Inside the Australian and New Zealand book industry

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On tour: Hanya Yanagihara

Hanya Yanagihara (c) Jenny Westerhoff Friday, 29 April 2016
What would you put on a shelf-talker for your latest book? A fairytale about male romance set in someplace that feels a lot like New York City in a time...

On tour: Herman Koch

Herman Koch Friday, 29 April 2016
Dutch writer Herman Koch is the author of the satirical novel The Dinner (Text). His latest book Dear Mr M (Text) will be released in August. He is travelling to...

The polyphonic read: Rajith Savanadasa on ‘Ruins’ 

Rajith Savandasa photo credit Craig Peihopa Friday, 29 April 2016
Told from the perspectives of five characters, Rajith Savanadasa’s Ruins is ‘a riveting debut that examines the intricacies of class, racial and generational divides in contemporary Sri Lanka’, writes reviewer...

Small publisher spotlight: Ford Street Publishing 

Thursday, 28 April 2016
Melbourne-based Ford Street Publishing specialises in children’s and YA books, and released its first titles in 2007. Founder Paul Collins spoke to Books+Publishing for our ‘small publisher spotlight’ series: Describe...

Small publisher spotlight: Vine Leaves Press

Wednesday, 20 April 2016
Established in 2014, Melbourne-based Vine Leaves Press specialises in book-length vignette, poetry and short-story collections, among other things. Co-founder Jessica Bell spoke to Books+Publishing for our ‘small publisher spotlight’ series:...

Small publisher spotlight: Rockpool Publishing

Wednesday, 13 April 2016
Sydney-based Rockpool Publishing was established in 2006 and specialises in health, recreation and family titles. Publishing director Lisa Hanrahan spoke to Books+Publishing for our ‘small publisher spotlight’ series: Describe your...

On tour: Liz Pichon

Liz Pichon author photo Wednesday, 6 April 2016
UK writer and illustrator Liz Pichon is the author of the ‘Tom Gates’ books for young readers, including the forthcoming Super Good Skills (Almost) (Scholastic, June). Pichon will visit the...

Small publisher spotlight: Berbay Publishing

Wednesday, 6 April 2016
Melbourne-based children’s publisher Berbay was established in 2009 by Alexandra Yatomi-Clarke. She spoke to Books+Publishing for our ‘small publisher spotlight’ series: Describe your company in under 50 words. Berbay is...

Fiction that slays: Julie Koh on ‘Portable Curiosities’

author Julie Koh (photo credit Hugh Stewart) Friday, 1 April 2016
Julie Koh’s debut short story collection Portable Curiosities (UQP, June) ‘takes a magnifying glass to Australia’s greatest fallacies’, writes reviewer Sonia Nair. She spoke to the author. How does the...

Small publisher spotlight: FableCroft Publishing

Thursday, 31 March 2016
ACT-based speculative fiction publisher FableCroft was launched in 2010 by editor Tehani Wessely. She spoke to Books+Publishing for our ‘small publisher spotlight’ series: Describe your company in under 50 words....

Small publisher spotlight: MidnightSun Publishing

Tuesday, 22 March 2016
‘Small publisher spotlight’ is a new series from Books+Publishing. Each week we will interview the publisher of a small press to find out what makes them tick, what successes they’ve...

Flying high: Jeannie Baker on ‘Circle’ 

Jeannie Baker Monday, 21 March 2016
In her new picture book Circle, Jeannie Baker uses her distinctive mixed-media illustrations to depict the migration of the bar-tailed godwits. Reviewer Margaret Hamilton describes it as a ‘masterpiece’. She...

Book bites: Get smart 

Monday, 21 March 2016
The Weird and Wonderful World of Words (Wild Dog Books, April) is an excellent springboard for language classes. Its mix of facts, illustrations and creative design make this an appealing...

Book bites: International appeal 

Monday, 21 March 2016
Berbay Publishing and Gecko Press specialise in finding and publishing some of the world’s best—and quirkiest—children’s books Down Under. King of the Castle (Aurora Ruá, illus by Guridi, Berbay, March),...

Book bites: Serial addiction 

Monday, 21 March 2016
The apartment-dwelling, mystery-solving Squishy Taylor made her junior-fiction debut in February. This new series for readers aged six and up—which is quickly gaining fans—continues in March and April with Squishy...

Book bites: Teen talk 

Monday, 21 March 2016
YA  fantasy fans have a lot of choose from in the coming months. Julius and the Soulcatcher (Tim Hehir, Text, June), book two in the ‘Watchmaker’ novels, returns to a...

Fertile ground: Jane Harper on ‘The Dry’ 

Jane Harper Monday, 21 March 2016
Jane Harper won the 2015 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for an Unpublished Manuscript for her first novel The Dry (Picador, June). She spoke to reviewer Myles McGuire. One of the most...

Book bites: In the picture 

Monday, 21 March 2016
Clarrie is a farmer who gets his words mixed up: ‘The sun is up and I have a lot to shoe. No. I have a lot to poo.’ You can...

Editor’s picks: Andrea Hanke’s autumn reading list 

Editors Picks Monday, 21 March 2016
Curtis Sittenfeld and Anne Tyler update Austen and Shakespeare in Andrea Hanke’s autumn reading list. Modern classics Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld (HarperCollins, May) is a modern retelling of Jane Austen’s...

Your store: Shelf support 

Paper Bird Fremantle Monday, 21 March 2016
If you look closely at the shelves of several WA bookstores you might notice some distinctive new signage. Over the past few months Fremantle Press has been fitting out local...

Smarten up: Professional development in publishing 

Monday, 21 March 2016
Professional development opportunities are a ‘mixed bag’ in the publishing industry, but there are opportunities if you know where to look, writes Portia Lindsay. Professional development in the publishing industry...

Your store: Non-book item of the month 

Monday, 21 March 2016
While book-lovers are unlikely to be lost for conversation topics, these TableTopics conversation cards could liven up a retro dinner party or an awkward internet date. Each TableTopics cube has...

Shelf talk: Quirky tales 

Monday, 21 March 2016
To talk about upcoming left-of-centre titles that I’m excited about and not start with Justin Cronin’s The City of Mirrors (Orion, June) would be ridiculous and punishable by … something...

Shelf talk: Women’s fiction 

Monday, 21 March 2016
Booksellers looking to shore up their women’s fiction lists for Mother’s Day are spoilt for choice. Katie Rowney brings a fresh, contemporary voice to rural fiction with Front Page News...

Shelf talk: True to life 

Monday, 21 March 2016
When investigative journalist Luke Williams started researching the world of crystal meth, he became addicted to the drug. Williams recounts the experience in The Ice Age (Scribe, May), combining reportage...

Shelf talk: Tasty titles 

Monday, 21 March 2016
Pete Evans and Sally Obermeder both have new cookbooks out in April. Evan’s One Pot Favourites (Plum) features paleo recipes that can be made in one pot or wok, while...