New specialist bookstore opens in Melbourne
A new bookstore specialising in science-fiction, fantasy and horror books, has opened in Melbourne. Notions Unlimited Bookshop is located in Chelsea in Melbourne’s South East. Store owner Chuck McKenzie told...
NSW bookshop for sale
Reader’s Companion bookstore in Armidale, NSW, is currently for sale. Owner Bill Duhigg, who has operated the store with his wife since it was established in 1991, told Bookseller+Publisher that...
SA legislation to change public holidays trading passes lower house of parliament
Legislation introduced by the South Australian Government to change public holiday trading in the state has passed through the lower house of the South Australian parliament. If passed through the...
Bloomsbury announces Harry Potter bookshop competition
Bloomsbury has announced it will run a special competition to drive Harry Potter fans to physical bookstores as it celebrates the 15th anniversary of the publication of the first book...
Specialist Brisbane bookshop for sale
Specialist Brisbane bookshop The Language People is currently for sale. The store, which specialises in language-learning and adult literacy and numeracy resources, including English-as-a-second-language materials, is located in Brisbane's West...
Dirt Cheap Books email announces Melbourne city, Mentone stores will close
An email from Dirt Cheap Books to its mailing list customers has announced the company is ‘closing down forever'. The email said the Dirt Cheap Books Melbourne city store would close...
WA Sunday trading legislation introduced into parliament
The Western Australian Government has introduced legislation in parliament which will allow 'general retail shops' across Perth's metropolitan area to trade on Sundays between 11am and 5pm. The changes will mean...
Bookseller appointed to national retail council; ABA delegation meets with Government, Opposition in Canberra
Peter Strong, owner of Smiths Alternative Bookshop in Canberra and executive director of the Council of Small Business of Australia (COSBOA), has been appointed as one of the foundation members of...
Sportswriter closes bricks-and-mortar store, moves purely online
Specialist sports bookshop Sportswriter closed as a bricks-and-mortar bookshop in December 2011 and is now operating as an exclusively online business. Owner Anne McAvaney told the Weekly Book Newsletter that...
Parsons Bookshop to close
Parsons Bookshop in Auckland, New Zealand, will close in April. Owner Helen Parsons, who owns the independent store with her husband Roger, told the Weekly Book Newsletter that the business...
Robinsons Bookshop to open second store in March
Melbourne bookstore Robinsons Bookshop will open a second store in the city's north next month. The new store will open in Greensborough Plaza on 1 March. Owner Susanne Horman, who...
In Brief
Fairfax publishes long-form journalism ebookFairfax Media has published its first long-form journalism ebook, Framed by Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) journalist Hamish McDonald, through Amazon, reports uBookish. SMH tablet editor Stephen...
Readings Port Melbourne to close
Readings has announced that its Port Melbourne store will close. Readings managing director Mark Rubbo said in a statement that Readings had been 'unable to come to an arrangement with...
New bookstores open; bookstores change names, locations
New bookstores have recently opened in New South Wales, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. Independent bookselling chain Unleash Books opened two new stores in Sydney at the...
Adyar Bookstore closing this month; hopes to reopen in new location
Alternative Sydney bookstore Adyar Bookshop will close in its current location at the end of this month.Store manager Warren Wickman told the Weekly Book Newsletter that the store, which is...
Ereaders stolen during break-in at Pages & Pages
Cash and 12 Cumulus ereaders were stolen from Pages & Pages Booksellers in Mosman, NSW on 1 January. Store manager, and president of the Australian Booksellers Association, Jon Page told...
Government to establish Retail Council in response to PC inquiry; taskforce to look at parcel processing
The federal government has announced that it will establish the Retail Council of Australia in response to the Productivity Commission's final report in its public inquiry into the Economic Structure...
Former A&R franchises in Bankstown, Merrylands rebrand; owners open third store
Two former Angus & Robertson (A&R) franchise stores in Sydney's south west are now operating as independent bookstores under the name Your Bookshop. The owners of the stores, located in...
Readings to open new specialist shop in 2012
Melbourne bookseller Readings will open a new store at the University of Melbourne's new neuroscience facility, the Melbourne Brain Centre, in early 2012. Readings managing director Mark Rubbo told the...
In Brief
Magabala Books honoured at regional community awardsIndigenous publisher Magabala Books was recently honoured at the 2011 Western Australian Regional and Community Achievement Awards. The publisher was presented with the Department...