growing pains: Karen Foxlee on ‘Lenny’s Book of Everything’
Thursday, 30 August 2018
Karen Foxlee’s middle-grade novel Lenny’s Book of Everything (A&U) is ‘bittersweet tale about heartbreak and healing’ with ‘a sense of whimsy that never feels forced’. Reviewer Karys McEwen spoke to the author. Lenny’s brother...
Finding home: Fiona Wright on ‘The World Was Whole’
Wednesday, 29 August 2018
With her second essay collection The World Was Whole, Fiona Wright ‘continues to set the standard for the essay form in Australia’, writes reviewer Jo Case. She spoke to the author....
Getting the picture: Elizabeth Flux on the local comics industry
Wednesday, 29 August 2018
As librarians and booksellers report greater interest in graphic novels for children and teenagers, Elizabeth Flux explores the state of the local comics industry. When comics store All Star Comics opened...
The secret diary of Shaun Bythell
Wednesday, 22 August 2018
Shaun Bythell owns Scotland’s largest second-hand bookstore The Bookshop, Wigtown and is the author of Diary of a Bookseller (Profile). He will deliver a keynote address at this year’s Booksellers...
Book-to-screen adaptations pitched at 2018 Books at MIFF
Friday, 3 August 2018
The 12th annual Books at MIFF (BaM) event, run by Melbourne International Film Festival’s 37º South Market, was held at Melbourne’s Forum Theatre on 2 August. Representatives from publishing and...
Top cat: Elliot Perlman on ‘The Adventures of Catvinkle’
Thursday, 2 August 2018
Elliot Perlman’s The Adventures of Catvinkle is ‘a charming and whimsical tale’ writes reviewer Hannah Cartmel. The book follows a friendship between a pampered Amsterdam cat named Catvinkle and a...
Demons and delusions: Shirley Barrett on ‘The Bus on Thursday’
Thursday, 26 July 2018
Screenwriter and director Shirley Barrett’s second novel The Bus on Thursday (A&U, October) is a ‘psychological conundrum’ that explores ‘the dark undercurrents of rural Australia, isolation and unfulfilled desires’. Set...
Podcast spotlight: Quickie
Wednesday, 18 July 2018
With its first episode debuting in 2017, Quickie has been described by founder and host Nevena Spirovska as a 'feminist podcast that shoots straight from the lip'. Each episode is recorded...
Podcast spotlight: The Unbearable Lightness of Being Hungry
Wednesday, 11 July 2018
Established in 2012, The Unbearable Lightness of Being Hungry is a Sydney-based podcast founded and hosted by Lee Tran Lam. In each episode she talks to chefs, cookbook authors, critics, bar...
Reading the audience: the LoveOzYA readership survey
Thursday, 5 July 2018
In 2017, the LoveOzYA committee conducted a survey into the reading habits of the Australian YA community. Committee chair Stacey Malacari reports on the survey’s findings. The LoveOzYA movement was...
Reaching out: Ambelin and Ezekiel Kwaymullina on ‘Catching Teller Crow’
Thursday, 5 July 2018
Ambelin and Ezekiel Kwaymullina’s Catching Teller Crow (A&U, September) is a 'distinctly Australian hybrid YA novel that blends thriller, crime and ghost story elements', writes reviewer Karen Wyld. Told in two...
Podcast spotlight: Coffee Pod|cast
Wednesday, 4 July 2018
Coffee Pod|cast was established this year by Australian indie press Spineless Wonders, which publishes quality short stories, microliterature and novellas in print, digital and audio. The ethos of Spineless Wonders...
Shelf talk: Category round-ups of forthcoming titles by those in the know …
Tuesday, 3 July 2018
It’s a wonderful life The cold season is upon us, so it’s a good time to snuggle up in bed with a fascinating memoir. Insurance worker Wil Patterson finds a...
Book bites: A taste of books to come
Tuesday, 3 July 2018
Picture this With Father’s Day coming up, several publishers are releasing dad-themed picture books. My Old Man He Played Rugby (Peter Millett, illus by Jenny Cooper, Scholastic, August) is for...
A full program: Jennifer Jackson shares her bookseller’s diary
Tuesday, 3 July 2018
Paper Bird Children’s Books & Arts is a bookshop, arts centre and culture hub with a wide scope. Director Jennifer Jackson discusses its evolution. Paper Bird Children’s Books & Arts...
Join the club: What makes a good book club program work?
Tuesday, 3 July 2018
Rising numbers of book clubs at bookstores and libraries show there is still ‘a voracious appetite for concentrated group discussion’. Elizabeth Flux investigates what makes a good club work. In...
Between the lines: Observations on the trade by Gladys Bembo
Tuesday, 3 July 2018
What on earth is going on with the Randy Penguins? By the time you read this, things might be clearer but at the time of writing, star publisher Ben Ball...
Editor’s picks: The familiar and the new
Tuesday, 3 July 2018
Jackie Tang’s winter reading list contains titles that take a new approach to the familiar. It was difficult limiting this column to just winter releases; every day there’s news about...
The winning ticket: The literary prize sales effect
Tuesday, 3 July 2018
Nielsen Book associate director Julie Winters talks to Jackie Tang about the sales effect of Australia’s biggest literary prizes. How much does a literary award affect a book’s sales? It’s...
Your store: a round-up of retailing news, tips and titbits
Tuesday, 3 July 2018
Bespoke book displays Brisbane’s Avid Reader won the annual Best Business Idea Award at the Leading Edge Books conference in March for the second year in a row. This year’s...
Leading the way: Lee Walker on her career journey
Tuesday, 3 July 2018
Oxford University Press director of School Publishing Lee Walker reflects on 26 years in the publishing industry and what she hopes to achieve as the newly appointed president of the...
For the love of poetry: Looking beyond Instapoetry
Tuesday, 3 July 2018
Angela Elizabeth finds out how local publishers are committing to poetry beyond the ‘Instapoetry’ trend. ‘Poetry is the medium of the moment,’ proclaimed UK National Poetry Day executive director Susannah...
Cover new ground: Rejacketing a children’s book series
Tuesday, 3 July 2018
Nathania Gilson asks publishers and booksellers about the art of rejacketing a children’s book series. When Tristan Bancks, co-creator and author of the Tom Weekly junior-fiction series, was presented with...
Back to the drawing board: Publishing local board books
Tuesday, 3 July 2018
Danielle Binks explores the rising demand for homegrown board books. In her Ten Commandments for reading aloud with children, author Mem Fox’s number-one rule is: ‘Spend at least ten wildly...
The bigger picture: Katherine Collette on ‘The Helpline’
Thursday, 28 June 2018
Katherine Collette’s debut novel The Helpline (Text, September) is a witty and heartfelt story about an insurance probability outcomes mathematician who ends up answering a seniors’ helpline for the local...
Finding your centre: Megan Daley on her career journey
Wednesday, 27 June 2018
‘A school library is at the very centre of creative school communities,’ writes teacher-librarian and book blogger Megan Daley. She shares her career journey. I studied early childhood teaching, always...
Talking less and listening more: Martin Hughes on creating safer workplaces
Wednesday, 27 June 2018
Affirm Press publisher Martin Hughes (with senior editor Ruby Ashby-Orr) explores what it means to shape a better culture and create safer workplaces. At the recent Leading Edge Books conference...
Podcast spotlight: Spun Stories
Wednesday, 27 June 2018
Established in 2015, Spun: True Stories Told in the Territory evolved from a quarterly live storytelling event in Darwin that showcases ‘extraordinary stories by ordinary people’. Hosted and produced by...
Podcast spotlight: Dymocks Podcast
Wednesday, 20 June 2018
Established in 2012, the Dymocks Podcast includes author interviews and conversations about the world of books and publishing. Released on a weekly basis, and with an extra condensed video version...
The ‘B+P’ guide to the Miles Franklin 2018 shortlist
Wednesday, 20 June 2018
Six titles are vying for this year’s Miles Franklin Literary Award. Two of these are from multinational publishers (one each from HarperCollins and Pan Macmillan), three are from small, independent...
