UK awards organisation builds digital hub for emerging writers
31 August 2018
In the UK, the Young Writer of the Year Award (YWYA) has launched a free online hub for emerging and aspiring writers, reports the Bookseller. YWYA is hosting free content on...
Amazon to merge CreateSpace and KDP
31 August 2018
Amazon has announced that its print-on-demand platforms CreateSpace and Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) will merge, reports the Digital Reader. The announcement follows staff layoffs at CreateSpace in March and the closure of...
Shut down Oceanofpdf piracy website returns
31 August 2018
US-hosted ebook piracy website Oceanofpdf, which was recently shut down, has returned under a .net domain, reports the Bookseller. The Bookseller reported on 22 August that the website was offering free copies of books by...
Dennis Jones & Associates enters liquidation; industry groups respond
31 August 2018
Melbourne-based book distributor Dennis Jones & Associates has ceased trading and has entered voluntary liquidation, with 1300 creditors, including a secured creditor, and approximately 500 debtors involved, reports Books+Publishing. Dennis...
Upcoming events
31 August 2018
September BAD: Sydney Crime Writers Festival, (1-2 Sept) Sydney, NSW Indigenous Literacy Day, (5 Sept) nationwide Heroines Festival, (5-8 Sept) Thirroul and district, NSW Write Around the Murray, (5-9 Sept)...
Small Press Network announces staff changes
30 July 2018
The Small Press Network (SPN) has announced the appointment of Tim Coronel as general manager. Coronel, who was previously communications manager for SPN, takes over from Matthia Dempsey, who has...
US sales declined slightly in 2017; 5.4% rise in adult nonfiction sales
30 July 2018
US publishers’ total industry sales fell slightly in 2017 to US$26.23 billion (A$35.5bn), down from US$26.27 billion (A$35.6bn) in 2016, according to results released by the Association of American Publishers...
Upcoming events
30 July 2018
July ALIA/LIANZA joint 2018 Conference, (30 July–2 Aug) Gold Coast, Qld. Indie Publishing Forum, (31 July) Melbourne, Vic. August Indie Publishing Forum, (1 Aug) Brisbane, Qld. Red Dirt Poetry Festival,...
ASA seeks author feedback for campaign to extend PLR/ELR to digital books
30 July 2018
The Australian Society of Authors (ASA) has appealed to authors, including self-published authors, for information to help it campaign the government to extend the current Public and Educational Lending Rights...
Bookings open for inaugural Indie Publishing Forums
27 July 2018
Bookings are now open for the inaugural Indie Publishing Forums, a series of events aimed at small publishers, self-publishers, aspiring writers, established authors, students of publishing and creative writing, and those...
Amazon criticised for removing online book reviews from website
29 June 2018
Amazon has drawn criticism from authors, bloggers and publishers for removing reviews from its online book listings, reports the Bookseller. According to reports, some Amazon customers have had all their reviews removed or...
Upcoming events
29 June 2018
June Kids and YA Festival, (30 June) Sydney, NSW July Children’s and Young Adult Writers and Illustrators (CYA) Conference, (7 July) Brisbane, QLD Telling Tales in Balingup, (7-8 July) Balingup,...
Amazon launches Prime in Australia
27 June 2018
Amazon has launched its subscription service Prime on the company’s Australian website, offering users free delivery and subscription access to ebooks, videos and games. The service will include free ‘expedited...
Upcoming events
25 May 2018
May NT Writers Festival, (24-27 May) Darwin, NT. Big Sky Readers and Writers Festival, (25-27 May) Geraldton, WA. Feminist Writers Festival, (25-27 May) Vic. Latrobe City Literary Festival, (25-27 May)...
EWF 2018 program launched
25 May 2018
The Emerging Writers’ Festival (EWF) has announced its 2018 program, which runs from 19-29 June in venues across Melbourne’s CBD and surrounding suburbs. Timmah Ball, Tony Birch and Neil Morris...
Self-publishers among 2018 RWA ‘Ruby’ award finalists and Ngaio Marsh 2018 longlist
25 May 2018
Five self-published books are among the finalists for the Romance Writers of Australia (RWA) Romantic Book of the Year Award, also known as ‘the Ruby’. Ruining Miss Wrotham by Emily Larkin...
Authors create #SelfPubIsHere campaign to amplify self-publisher voices
17 May 2018
A number of self-published Australian authors, including Dionne Lister, A B Patterson and Lisa Fleetwood have pledged their support for a campaign to have self-publishing recognised and included in Australian...
Subbed In Chapbook Prize expands in 2018
26 April 2018
Sydney-based literary organisation Subbed In is expanding its Chapbook Prize—previously open to NSW residents only—to writers across Australia. Launched last year, the Subbed In Chapbook Prize aims to support emerging...
Upcoming events
26 April 2018
April Unearthed Pemberton, (26 April – 6 May) Pemberton, WA. Supanova, (27-29 April) Gold Coast, Qld. Speculate: the Victorian speculative writers festival, (28 April) Melbourne, Vic. Sydney Writers Festival, (30...
2018 Australian/Vogel Literary Award winner announced; Entries open for 2019 Award
26 April 2018
Emily O’Grady’s The Yellow House, a story about ‘the legacies of violence and the possibilities of redemption’, set in semi-rural Queensland, has won the 2018 Australian/Vogel's Literary Award. The winner was...
UK audiobook sales double over past five years; men drive growth
24 April 2018
Audiobook sales in the UK have doubled over the last five years, reports the Bookseller. While book purchases across all formats in the UK last year fell by three percent compared to...
Upcoming events
23 March 2018
March Swancon, (29 March – 2 April) Perth, WA. Conclave 3, (30 March – 2 April), Auckland, NZ. April Editors NSW: Unreadability, (3 April), Sydney, NSW. Newcastle Writers Festival, (6-8...
Digital deposit service for publishers to be launched in 2019
23 March 2018
National edeposit (NED), an online service for the deposit, archiving, management, discovery and delivery of published electronic material across Australia, will be launched in early 2019. The service is a...
SWF 2018 program announced
23 March 2018
The program has been announced for this year’s Sydney Writers’ Festival (SWF), which runs from 30 April to 6 May. Sixty international guests and 400 Australian writers, academics and public...
Lending rights title claims closing soon
22 February 2018
Australian book publishers or creators—including self-publishers—can be compensated for the loss of income through the free multiple use of their work in Australian public and educational lending libraries through the...
Barnes & Noble announces large cuts to store positions
22 February 2018
US book retailer Barnes & Noble has announced large cuts to store positions as part of a ‘new labour model’ after reporting disappointing holiday sales results in early January. ‘The new...
Adult sales up, kids sales down in US
22 February 2018
In the US, estimates from the AAP’s StatShot program show that sales of adult trade books increased slightly (0.4%) in the first nine months of 2017 compared to the same...
Sue Liu on ‘Accidental Aid Worker’
22 February 2018
Author and communications professional Sue Liu self-published her travel memoir in 2015. She has since released two new editions of her book, and has run self-publishing workshops through the State...
Upcoming events
22 February 2018
February Perth Writers Week, (19-25 February) Perth, WA. Woollahra Poets’ Picnic, (27 February) Sydney, NSW. March Dunedoo Bush Poetry Festival, (1-4 March) Dunedoo, NSW. Adelaide Writers' Week, (3-8 March) Adelaide,...
Adelaide Writers’ Week 2018 program announced
22 February 2018
The full program for Adelaide Writers’ Week, which runs from 3-8 March, has been announced. This year’s festival is dedicated to children’s author Mem Fox, who will be in conversation...
