Malala Yousafzai launches #BooksNotBullets campaign
Nobel laureate and activist Malala Yousafzai, author of I Am Malala (Weidenfeld & Nicolson), has launched the #BooksNotBullets campaign on social media to pressure world leaders to invest in education...
NT Literary Awards 2015 finalists announced
The Northern Territory Library has announced the finalists for the Northern Territory (NT) Literary Awards.The 2015 finalists are:Short stories ‘Stranger in Paradise’ (Barbara Eather) ‘It’s a Privilege to Live in...
Davies wins Frank O’Connor Short Story Award
Welsh author Carys Davies has won the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award—the world’s richest prize for a short-story collection, reports the Guardian. Davies won the €25,000 (A$37,312) prize for...
‘Radar Gunner’ wins Chief Minister’s NT History Book Award
Dick Dakeyne’s self-published book Radar Gunner has won the 2015 Chief Minister’s Northern Territory History Book Award.Radar Gunner tells of Dakeyne’s experience as a member of the Royal Australian Air...
Quote of the week
‘We couldn’t believe the overwhelming feedback we had from Perth readers when we were closing. Even with the doors shut last week, the amount of people trying to get in...
Behind the clichés: Honey Brown on ‘Six Degrees’
Honey Brown’s short-story collection Six Degrees (Ventura Press, August) explores romance and sex in rural Australia, and is a departure from the author’s previous books in terms of genre and length....
International library news
American Library Association releases national policy agendaThe American Library Association (ALA) has released a national policy agenda for libraries to help library advocates ‘engage actively in policy conversations with a...
Craig Munro’s ‘Under Cover: Adventures in the Art of Editing’
Former University of Queensland (UQP) publishing director Craig Munro’s memoir is a nostalgic retelling of his long and distinguished career in Australian publishing, which coincided with a boom in the...
Ngaio Marsh Award 2015 shortlist announced
Five books have been shortlisted for the 2015 Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel by a New Zealand writer. The shortlisted titles are: Five Minutes Alone (Paul Cleave, Penguin...
Man Booker International Prize merges with ‘Independent’ Foreign Fiction Prize
The Man Booker International Prize has announced it will merge with the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize and move to an annual format, with the prize to be awarded to a...
New Zealand Book Awards announces prize changes
The New Zealand Book Awards will return in 2016 with a new structure, judging process and an annual NZ$50,000 (A$44,595) prize for fiction, with the winners to be announced at...
National Biography Award 2015 shortlist announced
The State Library of NSW has announced the shortlist for the 2015 National Biography Award for biographical writing and memoir.The shortlisted titles are: An Unsentimental Bloke: The Life and Work of...
Transworld partners with the ‘Sun’ for ‘Jack Reacher’ week
In the UK, Transworld has partnered with the Sun newspaper to promote Lee Child’s ‘Jack Reacher’ series, reports the Bookseller. The first Jack Reacher Week campaign will run in the...
Draft guidelines released for National Program for Excellence in the Arts; Arts Minister to approve all funding
The Ministry for the Arts has released the draft guidelines for the National Program for Excellence in the Arts, which indicates that all funding proposals will need to be approved...
Speech Pathology Australia book awards 2015 shortlists announced
The titles shortlisted for this year’s Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year Awards have been announced.The shortlisted titles in each category are:Three to five years Bridie’s Boots (Phil Cummings...
RiP Michael Zifcak
Michael Zifcak, former chairman of Collins Booksellers and Hill of Content Publishing, has died, aged 96.Zifcak was the chairman of Collins Booksellers and its publishing division Hill of Content, which he...
Robotham shortlisted for CWA Gold Dagger
Life or Death by Australian author Michael Robotham (Sphere) has been shortlisted for the 2015 Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) Gold Dagger award for best crime novel in the UK.Life or...
Fuller wins Desmond Elliott Prize
In the UK, Claire Fuller’s Our Endless Numbered Days (Penguin) has won the £10,000 (A$20,438) Desmond Elliott Prize for new fiction. Fuller’s debut novel was chosen from a shortlist that...
Scribd makes dramatic cuts to romance list
Scribd is dramatically reducing the number of romance and erotica titles offered through its subscription service in a move that is believed to prevent romance readers from cannibalising profits, reports...
Budding romance: Lili Wilkinson on ‘Green Valentine’
Lili Wilkinson’s latest YA novel Green Valentine (A&U) is a romantic comedy with an environmental twist, that explores ‘the cliché that popular girls are always mean girls’. Read her interview with reviewer Sarah...