Book Launch Invitation

Off the Shelf

When One of Your Favorites Does It Again

August 30, 2017
By ELIZABETH BREEDEN


There is always a moment of trepidation when an author you love writes a new book. This is true whether you’re clicking preorder online, standing in front of a display in a bookstore, or, like me, waiting for the email from the editor containing the freshly submitted final draft of a manuscript.
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The Roundup with PW

New York Publishers Offer Help to Hurricane Harvey Victims
Scholastic, Hachette, Simon & Schuster, Macmillan, and Penguin Random House are among the big New York houses who are offering their support—in the form of books and, in some cases, food and shelter—to those in flood-ravaged Southeast Texas. MORE »

Hillary Clinton to Do Speaking Tour to Promote New Book
Hillary Clinton will kick off a speaking tour on September 18 to promote her memoir 'What Happened.' Tickets to the speaking events will range from $50 to $3,000, with the latter offering, among other things, a face-to-face meeting with Clinton. MORE »

Book World Hopes for Fall Hit: As the book world’s most literary season approaches, the industry still awaits the year’s big literary publication.

Learning the Wrong Lessons from GRRM: George R.R. Martin has taken too long finishing his magnum opus. 'Game of Thrones,' in contrast, has moved too quickly on television.

Smelcer's PEN Award Nom Pulled: John Smelcer's young-adult novel 'Stealing Indians' has been withdrawn from the list of finalists for the PEN Center USA 2017 Literary Award.

The E-Book That Could Have Been: A video game called 'Device 6' illuminates the past, present, and alternate future of the book, and shows what the e-book could have done.

Reading Robert Lowell While Expecting: During pregnancy, writer Katie Schmid turned to the poetry of Robert Lowell to deal with the anxiety of the experience.

VIEW ALL »

Publishers Lunch

Today's Meal
After Bigger Than Expected Loss, Barnes & Noble Education Shares Sink to New Low
It's been a tough competition to see which branch of the divided Barnes & Noble can register the most disappointing performance, with Barnes & Noble Education taking the lead in reporting disappointing first quarter fiscal 2018 earnings. The consolidated net loss grew to $34.8 million, or 75 cents a share, compared to a loss of $27.9 million a year ago -- and against analysts' expectations of a loss of 55 cents a share. In early Wednesday trading, shares are down more than 15 percent as a result to a new all-time low of about $5.75 a share. That puts their market capitalization at about $265 million, over 60 percent below where the company stood when it was spunoff as a separate entity in July 2015.

Same-store sales fell 2.5 percent, "in line with expectations" and "primarily attributable to textbook sales, which were down 8.5 percent." Comp sales are"projected to decline in the low- to mid-single digit percentage point range year over year." First quarter sales of $355.7 million were up considerably, gaining $116.5 million, "primarily due to the MBS acquisition," and they opened 24 new physical stores during the period.

The retirement of ceo Max Roberts means they paid him $4.4 million in salary, bonus and benefits, plus a "one-time cash transition payment" of $500,000 -- with another transition payment of $300,000 to new ceo Mike Huseby.
Release

People, Etc.
Susan Wadsworth-Booth will join Kent State University Press as director starting September 11. Previously she was director of the Duquesne University Press in Pittsburgh.

Elina Vaysbeyn has been promoted to associate director of marketing for Dutton.

Concepción de León explains to readers the new Newsbook column she is writing for the NYT, providing "timely reading lists to help readers understand issues in the news." It is "part of a larger effort by the Books desk to offer more service-oriented content."

Storm Relief
Scholastic, which has several distribution centers in Texas (and all but the Houston branch are operating normally) announced "a company-wide response to support both the short-term and long-term efforts" in response to Hurricane Harvey. The company made a $25,000 contribution to the Red Cross, and intends to "make a sizable book donation" to help schools rebuild their libraries once the need is assessed.

Preview
In the context of a fall preview piece listing some of the big books on the way, the AP notes the year's lack of a "big literary publication." Scribner publisher Nan Graham notes, "We've been disappointed in sales, and other publishers have been disappointed. I think it's harder for new books to break through because people are reading the books that other people are reading. They're looking to talk to other people about something they have in common. And that drive seems more intense right now. Is that the Trump effect? Sure."

Knopf Doubleday executive director of publicity Paul Bogaards adds, "People are indeed distracted, and there's no sign of it letting up. Many are weary from their social feeds — mentally exhausted — and some, perhaps, are simply choosing to binge watch their favorite television series and eat copious amounts of ice cream rather than read a contemporary, literary novel."

Awards
The Center for Fiction announced the shortlist for its First Novel Prize. The seven finalists:

As Lie Is to Grin, by Simeon Marsalis
Empire of Glass, by Kaitlin Solimine
Mikhail and Margarita, by Julie Lekstrom Himes
The Second Mrs. Hockaday, by Susan Rivers
Spaceman in Bohemia, by Jaroslav Kalfar
Tiger Pelt, by Annabelle Kim
What to Do About the Solomons, by Bethany Ball

People Used To Memorize Poems. In The Smartphone Era, Not So Much Anymore

People Used To Memorize Poems. In The Smartphone Era, Not So Much Anymore

People Used To Memorize Poems. In The Smartphone Era, Not So Much Anymore
“Since ancient times, humans have memorized and recited poetry. Before the invention of writing, the only way to possess a poem was to memorize it. Long after scrolls and folios supplemented our brains, court poets, priests and wandering bards recited poetry in order to entertain and connect with the divine. For individuals, a poem learned by heart could be a lifeline — to grapple with overwhelming emotion or preserve sanity amid the brutalities of prison and warfare.”


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Read the story at The New York Times Published: 08.26.17


Terry Pratchett’s Unfinished Works Destroyed By Streamroller (A Vintage One)


Terry Pratchett’s Unfinished Works Destroyed By Streamroller (A Vintage One)
“Pratchett’s hard drive was crushed by a vintage John Fowler & Co steamroller named Lord Jericho at the Great Dorset Steam Fair, ahead of the opening of a new exhibition about the author’s life and work.” Don’t worry: this is exactly what the bestselling author specified for after his death.


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Read the story at The Guardian Published: 08.30.17


‘The Red Wheel’, Solzhenitsyn’s Eight-Volume Epic Of The Russian Revolution, To Be Published In English For First Time


‘The Red Wheel’, Solzhenitsyn’s Eight-Volume Epic Of The Russian Revolution, To Be Published In English For First Time
“While Solzhenitsyn came up with the idea of The Red Wheel in the 1930s, he did not begin the first part, August 1914, until 1969. While the first and second – November 1916 – have previously been translated into English, the following six volumes have never been released in English before.”


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Read the story at The Guardian Published: 08.22.17

Latest from The Bookseller

London drives book market's value growth in 2017
London has triumphed over other regions for book sales so far in 2017, outstripping the overall market both in volume and value terms.


Book sales up 5% at Edinburgh festival
Book sales at Edinburgh International Book Festival grew by more than 5% on last year with more than 66,000 titles shifted.


Ian Rankin announces new Rebus novel for 2018
Ian Rankin has announced there will be new novel featuring his iconic detective protagonist John Rebus in autumn 2018.


Romania's 'unique textbook' law risks 'killing' publishing industry
The Federation of European Publishers (FEP) has sent a letter to the President of Romania reacting to a draft law it believes will "kill what was left of educational publishers in Romania".


McDermid and Mina up for McIlvanney Prize
Val McDermid and Denise Mina have been named among the five finalists for the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year 2017.


The White Review crowdfunds for online criticism
Literary journal The White Review has launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund a move towards publishing reviews in reaction to the "current paucity of space for serious-minded literary and arts criticism" in the UK.

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'Washing up is good for you': Octopus launches mindful series
Aster, Octopus' new lifestyle imprint, is publishing a new series dedicated to mindful living in partnership with the Department Store for the Mind pop-up shop.


Little Island Press signs first US deal
Little Island Press has sold US rights to David Hayden's Darker with the Lights On, in the first North American deal for the indie since it was founded in 2016.


Eyewear bags Monkman and Seagull quiz book
Eyewear Publishing has secured the rights to publish a new book of quizzes from "University Challenge" stars and internet "phenomena" Eric Monkman and Bobby Seagull, following "fierce competition from several major publishers".


'Addictive' story of obsession to HQ
HarperCollins imprint HQ is to publish Indecent, an "addictive and thought-provoking" story from debut author Corinne Sullivan, in 2018.


Deadline looms for Creative Gift category spotlight
The Bookseller will be running a Creative Gift category spotlight in 20th October issue.

Why The Booker Prize Is Bad For Literature

Why The Booker Prize Is Bad For Literature

“There are at least two reasons why almost every anglophone novelist feels compelled to get as near the Booker Prize as they can. The first is because it looms over them and follows them around in the way Guy de Maupassant said the Eiffel Tower follows you everywhere when you’re in Paris.” Even so, writes Amit Chaudhuri, “I’m not saying that the Booker shouldn’t exist. I’m saying that it requires an alternative, and the alternative isn’t another prize.”

Read the story at The Guardian Published: 08.16.17

Off the Shelf

9 Historical Tales from the Not-So-Famous People Who Lived Them

August 29, 2017
By KERRY FIALLO

They say history is written by the victors, but what about the everyday people? The ones who witnessed or experienced events that changed history? What are their stories? Below is a collection of fascinating and eye-opening nonfiction books either written by or about the regular, run-of-the-mill people who were there when history changed forever.
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The Roundup with PW

Weathering Harvey, Houston Booksellers Try to Stay Open...and Help
One Houston area bookstore reported trouble from flooding, while most others will re-open today after days being closed in the wake of devastating Hurricane Harvey. MORE »

Amazon Unveils Newest NYC Store, at 34th Street
At the opening of its 11th bricks and mortar bookstore this morning, which is located across the street from the Empire State Building in New York City, Amazon said it will be continuing to open a number of new stores in 2018. MORE »

V.E. Schwab Signs $1M Deal with Tor: The 'Shades of Magic' author will write four more books with the science fiction and fantasy publisher.

Vivien Leigh's Library Goes to Auction: Personal inscriptions from Winston Churchill, Orson Welles, and A.A. Milne fill the actor's library.

Fernando Pessoa’s Disappearing Act: The mysterious masterpiece of Portugal’s great modernist, 'The Book of Disquiet,' was found, in fragments, only after Pessoa’s death.

On New Technology in Fiction: The problem of representing technology in fiction is that it's scope is overwhelming—so much American fiction simply avoids mentioning it.

A Poetry Trail in Duluth: Hartley Nature Center in Duluth, Minn., has established the Connie Wanek Wildflower Trail in honor of the poet's work.

VIEW ALL »

Publishers Lunch

Today's Meal

People, Etc.
Ingram Content Group announced a realignment in reporting structure to "help focus efforts in Ingram's wholesale business and their growing distribution services." The wholesale purchasing group, led by George Tattersfield, will now report to chief commercial officer Shawn Everson, "aligning our 'buy side' with our 'sell side' in wholesale." The shared services sales team, acquired in the Perseus deal, and led by Jeanne Emanuel, will now report to chief content officer Phil Ollila, who leads the distribution and services businesses.

Frank Vrancken Peeters will join Springer Nature September 4 in the new role of chief commercial officer, reporting to the ceo, in order to "support the future growth and strategy of the group." He is currently regional managing director for Western Europe at Wolters Kluwer.

Rachel Kranz, author of the novel Leaps of Faith, died August 28. Kranz was a prolific ghostwriter and co-author across a wide range of genres, including narrative nonfiction, memoir, popular psychology/culture, diet, and health.

Storm Relief
Simon & Schuster announced relief assistance offers for public and school libraries and booksellers that have been damaged by flooding from Hurricane Harvey. Retail accounts damaged by the storm can receive "multiple copies of 20 new releases and bestsellers to help them attract customers as they restore their businesses to normal operating conditions." Damaged Texas public and school libraries can contact education.library@simonandschuster.com for a "donation of 250 'Best of' titles to help in the restoration of their collections." S&S adds that it "stands ready to work with national and local non-profits such as First Book and the Red Cross to provide books for children and adults displaced by Hurricane Harvey, including at shelters throughout Texas."

Bookselling
Amazon Books' second New York City location and eleventh store, on W. 34th Street, opens today. The new location incorporates service from Stumptown Coffee Roasters (as does Amazon's Chicago store).

Meanwhile, a job ad for a senior product manager for general merchandise illuminates some of Amazon Books' goals around the stores' "general merchandise businesses," which incorporates "all non-books, non-Amazon devices in the stores including toys, gift cards, magazines, electronics, and more."

Awards
The winners of this year's Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers' Awards are Aamina Ahmad, Ama Codjoe, Ebony Flowers, Tiana Nobile, Dominica Phetteplace, and Shawna Kay Rodenberg.

Ockham NZ Book Awards Judges Announced

Prize-winning authors are among the twelve judges of the 2018 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards, joining journalists, academics and commentators charged with the task of selecting this country’s finest books of the year.

The Illustrated Non-Fiction category will be judged by Professor Barbara Brookes, whose A History of New Zealand Women won this category of the awards in 2017; Matariki Williams, (Tūhoe, Taranaki, Ngāti Hauiti, Ngāti Whakaue), a curator Mātauranga Māori at Te Papa, and Kim Paton, director of the public gallery Objectspace.

Poet and novelist Alison Wong, whose novel As The Earth Turns Silver won the New Zealand Post Book Award for Fiction in 2010, will be a judge in the Poetry category alongside Montana New Zealand Book Awards shortlisted poet Robert Sullivan, deputy chief executive, Māori, at Manukau Institute of Technology, and poet, publisher and librettist Michael Harlow.
The Fiction category judges, who will select the winner of the $50,000 Acorn Foundation Fiction Prize, are novelist, poet and academic Anna Smaill, whose first novel, The Chimes, was longlisted for the 2015 Man Booker prize; journalist and reviewer Philip Matthews, and bookseller and reviewer Jenna Todd of the Auckland bookshop Time Out, winner of NZ Bookseller of the Year award in 2016 and 2017.

Ella Henry, a lecturer in AUT’s Māori Faculty, is a judge in the Royal Society Te Apārangi Award for General Non-Fiction with editor and award-winning journalist Toby Manhire and former bookseller and publisher, Philip King.
New Zealand Book Awards Trust chairwoman Nicola Legat says the 12 judges in the 2018 awards bring great expertise and mana with them.
“It’s a major commitment to judge these important awards,” says Ms Legat. “We are hugely appreciative of the time and skills our judges bring to the assessment process. We look forward to their selections being announced.”

The judges will make their longlist finalists known on November 28, 2017 and their shortlist on March 6, 2018.

The winners will be announced at an awards evening held as the first public event of the Auckland Writers Festival on May 15, 2018.

The first round of submissions to the 2018 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards close on 4 September 2017. Titles published between 1 January 2017 and 31 August 2017 must be submitted no later than 5pm, on this date. Entries for titles published between 1 September 2017 and 31 December 2017 open on 5 September and close at 5pm on Thursday 5 October 2017.Entries can be made via http://www.nzbookawards.nz/new-zealand-book-awards/form/

The Ockham New Zealand Book Awards are supported by Ockham Residential, Creative New Zealand, The Acorn Foundation, Book Tokens (NZ) Ltd and the Royal Society Te Apārangi.

The Roundup with PW

The World's 50 Largest Publishers, 2017
Although total revenue of the world’s 50 largest book publishers topped $50 billion in 2016, last year was not an easy one for global publishing giants. MORE »


Obituary: Top Exec at Three Publishers, Howard Kaminsky, Dead at 77
Howard Kaminsky, a former president and publisher of Warner Books, Random House and William Morrow/Avon, has died. He was 77. MORE »

Is Poetry the New Adult Coloring Book?
Button Poetry is finding success in publishing and marketing poetry originally written for performance—leading some to believe that the sub-genre has book industry staying power. MORE »

Amazon Arrives In Australia: As Amazon sets up shop down under, academics examine the impact the e-tailer and publisher could have on the country’s book culture.

A Debut Novelist’s Descent Into Darkness: Alexandra Alter profiles 'My Absolute Darling' author Gabriel Tallent, calling the book "poised to become the breakout debut of the year."

Before Dylan, Rabindranath Tagore: Bob Dylan wasn't the first songwriter to win the Nobel Prize In Literature. Western audiences should know that.

The Promise and Potential of Fan Fiction: Fan fiction offers new writers a clearer path to potentially interested readers than has ever previously existed, Stephen Burt argues.

Reading 'Jane Eyre' While Black: Tyrese L. Coleman writes about how she was denied the privilege of escapism from the classics that her white peers were afforded.
VIEW ALL »

Publishers Lunch

Today's Meal

Briefs
Interim managing editor of Freight Books Robbie Guillory is leaving the company "for personal reasons." He took over in June following the departure of co-founder Adrian Searle in April, and the company has reportedly been up for sale. Co-founder Davinder Samrai is now running the publisher.

Former head of Hearst Corporation's trade publishing group (Avon/Morrow and other lines), and prior to that ceo of Warner Books and then publisher at Random House trade Howard Kaminsky, 77, died recently, according to PW.

The full schedule for Saturday's National Book Festival in Washington, DC is posted, along with some sample itineraries from the Washington Post.

Update
Controversial author of Handbook for Mortals Lani Sarem and her film partner B-list actor Ian Thomas Nicholas gave a credulous interview to the Hollywood Reporter, trying to defend the book's suspicious sales -- but sort of admitting "they had reached out independent bookstores to buy bulk copies of the book in advance of local comic conventions over the fall." (Sarem insists to the Huffington Post it's normal for an author to buy her book in bulk at retail to resell at a minor event.) Nicholas says, "Maybe that's where things got convoluted."

Forthcoming
Ian Rankin told fans at the Edinburgh International Book Festival that "a further installment" featuring his recurring character John REbus will be published in the UK by Orion in fall 2018.

Picks
The September Pennie's Pick at Costco is Ghosts of War by Brad Taylor.

The Bookseller - The most read stories of the week

Our round-up of the most read stories of the past week on The Bookseller:

1. Tributes paid to 'extraordinary' Brian Aldiss
2. Jim Broadbent's graphic novel to Fantagraphics
3. Nosy Crow boosts team with raft of hires
4. Twitter will render children illiterate in 20 years says Jacobson
5. Digital isn't dead for book publishers - we're just waking up from the first hangover
6. Where's Mr Lion unveiled as Sainsbury’s children's 'book of the year'
7. LGBTQ+ book trade network launches
8. Jamie Oliver 'can't wait' to publish 5-ingredient book in autumn
9. Waterstones to be 'transformed' ahead of Pullman release
10. Hodder wins 'action-packed' Hollow Crown at auction

Radio with pictures... and arts, theatre, film, comedy, books, dance, entertainment and music

This week's stories

Sculpting the future of mining
Nicholas Mangan is the son of a miner who explores mining, the environment and even the global political economy in his sculptures and videos. Nicholas's series about the Pacific island of Nauru's phosphate mining industry is owned by Te Papa, but it's currently on loan to the Dowse Art Gallery in Lower Hutt for as part of an exhibition called Limits to Growth. Lynn Freeman talks to Nicholas about the exhibition, which also compares a new form of mining - mining for bitcoins - with the ancient Rai stone money of the Micronesian island of Yap.
Aug 27, 2017 02:50 pm

Jazz on a winter's weekend
Nigel Patterson honed his keyboard and composition skills playing with seminal New Zealand bands The Black Seeds and Fly My Pretties. But his love of jazz saw him form The Nigel Patterson Quartet back in 2007. His compositions acknowledge the work of jazz greats like Dizzy Gillespie and Duke Ellington, but they also veer off in edgier directions. The quartet is gearing up for a concert at the upcoming Jazz in Martinborough festival on September 2, and Nigel talks to Lynn Freeman about the changing face of jazz.
Aug 27, 2017 02:40 pm

The viola gets a rare moment in the spotlight
The mellow-toned viola is often overshadowed in a string ensemble - but not this week, as Wellington to hosts the 2017 International Viola Congress. It will feature dozens of events over five days, involving musicians from more than 20 countries, and including concerts, lectures, master-classes and panel discussions.
Aug 27, 2017 02:30 pm

British artist John Stezaker and the art of collage
He's a great example of an artist hanging in there, waiting for their big break. For British artist John Stezaker the break came in 2011 when he held a retrospective of work he's been producing since the 1970s. John cuts out images from the past - actor head-shots, film stills and vintage postcards - then creates collages that are often disturbing and genre-bending. His first exhibition in New Zealand, Lost World, is showing at the City Gallery Wellington, before traveling to the Govett Brewster in New Plymouth and the Christchurch Art Gallery. He tells Lynn Freeman that even after all these year of cutting up photographs, it still sometimes feels like he's cutting through flesh:
Aug 27, 2017 01:45 pm

Getting indigenous - and important - stories on stage
Four Maori playwrights are making the most of a new opportunity to workshop and hone their scripts. They've been picked for a new developmental programme at Auckland's Te Pou Theatre - based on an Australian scheme to encourage indigenous theatre. Aroha Awarau, Maraea Rakuraku, Krystal Lee Brown, and Jason Te Mete explore some tough issues in their plays - youth suicide, the death of a child, the former "gay panic" defence in court.
Aug 27, 2017 01:33 pm

The Talented Mr Bungay
Mike Bungay QC represented many of this country's highest profile criminals with an enthusiam and flamboyance that earned him a reputation - and enemies. His turbulent personal and professional life are the subject of a new five- part TVNZ drama series, Dear Murderer. Bungay believed everyone accused of a crime deserved a defence - well, almost everyone - and took on cases no one else wanted to touch. Lynn Freeman talks to star Mark Mitchinson, who plays Mike Bungay, and to crack screenwriter John Banas, who adapted the book written by Mike Bungay's last wife, Ronda.
Aug 27, 2017 12:45 pm

One Hundred Small Objects
Telling the social history of New Zealand in 100 tiny objects was the challenge set for the woman who oversees New Zealand's biggest collection of Ephemera. Barbara Lyon from the Alexander Turnbull Library sorted through thousands of everyday objects like tram tickets, drivers' licences and protest badges to create a new exhibition called Humble; the life of 100 small objects. Barbara talks to Lynn Freeman about the challenge she was set for the exhibition, which opens in the National Library in Wellington this week.
Aug 27, 2017 12:16 pm

Older stories
A Very Trumpian Streetcar
C K Stead turns to the blogosphere
Bookshops are still thriving in Melbourne
Generations of Chinese New Zealanders
A Yorkshire Brokeback Mountain?
Kiwis at the Edinburgh Fringe 2017
Art Crime

Not all audio is available due to copyright restrictions

National Schools Poetry Award celebrates New Zealand’s poets of the future

Zora Patrick, a year 12 student of Wellington High School, has won first place in the 2017 International Institute of Modern Letters’ (IIML) National Schools Poetry Award, with her poem ‘Dampening’.

Zora receives a prize of $500 and the opportunity to attend a poetry masterclass with judge Ashleigh Young and fellow poet James Brown at the IIML, home of Victoria University’s prestigious creative writing programme. Zora’s school library also receives a $500 book grant. Nine other gifted young poets were shortlisted in the awards and they will also attend the masterclass.

“I'm really happy to have received this award and am looking forward to reading the other shortlisted entries. I'm also looking forward to the masterclass and meeting other people interested in poetry. My other big interest is drama, which is similar to poetry in the sense that you have to be receptive to what's around you, and that is a big part of my writing,” says Zora.

Judge Ashleigh Young—poet and winner of the 2017 Ockham New Zealand non-fiction book of the year prize for her collection of essays Can You Tolerate This?—says it is often the poems which frame the everyday or suspend a single moment that are the most compelling.
“When I came across Zora Patrick’s poem ‘Dampening’, in which we see a man at the seaside, oblivious to everyone else, diving under and sticking his legs up in the air, I saw someone watching a small, ordinary moment in time and holding it up. Zora’s poem does that marvellous thing of telling us just enough that we can imagine the possibilities of the day. I found myself thinking of stories that might surround the poem. What else had the man been doing that day? Was his family on the beach, watching him? What was his life like? It’s Zora’s deft handling of surprising detail that allows for myriad possible interpretations.”

Zora Patrick will read her winning poem at the Starling journal event–VicBooks Kelburn Campus, 10.45am, Friday 25 August–to celebrate Phantom Billstickers National Poetry Day.

The nine shortlisted poets are: Katie Gotlieb, Otago Girls’ High School; Antonia Smith, Rangitoto College; Hannah Wetzel, Kaitaia College; Logan McAllister, St Andrew’s College;
Tessie-Rose Poutai-Tipene, Te Wharekura o Mauao; Millie Hulme, Timaru Girls’ High School; Anna Doak, St Margaret’s College; Emily Rais, Homeschooled; Piper Whitehead, Diocesan School for Girls.

“This award recognises the ongoing vitality of poetry among young writers. It gives young poets a boost. It will also give readers of the top poems a boost to see the imaginative daring of these talented new voices,” IIML Director Professor Damien Wilkins says.

All shortlisted students receive an additional package of literary prizes provided by the New Zealand Book Council, Victoria University Press, Sport, Landfall, and the New Zealand Society of Authors, as well as $100. Flights and accommodation costs are covered for students outside of Wellington to attend the masterclass at the IIML.

The 2017 National Schools Poetry Award is organised by the IIML with the support of Creative New Zealand and advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather, with promotional support from Phantom Billstickers and Wonderlab.

The winning poem, the judge’s report and all the shortlisted poems are available on the National Schools Poetry Award website

Launch of Colin James’
Unquiet Time: Aotearoa /New Zealand in a fast-changing world

“…a fascinating book that deserves to be read and thought about” – Sir Geoffrey Palmer

It was a return to roots when Sir Geoffrey Palmer QC launched Colin James’ new book Unquiet Time in front of a large crowd at the National Library on Tuesday. The pair first met in 1979 when Sir Geoffrey was a new MP and James was a fledgling political journalist.

In his seventh book, James describes “a world in disorder” as it rebalances politically, economically and demographically, and explores how Aotearoa/New Zealand must navigate this challenging new landscape as it advances into the 2020s.

Sir Geoffrey told the audience that Colin James has for nearly five decades applied his thoughtful analysis of New Zealand politics and policy, remaining steadfast in the face of an increasingly celebrity and entertainment-focused media: “Unlike many journalists, James has the habits of a scholar….The sources…are astonishingly diverse and numerous, a sign of great industry.”

The book dissects key global trends, including how technology is changing the way we live and ‘work’; looming environmental limits, climate change, and biosecurity and pandemic threats. It then assesses what these mean for New Zealand, examining the emergence of New Zealand’s independent foreign policy and international trade policy, as well as policy relating to Maori, biculturalism, and the environment. James predicts likely major shocks and argues for new thinking in many key areas.

It’s a New Zealand “bobbing around like a cork on a rough global sea”, with a difficult future ahead, said Sir Geoffrey: “Perhaps the most important take-away message from the book is that we need to face the challenges that confront New Zealand rather than shy away from them.”

The turbulence described in the book finds an apt reflection in the current political scene. “The politicians have concocted an election like no other of the 16 I have covered,” reflected James.

Journalist Colin James is a life member of the Parliamentary Press Gallery and the E Tu Union, and has specialised in politics and policy since 1969. His writing has featured in many books and papers, and Unquiet Time brings together conclusions and future projections arising from numerous briefings to business, not-for-profits and government agencies, and contributions to conferences at home and abroad. He is also a senior associate of the Institute for Governance and Policy Studies, has an honorary doctorate from Victoria University of Wellington, and is a fellow of the Institute of Public Administration.

Colin James is available for interviews, and review copies of Unquiet Time are also available.
Media contact Anne Taylor M: 027 489 0704 | T: 04 388 6584
E: anne@boulderbaydesign.co.nz

Unquiet Time: Aotearoa /New Zealand in a fast-changing world
ISBN: 978-0-9941360-1-5
Four colour cover with flaps, 320 pages
$39.50 (softcover)
Publisher: Fraser Books, Chamberlain Road, RD8, Masterton. For more information: ifgrant@xtra.co.nz or
Tel: 06 3771359 |
Distributor: Nationwide Book Distributors, P O Box 65, Oxford, North Canterbury.

A new Rebus novel in 2018

ANNOUNCED TODAY: A new Rebus novel for 2018!

Ian Rankin has announced tonight on stage at the Edinburgh International Book Festival that he is writing a new novel featuring his iconic detective John Rebus, to be published in the UK in Autumn 2018.

The novel will be published in hardback, ebook and audiobook, with a paperback to follow in 2019. We'll let you know first as soon as you can pre-order the book!


A word from Ian

“After 30 years and 21 novels, John Rebus seems to have more fans than ever – and luckily for me there’s still plenty of life (and fight) in the old dog. Rebus has been proud to call Orion his home for his various adventures and it’s a thrill and privilege for me to say that a further instalment will arrive in 2018. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to spend some time with an old friend…” Ian Rankin

Powerful line-up for 10th Tauranga Festival

Tauranga Arts Festival has launched its tenth programme, including two weekends of writers and speakers, a performance where storytelling is king, and a creative writing workshop.
Appearing at Labour Weekend (October 21-23) are Australian novelist (The Secret River trilogy) and more recently non-fiction writer Kate Grenville (My Mother’s Story and The Case Against Fragrance), Acorn Foundation Fiction Prize winners Stephan Daisley and Catherine Chidgey, YA author Kate De Goldi, Dame Lynley Dodd whose latest book Scarface Claw, Hold Tight! will be fresh out, and art crime writer Penelope Jackson.

The weekend also features Australian surfing writer Phil Jarratt, who in August published his memoir, Life of Brine. Jarratt is bringing his 2017 History Channel documentary to the festival, which will screen as an open-air Night Owl Cinema presentation on October 21. Men of Wood and Foam tells the story of six mates who became Australia’s pioneering surfboard makers. Jarratt will also team up with Waikato University writer-in-residence and poet Bob Orr to talk about the siren call of the sea.

October 28 is the first Raa Maumahara National Day of Commemoration and the festival marks that with historian Vincent O’Malley (The Great War for New Zealand), Witi Ihimaera and Hemi Kelly (Sleeps Standing, a factual and fictional account of the 1864 Battle of Orakau), Karyn Hay and Lindsey Dawson talking about their historical novels each partly set in 19th century Tauranga, and a panel of six New Zealanders addressing the topic, Our Place to Stand.
Closing the festival on October 29 are Helene Wong and Witi Ihimaera talking about their memoirs, Phil Gifford on men’s health, and Shamubeel Eaqub, Jeanette Fitzsimons and Rod Oram who will set this country straight!

Award-winning novelist Paula Morris offers to put writers, aspiring or otherwise, through their paces on October 29 at her Fiction Boot Camp (places limited to 20).
William Yang, whose ancestors migrated to Australia more than 100 years ago, is internationally renowned for his photographic and film work exploring social diversity, belonging and travel. As well as performing The Story Only I Can Tell on October 24, he will also work with four Tauranga migrants to allow them to share their stories before his show.
See the full programme at www.taurangafestival.co.nz

Still Breathing

Stephen Oliver | Still Breathing

49 Writers/August 25, 2017/Uncategorized/0 Comments/

“Still Breathing”, a poem written by the Australasian poet Stephen Oliver, commemorates Derick Burleson, the Alaskan poet who died on December 29, 2016. Oliver reads the poem in this video presentation. “Still Breathing” was first read at Derick’s memorial by his spouse, Nicole Sprague, on April 1, 2017 in Fairbanks, Alaska.

You can also read Derick Burleson’s obituary in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner here.

Stephen Oliver – Australasian poet / voice artist and author of 18 volumes of poetry. Lived in Australia for 20 years. Now NZ. Signed on with the radio ship The Voice of Peace broadcasting in the Mediterranean out of Jaffa, Israel in the late 70s. Free-lanced as production voice, narrator, newsreader, radio producer, columnist, copy and feature writer, etc.
He has published widely in international literary journals and anthologies. Regular contributor of creative non-fiction and poems to Antipodes: A Global Journal of Australian and New Zealand Literature. Poems translated into German, Spanish, Chinese, and Russian. Oliver’s poem cycle Deadly Pollen, Word Riot Press, USA (2003) translated into Spanish (Polen Mortal) by the Chilean poet, Sergio Badilla Castillo and first published in Nagari (Vol 7 2015). Represented in: Writing To The Wire Anthology, edited by Dan Disney and Kit Kelen, University of Western Australia Publishing 2016; Manifesto: A Political Anthology, edited by Emma Neale and Philip Temple, Otago University Press, 2017.
Newly released: GONE: Satirical Poems: New & Selected, Greywacke Press, Canberra, 2016.

http://49writers.org/2017/08/stephen-oliver-still-breathing.html

Four New Zealand writing projects awarded grants

CLNZ/NZSA Research Grant recipients 2017


Copyright Licensing New Zealand (CLNZ) and the New Zealand Society of Authors (NZSA) are pleased to announce that Research Grants have been awarded to four New Zealand writers. The judging panel noted that “the successful projects tackle important and interesting topics, and the standard of entries this year was very high.”
Four Open Research Grants of $5,000 each were awarded to James Robins of Auckland, Phil Garnock-Jones of Wellington, Pip Hall from Auckland and Michalia Arathimos currently based in Melbourne.

About the recipients:

James Robins project, When We Dead Awake, is a story of the Armenian Genocide and NZ soldiers who witnessed it. “It’s thrilling for a writer to be mining a rich seam of history that has so far remained untapped. In producing this work, I hope to give New Zealand and Australian readers a new way of looking at and understanding the legacy of Anzac, and indeed the legacy of the First World War. I’m endlessly grateful to the New Zealand Society of Authors and Copyright Licensing New Zealand for the opportunity to delve into the historical record more fully."

Retired botany professor Phil Garnock-Jones project Nga Puawai (New Zealand Flowers), is stereoscopic illustrations of New Zealand flowers. “I have been fascinated by flowers since childhood. I vividly remember the first time I saw them through a microscope at university, and later trying to capture their beauty and structure through drawing and photography.” Phil’s research and teaching in plant classification, evolution, naming and identification has often been centred around flowers, their structure and their function. Phil has worked as a botanist in the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research and as Professor of Plant Science at Victoria University of Wellington. Since retiring from academia in 2009, he has been blogging and photographing wild flowers for this book and for colleagues’ research, and working part time at Te Papa on an identification guide to New Zealand Veronica (hebes and speedwells).

Pip Hall’s project (alongside her husband Peter Meteherangi Tikao Burger), The Last Bastion, is a film script for a movie about Bastion Point in Auckland. Both Pip and Peter have worked in the film and television industry for over twenty years. Pip writes for both stage and screen, is a past recipient of New Zealand's most prestigious playwriting award - the Bruce Mason Award - and has had her plays produced at every main stage in the country as well as over twenty high schools. The Last Bastion is their first writing project together.

Michalia Arathimos project, Boundary Lines – Who do we think we are?, is part memoir, part interview dealing with the uncertain status of Māori and other ‘ethnic’ authors in mainstream New Zealand culture. Michalia is a New Zealand writer currently living in Melbourne and has won the 2016 Sunday Star Times Short Story Prize, and been shortlisted for the Overland Victoria University Short Story Prize for the past two years. She is currently the Fiction Reviewer for Overland Magazine and holds a PhD in Creative Writing from the International Institute of Modern Letters. Her debut novel, Aukati, will be launched by Mākaro Press at the Melbourne Writer’s Festival in September 2017.

CLNZ and the NZSA are delighted to assist New Zealand authors in their research efforts towards their writing projects. Research Grants are funded through the CLNZ Cultural Fund, which derives its revenue from a 2% share of domestic licensing income and from overseas revenue that is non-title specific. The 2017 judging panellists were Chris Else, Susanna Lyle and David Veart.

The Roundup with PW

One Hundred Books Across America: 'Literary Hub' rounds up one fiction and one nonfiction book for every state in the Union for your last-second literary road trip.

Talese and Didion Come to Netflix: The streaming service will release documentaries on Joan Didion and an adaptation of Gay Talese’s controversial 'Voyeur' later this year.

'Lemonade' for Your Living Room: Beyoncé is releasing a 600-page coffee table book that details the making of her landmark 2016 album.
Native American Lit's “Living Con Job”: Is the novelist John Smelcer, who is nominated for a 2017 PEN Literary Award, really who he says he is? 'The Stranger' investigates.

Ten Books About Tyrants: The novelist Christopher Wilson assembles a rogues’ gallery of despots and dictators from fact and fiction for the 'Guardian.'

To 'E' or Not to "E": The University of Southern California’s decision to spell William Shakespear[e]'s name without the final "e" has reignited a debate.

Obscure Medieval Texts, Translated: Stanford's Global Medieval Sourcebook is a new online compendium of English translations for overlooked Middle Ages texts.

Asian-American Lit Gathering: At the Smithsonian’s First Asian American Literary Festival, more than 80 writers shared work across multiple genres.

The Rise and Return of Jesmyn Ward: Boris Kachka profiles the National Book Award–winning Mississippi author for 'Vulture' on the eve of publication of her third novel.

Looking for Stories in Bloody Places: Novelist Rebecca Entel hunts for complicated narratives at the sites of historical atrocities.

VIEW ALL »

Lunchtime Event | Colin Hogg author of The High Road

Lunchtime Event | Colin Hogg author of The High Road | Friday 8th Sept, 12-12:45pm | In-store at Unity Books Wellington


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Friday 8th Sept. 12 – 12:45pm
Unity Books, 57 Willis St.

SELINA TUSITALA MARSH APPOINTED AS NEW ZEALAND POET LAUREATE

The New Zealand Book Council Te Kaunihera Pukapuka o Aotearoa offers heartfelt congratulations to our board member Dr Selina Tusitala Marsh on her appointment as New Zealand Poet Laureate.
“Selina will be an outstanding New Zealand Poet Laureate and raise the national consciousness to the importance of loving books and reading”, said Book Council Chair Peter Biggs, CNZM.

An accomplished writer, teacher and scholar on the national and international stage, Selina Tusitala Marsh is also a passionate and energetic reading advocate and ambassador. She inspires a love of reading and writing in our nation’s young people, and works closely on the Book Council’s annual Writers in Communities project in South Auckland low decile schools.

“Getting reading on the national agenda is a crucial step in breaking the poverty cycle in New Zealand. OECD research shows that reading for pleasure is the single most important indicator of a child’s future success. It’s even a more powerful factor in life achievement than socio-economic background”, Peter Biggs said.

Selina’s latest poetry collection Tightrope launches today on National Poetry Day. Built around the abyss, the tightrope, and the trick that we all have to perform to walk across it, she brings to life her ongoing dialogue with memory, life and death to find out whether ‘stories’ really can ‘cure the incurable’.

“It starts with the story,” said Peter Biggs. “Reading has the power to change lives and transform communities. We’re on a mission to grow a nation of readers. This will lead to a better country – socially, culturally and economically – and Selina’s new position of New Zealand Poet Laureate will be instrumental in this mission”, he said.

Latest from The Bookseller

Springer Nature surges in the Global Publishing Ranking 2017
Springer Nature has cracked the top 10 of the world's biggest publishers for the first time, while Pearson - despite its recent travails - has comfortably retained its number one spot for a ninth year in a row.


China's CPG goes public, reveals failed UK acquisition attempt
Chinese publishing giant the China Publishing Group (CPG) has realised an eight-year ambition and taken its publishing wing public on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.


LGBTQ+ book trade network launches
Pride in Publishing (PiP), a brand-new networking group for LGBTQ+ people in the industry, has launched in order to create a way for queer members of the publishing industry to meet up, connect with others and find peer support.


Canongate scoops Gina Miller’s memoir Rise
Canongate is to publish the memoir of Gina Miller, the business owner who successfully took the UK government to the Supreme Court over its authority to trigger Article 50 without parliamentary approval.


Busy BIBF sees 'more discerning' rights buying
A busy Beijing International Book Fair (BIBF) is seeing a surge of interest from Chinese houses in lifestyle titles, UK publishers have told The Bookseller.


Trade gets behind National Poetry Day 2017
National Poetry Day, Britain’s national campaign for poetry, is holding its first dedicated trade promotion highlighting 40 "inspiring" poetry books across four categories: anthologies, children’s poetry, current collections and poetry for book groups.

___________________________________


Weekly E-Ranking: Tess of the debut thrills
American crime author Tess Gerritsen has gone straight to number one in her first-ever appearance in The Bookseller Weekly E-Book Ranking, while Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale dropped into second.


Louise O'Neill's Almost Love to publish spring 2018
Quercus imprint riverrun is publishing Louise O'Neill's third novel, Almost Love, in March 2018.


SoA adds two new grants for writers
The Society of Authors has added two new Authors’ Foundation grants: the Antonia Fraser Grant and the Eric Ambler Award.


Michelle Obama photos to Sphere
Sphere Non-fiction is publishing a new book of photographs of Michelle Obama by former White House photographer Amanda Lucidon.


Library cuts planned in Wales and Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire and Powys are the latest councils to come under the spotlight for planned cuts to their public library service.


Ilett's debut teen novel wins Kelpies Prize 2017
First-time novelist Emily Ilett has won the Kelpies Prize 2017 for her debut The Girl Who Lost Her Shadow.

Publishers Lunch

Today's Meal

NYT Removes New YA Book From Bestseller List, Following Indications of Planned, Bulk Purchases
The New York Times reissued their Young Adult hardcover bestseller list for sales through the week ending August 19 early Thursday evening to eliminate Lani Sarem's Handbook for Mortals, which had debuted at No. 1, after an online campaign (including input from indie booksellers) helped to establish what appears to have been programmatic bulk orders placed through strategic stores, specifically designed to put the book on the NYT's list. Jordan Cohen at the NYT told us, "After investigating the inconsistencies in the most recent reporting cycle, we've decided that the sales for 'Handbook for Mortals' do not meet our criteria for inclusion. We'll be issuing an updated 'Young Adult Hardcover' list for September 3 which will not include that title."

In their data published Wednesday, NPD Book (formerly Bookscan) did not include the title on any of their bestseller lists "based on...eligibility rules," even though the title recorded opening week print sales of approximately 18,500 units. The No. 1 listed NPD Book YA hardcover bestseller, Angie Thomas's The Hate U Give, sold just over 6,000 print books, suggesting it wasn't even a close call for Sarem's book to be disqualified.

For our much more extensive story, including details not found in other accounts, join Publishers Marketplace now.

Arts Journal - Words

A Fascinating Tale Of How This Book Might Have Bought Its Way Onto The NYT BestSeller List



A Fascinating Tale Of How This Book Might Have Bought Its Way Onto The NYT BestSeller List
“Nowadays, you can make the bestseller list with about 5,000 sales. That’s not the heights of publishing’s heyday but it’s still harder to get than you’d think. Some publishers spend thousands of dollars on advertising and blogger outreach to get that number. Everyone’s looking for the next big thing and that costs a lot of cash. For the past 25 weeks, that big book in the YA world has been The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, a searing politically charged drama about a young black girl who sees a police officer kill her friend, and the fallout it causes in her community.”


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Read the story at Pajiba Published: 07.24.17


Trove Of Previously Untranslated Medieval World Literature Goes Online



Trove Of Previously Untranslated Medieval World Literature Goes Online
The initial offerings of Stanford’s Global Medieval Sourcebook “range from a 15th-century song translated from Middle French that bemoans a lost love … to five selections from Hong Mai’s 12th-century Yijian Zhi, a sprawling 420-chapter chronicle that is an invaluable record of society, spirituality, and culture of the Southern Song Dynasty. The GMS is, as suggested by its title, a globally focused resource, with plans for medieval texts translated from Arabic, Chinese, Old Spanish, Latin, Middle High German, Old English, and Old French.”


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Read the story at Hyperallergic Published: 08.24.17

Off the Shelf

Our Favorite Bookish Pets Read, Recommend, and Repeat

August 25, 2017
By ERIN FLAAEN



At Off the Shelf, we know that sometimes the greatest recommendations come from the cats and dogs (and chickens!) napping on the shelves. So we consulted some of the most knowledgeable furry booksellers and bookworms across the country to learn which books we should paw through next. We applaud their excellent and varied reading habits. Check out their recommendations and then visit some of these booksellers at the independent bookstores they call home.
READ MORE

Writers on Mondays

The Fuse Box

The Fuse Box is a brand new collection of essays and interviews with some of our best writers that aims to shine fresh light on the creative process. This event assembles some of the book’s contributors to explore issues relevant to all stages of the writing life: how to get started and what to write about, how to keep the flow going over time, freedom and constraint, how your writing might meet the world, and how to make the most of accidents. Playwright Gary Henderson, novelists Rajorshi Chakraborti and Elizabeth Knox, and poet James Brown join editors Chris Price and Emily Perkins to celebrate the launch of The Fuse Box.

DATE: Monday 28 August
TIME: 12.15-1.15pm
VENUE: Te Papa Marae

The Writers on Mondays events are open to the public and free of charge.

Poetry gifted to the nation on Phantom Billstickers National Poetry Day

Phantom Billstickers National Poetry Day celebrates 20 years on Friday 25 August and gifts to the nation, inaugural online poetry Collection 20/20.

The 20/20 Collection features poems by many of New Zealand’s best loved poets, including C. K. Stead, who ends his two-year stint as Poet Laureate on Phantom Billstickers National Poetry Day. Stead was one of 20 acclaimed poets asked to select one of their own poems for inclusion in 20/20, as well as a poem by their favourite or emerging poet. The 40 poems that complete the Collection reflect the diversity and vibrancy of our literary talent. The 20/20 Collection is free to download here: http://www.nzbookawards.nz/national-poetry-day/20-20-collection/.

The acclaimed poets featured in the 20/20 Collection are: Jenny Bornholdt and the poet she chose, Ish Doney; Paula Green and Simone Kaho; Vincent O’Sullivan and Lynley Edmeade; Apirana Taylor and Kiri Piahana Wong; Alison Wong and Chris Tse; Tusiata Avia and Teresia Teaiwa; Kevin Ireland and Gregory Kan; Diana Bridge and John Dennison; Andrew Johnston and Bill Nelson; Michael Harlow and Paul Schimmel; C.K. Stead and Johanna Emeney; David Eggleton and Leilani Tamu; Elizabeth Smither and Rob Hack; Richard Reeve and Michael Steven; Robert Sullivan and Ngahuia Te Awekotuku; Bill Manhire and Louise Wallace; Selina Tusitala Marsh and Reihana Robinson; Cilla McQueen and David Holmes; James Norcliffe and Marisa Capetta; and Brian Turner and Jillian Sullivan.

The 20/20 Collection features work by living New Zealand poets with one exception: Tusiata Avia’s selection of a poem by Teresia Teaiwa. Sadly, Teresia died of cancer in March, aged just 48. She was a much loved and influential figure in Pacific studies, and the New Zealand Book Awards Trust committee, who convene Phantom Billstickers National Poetry Day, hopes that her inclusion in 20/20 encourages more people to seek out her important creative and critical work.

Award-winning writer and Phantom Billstickers National Poetry Day spokesperson, Paula Morris says, "Lots of people do talk about this as being a really great time for poetry in New Zealand, and one reason is that there are a lot of new young voices coming out that really reflect New Zealand as it is now. You see a huge amount of diversity; you see younger people writing and publishing books and younger people appearing on stage, and you see Asian writers and Pasifika writers and Maori writers. Poetry is where they are often first emerging."

To celebrate Phantom Billstickers National Poetry Day, many of the 20/20 poets will take part in more than 100 events nationwide. For full information, including places, venues, times, tickets and more, go to: http://www.nzbookawards.nz/national-poetry-day/calendar-of-events/.

Latest from The Bookseller

Where's Mr Lion unveiled as Sainsbury’s children's 'book of the year'
Baby and toddler book Where's Mr Lion has been crowned 'book of the year' at the Sainsbury's Children's Book Awards.





Hometown Tales look beyond London for new voices
Weidenfeld & Nicolson has revealed the first four books in its Hometown Tales series, which aims to promote regional diversity by publishing voices from across the UK.



Second CUP journal challenged by China
Cambridge University Press (CUP) has fended off another request from Chinese authorities to censor content in one of its journals.



Contents of Aldiss' diaries kept secret from family
Brian Aldiss' family will first discover the “revelations” of the late writer's diaries at the same time as the rest of the world when they are revealed at a Bodleian Library exhibition.



Muddy Stilletos to launch literary salons across 18 counties
Glamour’s former books editor has set up a new literary salon with plans to expand across 18 counties.



Jensen stays with Bookouture in new deal
Bookouture has acquired a new novel from Louise Jensen, Kindle number one bestselling author of The Sister, The Gift, and the forthcoming The Surrogate.


_______________________________________


Harkness' supernatural love mystery adapted for Sky 1
The first of Deborah Harkness' bestselling All Souls Trilogy, A Discovery of Witches, is being adapted for Sky 1 and Now TV starring Matthew Goode and Teresa Palmer.



'Harry Potter' screenings break Durham Book Festival records
Ticket sales for three screenings of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone" at Durham Cathedral have broken all of the city’s book festival records with 1,500 selling in one day.



Horowitz and de Waal to appear at BA Conference
Authors Anthony Horowitz and Kit de Waal will join Brian Blessed at the Booksellers Association’s conference in Birmingham next month.



Octopus' Caroline Brown promoted to associate publisher
Caroline Brown, publicity and marketing director at Octopus, has been promoted to associate publisher in addition to her current role.

Arts Journal - Words

Are Alt-Weeklies Dying?

Storied alt-weeklies like Philadelphia City Paper, the San Francisco Bay Guardian, the Boston Phoenix, Knoxville, Tennessee’s Metro Pulse and its replacement may have shut down. But last week, Local Independent Online News Publishers reported that it added 19 new members in 15 states. LION now has 160 local news publishers as members in 39 states. So are alt-weeklies dying? Or are they finding a kind of new life online?


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Read the story at Poynter Published: 08.23.17

Publishers Lunch

Today's Meal

Briefs

Chelsea Eberly has been promoted to senior editor at Random House Children's.

Bookselling
Barnes & Noble's concept store in the new Legacy West mall in Plano, TX is still on the way, though it didn't make the developer's original opening date of March. (The mall itself has been opening up this spring and summer.) The bookseller's first small-size concept store, at 9,000 square feet, is still due to open this fall.

New bookstore Rough Draft Bar & Books will open in Kingston, NY, on November 1. The 2,000 square foot store will sell new fiction and nonfiction, serve craft beer, and host events.

Forthcoming
The new novel from John le Carre (aka David Cornwell) releasing September 5, A Legacy of Spies, "is being heavily advertised as the first George Smiley novel in over 25 years," the WSJ notes. But "the Smiley connection is a bit misleading: The unassuming German culture-loving hero of some of Mr. le Carré's most popular novels, such as Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Smiley's People, makes only a brief cameo in A Legacy of Spies."

Le Carré will appear at the Royal Festival Hall in London on September 7 for "An Evening with George Smiley." The event will be livestreamed to over 300 movie theaters around the UK, and will be shown at "a number" of US movie houses in the fall.

Awards
The 2017 Thurber Prize for American Humor named its three finalists:

Born a Crime, by Trevor Noah
Amp’d, by Ken Pisani
Mr. Eternity, by Aaron Thier

Off the Shel

Books Make Great Gifts: 8 Favorites We've Received from Friends and Family

August 24, 2017
By OFF THE SHELF STAFF




As the saying goes, good things come in small packages, and giving someone a book can be a good thing that lasts long after the wrapping paper has been put into the recycling bin. Below, our staff shares eight books they’ve received, and the lasting impact those thoughtful gifts have had on their lives. Make memories, give books.
READ MORE

Publishers Lunch

Today's Meal

Briefs: Clinton Excerpt Recalls Trump As "Creep," And More
Excerpts from Hillary Clinton's forthcoming What Happened were released to Morning Joe and played widely in the media this morning. Recalling the presidential debate shortly after the release of the Access Hollywood tape of Donald Trump, Clinton writes: "This is not OK, I thought. It was the second presidential debate and Donald Trump was looming behind me. Two days before, the world heard him brag about groping women. Now we were on a small stage and no matter where I walked, he followed me closely, staring at me, making faces.

"It was incredibly uncomfortable. He was literally breathing down my neck. My skin crawled. It was one of those moments where you wish you could hit pause and ask everyone watching, well, what would you do? Do you stay calm, keep smiling and carry on as if he weren't repeatedly invading your space? Or do you turn, look him in the eye and say loudly and clearly, 'back up you creep, get away from me. I know you love to intimidate women but you can’t intimidate me, so back up.'"

People
At Random House Children's Noreen Herits rejoins the publicity team as executive director, reporting to Dominique Cimina. She was previously director of marketing and publicity at Workman. Jillian Vandall has been promoted to senior manager of publicity.

Features
The LA Times looks at how local publisher Colleen Dunn Bates at Prospect Park Books found success with careful publication of selected cookbooks and is the area's "only independent publisher of cookbooks." They note, "While her non-fiction and fiction catalogue expanded from two to 13 titles annually, she publishes only one cookbook a year, always by a local chef (or, in the case of 'L.A. Mexicano,' multiple chefs) with a following."
Author Thomas Ricks writes in the Atlantic about how longtime editor Scott Moyers persuaded him to completely rewrite his recent book on Churchill and Orwell -- and Moyers was completely right

Latest from The Bookseller

Cartes Postales from Greece delivers a second week at number one
Victoria Hislop’s Cartes Postales from Greece (Headline) has once again voyaged into the Official UK Top 50 number one spot, selling 27,201 copies for £116,694—a 19.3% boost week on week.



Harrogate to host UK-exclusive Dan Brown event
Dan Brown is appearing in Harrogate for the exclusive UK launch of his upcoming novel, Origin (Transworld).



'Don't punish CUP over censorship U-turn', China urged
The International Publishers Association (IPA) has applauded Cambridge University Press' decision to reverse the censorship of hundreds of articles online from one of its journals, but has also urged Chinese authorities not to punish the press for rolling back on its decision.



Jim Broadbent's graphic novel to Fantagraphics
Fantagraphic Books has signed Dull Margaret, the first graphic novel from actor Jim Broadbent, illustrated by comic book artist Dix.



Chinese education publishers found UK-based Innova
Three major Chinese education publishers have joined together to co-found a UK-based English Language Teaching publishing house.



PRH scoops memoir of body activist Howard
Penguin Random House Children’s is publishing the memoir of model and body activist Charli Howard.



________________________________________


Liu made first BIBF Reading Ambassador
One of China’s most famous authors will embark on his tenure as the first Beijing International Book Fair-backed Reading Ambassador this week, with a remit to promote a love of reading for pleasure - particularly to students - across China.



Portobello wins auction for Japanese 'literary sensation'
Portobello Books has snapped up a prize-winning debut from Japanese author Sayaka Murata entitled Convenience Store Woman.



'Extraordinary' response to call for Corbyn illustrations
Independent graphic novel publisher SelfMadeHero is to publish its comic-book anthology about Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn on the 25th September following an "extraordinary" response to its open call for submissions.



Foulds' novel on the 'perils of celebrity' to Cape
Jonathan Cape will publish Adam Foulds’ “stunning, terrifying” new novel about a self-obsessed actor and a deranged fan.



Yellow Kite title asks readers to re-think infidelity
Yellow Kite has acquired a book by couples’ therapist Esther Perel asking readers to re-examine their prejudices and assumptions about infidelity.



Bookspeed expands after sales grow to £9m
Specialist book and gift supplier Bookspeed has more than doubled its operational capacity to more than 25,000 sq ft by investing significantly in additional warehouse facilities.

Arts Journal - Words

Sometimes When Your Editor Yells At You, He’s Entirely Right (No Matter How Much It Hurts)



Sometimes When Your Editor Yells At You, He’s Entirely Right (No Matter How Much It Hurts)
Thomas Ricks labored over his new book, making it just so. When he was done, his editor hated the result, and harshly told him so. In completely rewriting it, Ricks discovered not only that his editor was right but that he could produce something much better…


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Read the story at The Atlantic Published: 08.22.17


Village Voice To Quit Print Publication



Village Voice To Quit Print Publication
The Village Voice was founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher and Norman Mailer, and for decades it sold a weekly version thick with classified ads. Its mix of political and cultural coverage created a model for alternative weeklies around the country, many of which have since folded. In 1996, facing competition from publications like Time Out New York and The New York Press, it changed to free distribution to boost circulation numbers, but gradually it came to rely on ads for sex and escort services for revenue. Under its current ownership, the paper eliminated sex advertising and increased its print distribution to 120,000 copies.


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Read the story at The New York Times Published: 08.22.17


The Glossaries That Define Africa



The Glossaries That Define Africa
“When African writers get together on our own, we talk about glossaries. These additions to the main text, often vetted, if not entirely decided, by publishers, are crucial to how it will be received by readers. But when African writers talk about glossaries, we don’t just exchange tips. (How long? How comprehensive? By whom?) We talk about whether to include one at all, whether to offer glosses within the text or omit all glossing entirely. To gloss, or not to gloss? That is the question.”


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Read the story at New York Review of Books Published: 08.21.17

One of the oldest New Zealand books continuously in print for over 120 years

Yates Garden Guide
now in its 79th edition

First published in 1895, the Yates Garden Guide is one of the oldest New Zealand books in continuous publication. It remains the most comprehensive, reliable and practical source of advice for all New Zealand gardeners.
As our world changes, gardening habits change. Gardening fashions change, too. The Yates Garden Guide records, reflects and reacts to these changes, keeping each edition of the book new and up to date. The challenge over the last 122 years has been to keep the content fresh and relevant for succeeding generations.

While the Yates Garden Guide has grown and changed over the years, it remains a practical book that is of value to everyday homeowners, whether they garden on acreage, a small section, a balcony or a kitchen windowsill. This book offers value to all.

This fully revised new edition of the Yates Garden Guide includes hundreds of plant species, and everything you need to know about growing trees, shrubs, vines, flowers, vegetables, herbs and fruit.
New additions to the 79th edition include:

• New recommendations for pest and disease control and updated problem-solving charts
• How to establish a community garden
• Encouraging bees in the garden
• Growing microgreens
• Transplanting
• A new herb planting and growing chart
• Recommendations on keeping chickens
• New and revised hints from some of New Zealand top gardeners

Yates Garden Guide 79th edition
Publication Date 1 September 2017 | RRP $49.99
published by HarperCollins New Zealand

Sky High: Jean Batten’s Incredible Flying Adventures

Sky High: Jean Batten’s Incredible
Flying Adventures
David Hill & Phoebe Morris (illustrator)

This stunning picture book tells the true story of how Jean Batten became
an international superstar for her solo flights across the world.
The little plane has been flying across the sea for eight hours.
Huge black clouds surround it. Rain pours in. Wind slams.
The aircraft is tossed around like a leaf.

The pilot stares into the darkness. How much fuel is left? Is she flying in the right direction?
How long till she reaches land?
In 1934, Jean Batten set a world record for the fastest flight from England to Australia. Just
two years later, she made the first-ever solo flight from England to New Zealand. Jean’s
fearless determination and flying skills helped her survive storms and crashes, as she
crossed great oceans and lonely deserts in her tiny plane.

This gripping true story with its dazzling illustrations is the third from the award-winning
creators of the picture books First to the Top and Speed King.

More about David Hill
David Hill is a prolific and highly regarded New Zealand writer, playwright, poet, columnist
and critic. Best known for his very popular and award-winning body of work for young
people, ranging from picture books to teenage fiction, his novels have been published all
around the world and translated into several languages, and his short stories and plays for
young people have been broadcast here and overseas.
David has won a number of national and international awards for his writing and was made a
Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2004. Most recently, Speed King was a 2017
Storylines Notable Picture Book and First to the Top (2016) won the HELL Children’s Choice
Award for Non-Fiction and was also a 2016 Storylines Notable Picture Book. Enemy Camp
(2016) won the 2016 HELL Children’s Choice Award for Junior Fiction. Brave Company
(2014) was also a Storylines Notable Junior Fiction book. My Brother’s War (2012), won
the Junior Fiction and the Children’s Choice Junior Fiction awards in the 2013 New Zealand
Post Book Awards for Children and Young Adults, as well as a 2014 IBBY Honour Award.

Published
1 August
Picture Puffin
RRP $25.00

Latest News from The Bookseller

CUP backs down over China censorship
Cambridge University Press has back-pedalled on its decision to censor hundreds of articles from one of its flagship journals in China.



Tributes paid to 'extraordinary' Brian Aldiss
“Extraordinary” science fiction writer Brian Aldiss died on Saturday (19th August) after celebrating his 92nd birthday the previous day.


Australia to tax online overseas book orders
Australia will reportedly begin a 10% tax on books ordered online from within Australia and shipped from abroad.


Bloomsbury to launch China imprint; Charkin honoured in Beijing
Bloomsbury has announced the launch of an English language imprint in China next year, while its executive director Richard Charkin has been given a major honour in Beijing for his contribution to the promotion of Chinese publishing overseas.



Amazon.com book sales up 46% in 2017, says report
Amazon.com's book sales grew 46% to $3bn (£2.33bn) in the first half of 2017, while e-book sales increased 6% to $750m, making the book sector a "stable contributor" to the company's overall success.


Twitter will render children illiterate in 20 years says Jacobson
Novelist Howard Jacobson has said children may be illiterate in 20 years' time, thanks to the rise of smartphones and social media platforms such as Twitter.

________________________________________


Loop snaps up film rights to YA debut Birdy
Film rights have been sold for Birdy, a debut YA novel published by Hot Key Books in 2015, portraying a claustrophobic and menacing friendship between two young women.


Flower-pressed plants feature in Templar debut
Big Picture Press, an imprint of Templar Publishing, has acquired A Year in the Wild, a debut non-fiction title by illustrator Helen Ahpornsiri using nothing but pressed plants.



Comic novel on divorce and badgers to Sandstone
Sandstone Press has acquired a comic literary novel about divorce, mortality and badgers by Rob Palk.


ACE launches library podcast series
Arts Council England (ACE) is launching a series of podcasts to highlight the "positive impact" libraries have on the community.

Publishers Lunch

Today's Meal

People, Etc.

Tina Pohlman left her position as publisher of Open Road in late July, the latest veteran executive to leave the company, which she joined in early 2012. Philip Rappaport is acting publisher, and Libby Jordan will join the company in the new role of executive director, marketing operations. Most recently she was vp, marketing at Bookshout, and has been an advisor to Open Road for many years.

The company's marketing department has been organized into three teams: marketing operations, audience development, and analytics, with Jordan and the other group heads reporting to Mary McAveney. Recent hires on the title marketing team under Jordan include senior director of marketing Hillary Tisman, digital marketing manager Andrew Chapell, and digital marketing coordinator Juliann Fiorentino.

In announcements from the Beijing Book Fair, Richard Charkin said in a speech that Bloomsbury China will launch next year, publishing English-language originals and works in translation, run out of the publisher's London office.

Distribution
Europa Editions will move their distribution to PGW from Penguin Random House Publisher Services as of February 2018. The deal covers the US, Canada and the rest of the world, except for the UK, Ireland and Italy (with the Ferrante books a big draw in export markets). Europa has been with Penguin and then PRH for the past 10 years, prior to which they were distributed by Consortium. Editor-in-chief Michael Reynolds says in the announcement, "We made a decision based on what was best for our authors, their books, and our business. The Penguin Random House reps, some of whom have been selling our titles for almost 10 years, have done an amazing job getting us to this point, and we're indebted to them. Now, all of us at Europa are energized by the prospects for growth and the greater visibility that PGW and Ingram offer."

Separately, Penguin Random House Publisher Services will distribute children's publisher Holiday House starting May 1, 2018 for the U.S. and December 1, 2018 for Canada and all other territories.

Little Kiwi Has a Forest Feast

Little Kiwi Has a Forest Feast
Bob Darroch

An engaging new story in Bob Darroch’s bestselling Little Kiwi series.
Poor Little Kiwi. He has caught a cold, and all he wants to do is snuggle in his burrow and
eat worms. But words don’t quite sound the same when you’re all blocked up, and Little
Sister gets confused. Is Little Kiwi getting a colt, or has he got a cold?
And is he hungry. . . or ugly?
Soon all the forest friends have gathered to see what is going on. When they discover he’s
sick and hungry, they decide to cheer him up with a wonderful feast!
But will the treats they bring him be what he really wants?

Little Kiwi Has a Forest Feast is a wonderful new heart-warming story of friendship and
caring for others.

More about Bob Darroch
Bob Darroch has been drawing cartoons for most of his life. His work has appeared on
toys, jigsaws, souvenirs and postcards and in newspapers and magazines worldwide. He
started writing and illustrating his own books for children in 1999. In 2001, the first of the
popular Little Kiwi stories were published. Little Kiwi is Scared of the Dark has since been
awarded the Storylines Gaelyn Gordon Award for a Much-Loved Book. Bob has illustrated
books for other authors, including for his wife, Ruth

Published
1 August
Picture Puffin
RRP $18.99

The Roundup with PW

The ‘New York Times’ Books Desk Will Make You Read Again
Its chief critic took a buy-out. It's consolidating like crazy. But the Gray Lady's books team is neither flailing nor failing. Here's what it is doing. MORE »


Australia to Tax Online Book Orders Shipped from Abroad
In July 2018, Australia will begin collecting a 10% tax on books ordered from within Australia online and shipped from abroad. MORE »


Arts and Humanities Committee Resigns: Sixteen of the 17 members of the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities have resigned en masse.

Cambridge UP Complies With Censorship: Some academics are vowing to boycott the press, which has accepted censorship of one of its journals by the Chines government.

Brian Aldiss Dies at 92: One of Britain's most respected science fiction writers and the author and editor of more than 100 books died at home on his 92nd birthday.

A Pass-Rusher's Passion for Fiction: New York Giants linebacker Devon Kennard created a vibrant online book club this summer.

Rockport's Only Bookstore Will Close: Toad Hall, the lone bookstore in Rockport, Mass., will remain open through the early fall, but will close by the end of the year.

VIEW ALL »

Duffy Books in Homes

We want to hear from you!

Duffy Books in Homes (Books in Homes) is fast approaching its 25th birthday and we think it's time to hear from our Duffy kids that are now making a difference in the world, no matter how big or small.

If you went to a school that received Duffy Books, we want you.

Click on the link below, answer a few quick questions and Duffy Books in Homes will be in touch as we grow our Duffy Alumni database!
You can forward this email onto any other ex-Duffy kids you may know, thanks from the Duffy team!
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/DuffyAlumni


Duffy's now on Instagram!

You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter:
www.facebook.com/duffybooks
www.twitter.com/duffybooks
www.instagram.com/duffy.books

Latest from The Bookseller

IPA calls on China to overturn 'assault' on academic freedom
The International Publishers Association (IPA) is calling on the Chinese authorities to overturn its decision to censor articles in a Cambridge University Press journal, calling the act a "retrograde assault on freedom to publish and academic freedom".


Audio download chart: Ronson's Butterfly Effect
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Waterstones to be 'transformed' ahead of Pullman release
Waterstones in Tottenham Court Road (TCR) is set to be “transformed into Lyra’s Oxford” the night before Philip Pullman’s first Book of Dust novel is published.


BIBF: Overseas visitors pounce on currency flux
The 24th edition of the Beijing International Book Fair (23rd–27th August) will have a record number of foreign trade exhibitors - including its biggest ever UK contingent.


Nosy Crow boosts team with raft of new hires
Children’s publisher Nosy Crow is expanding its team as it prepares to turn over £10m for the first time.


BIBF: Usborne campaign to highlight safety threats of pirated titles
Usborne Publishing and Jieli Publishing House will run social media campaigns to educate Chinese consumers over safety worries about fake Usborne titles printed in China.



________________________________________


Morpurgo and Riddell on Hay Children's line-up
Michael Morpurgo, Meg Rosoff and Chris Riddell are among the famous names who will be appearing at the inaugural International Children’s Literature Hay Festival Aarhus 2017.


Yiannopoulos responds to S&S in reissued lawsuit
Milo Yiannopoulos has reissued his $10m legal complaint against Simon & Schuster US for cancelling his book deal.

Buchan moves to Atlantic after auction
Elizabeth Buchan is moving to Corvus, an imprint of Atlantic Books, following a "hotly contested" auction for her next two novels.

Paul O'Grady's Country Life to Transworld
Transworld is publishing a new book from comedian and TV presenter Paul O’Grady on life in the country this November.

Publishers Lunch

Today's Meal

People, Etc
Jason Wells has joined Rodale Children's as associate publisher, director of marketing and publicity. Most recently he was vp, marketing and publicity at Simon & Schuster Children's, after 14 years at Abrams Children's.

Frank Radell has joined Houghton Mifflin Harcourt as sales representative for the trade division's office and school supply channel. He was previously at Norwood House Press.

Author Brian Aldiss, called the "Grand Old Man of British science fiction" by the Guardian, died on Saturday, one day after marking his 92nd birthday. (19th August) after celebrating his 92nd birthday the previous day.

Bookselling
Toad Hall bookstore in Rockport, MA, which has been open for 45 years, will close this fall.

Stirling Books & Brew reopened in Albion, MI under new ownership, despite an accident during renovation that left new co-owner Staci Stuart paralyzed from the waist down. The new owners aim to "stress diversity" and "reach all the demographics."

Forthcoming
Lauren Groff's next book, FLORIDA, a collection of stories, will be published next year by Riverhead. The New Yorker has a story, Dogs Go Wolf, that will appear in that collection. She says in an interview: "The collection is a portrait of my own incredible ambivalence about the state where I've lived for twelve years. My feelings for Florida are immoderate, and I love the disappearing natural world, the sunshine, the extraordinary and astonishing beauty of the place as passionately as I hate the heat and moisture and backward politics and the million creatures whose only wish is to kill you. I wrote this collection very slowly and was surprised when it came together to find that the stories built into a ferocious protracted argument."

Arts Journal - Words

When Sue Grafton Started Her Series With ‘A Is For Alibi,’ Few People Knew She’d Get To The End Of The Alphabet



When Sue Grafton Started Her Series With ‘A Is For Alibi,’ Few People Knew She’d Get To The End Of The Alphabet
How did this all get started? Grafton says, “I was reading an Edward Gorey cartoon book called ‘The Gashlycrumb Tinies.’ And that’s little pen-and-ink drawings of Victorian children being done in in various ways. A is for Amy, who fell down the stairs. B is for Basil, assaulted by bears. C for Claire, who – you know, and on down the alphabet. I thought, what a keen idea.”


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Read the story at NPR Published: 08.20.17


The King Of Audiobooks Doesn’t Even Have A Near Rival



The King Of Audiobooks Doesn’t Even Have A Near Rival
George Guidall’s entire family was in the medical profession, and that was his parents’ plan for him. “But as a self-described ‘fat and antisocial’ child in New Jersey, he discovered acting when a high school English teacher recruited him to play Teddy Roosevelt in ‘Arsenic and Old Lace.'” More than 1300 audiobooks later …


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Read the story at The New York Times Published: 08.20.17

University of Waikato Writer in Residence

University of Waikato
& Creative New Zealand
Writer in Residence 2018
School of Arts
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Each year the University of Waikato invites applications for the position of Writer in Residence, tenable for twelve months from January. The salary is $52,000 jointly funded by the University of Waikato and Creative New Zealand, the Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa.
The position is open to poets, novelists, short story writers, dramatists, and writers of serious non-fiction. Appointment will be made on the basis of a proven track record of publications of high quality, and on the strength of the applicant’s Residency proposal.

The Writer is expected to live in Hamilton during the tenure of the award. There are no teaching or lecturing duties attached to the award, the sole purpose of which is to give the Writer the freedom to write. It is expected the Writer will participate in the cultural life of the University. The Writer will be able to make use of the Michael King Writers’ Retreat in Opoutere for up to two weeks (current market value $3,000).

Enquiries can be made to Assoc. Prof. Sarah Shieff, telephone
07 838 4466 extension 8425 or email: sarah.shieff@waikato.ac.nz
Closing date: 29 September 2017 Vacancy number: 370298
For more information and to apply, visit www.jobs.

Introducing Atlas - a Medical Literary Journal

Atlas is a journal of creative and nonfiction writing on medicine and the human body.
The publication aims to foster a greater appreciation of creativity in medicine. It hopes to shift our medical conversations from the rigid and prescriptive, to a form that reflects our complexities. Atlas also offers a space for critical discussion of issues faced by the New Zealand healthcare system, its patients and their doctors. Contributors range from doctors, sociologists, medical students, patients, writers and artists.

Issue 02 explores the relationship between the body and our social, historical and physical environments. Featuring writing on:
• The intersection between gender identity and mental illness.
• Why cultural identity matters in practice.
• How built environments can alter our bodily affect.
• The introduction of Western medicine in India as a tool of the British Empire.
• A collection of poems and prose on medical experiences including anxiety, Crohn’s disease and schizophrenia.

Atlas can be found at Unity Books in Auckland and Wellington and other bookstores (see website for more details).
Copies of the publication can also be purchased online at www.atlasliteraryjournal.org

The most read stories of the past week on The Bookseller:

Our round-up of the most read stories of the past week on The Bookseller:

1. Picador pre-empts essay collection by Muslim women
2. Why O'Reilly Media is no longer selling books online
3. Pressure mounts on book review coverage (£)
4. Firms look outside trade for senior appointments (£)
5. Quarto halts sale talks with mystery bidder
6. Trump tweet causes Amazon's stock to fall $5bn
7. Lion Hudson rescued from administration by AFD Group
8. Pan Mac celebrates 70 years with classics in technicolour
9. Biteback pulls 'true story' of Diana's fatal crash
10. Booker Prize director speaks out after Chaudhuri criticisms (£)

2017 CLNZ Contestable Fund Investments Announced

18 August 2017

Copyright Licensing New Zealand (CLNZ) is delighted to announce the successful applicants in this year’s round of the CLNZ Contestable Fund. Introduced in 2014, the fund was established to support strategic projects that demonstrate New Zealand publishing growth and development, including within education. In 2017, total funds available, and allocated, were $75,000.

The 2017 CLNZ Contestable Fund recipients are:
• Oratia Media $5,000
• Gecko Press $5,000
• Academy of New Zealand Literature $10,000
• The Writing Bug Ltd $5,000
• The Sapling $15,000
• Toitoi Media Ltd $10,000
• Essential Resources $15,000
• Gillian Candler $10,000

Funding contributions will be made to Oratia Media for their young adult non-fiction project and Gecko Press receives funding towards an independent publisher’s roadshow. Academy of New Zealand Literature receive funding for international promotions of New Zealand writers’ work and The Writing Bug has a contribution to translate Te Reo Singalong books into the Samoan language. The Sapling will receive funding towards content development on their children’s books website and Toitoi Media receives funding to publish New Zealand student’s work in Te Reo. Essential Resources receives contributions towards developing print and digital resources for export and Gillian Candler receives funding towards ‘Nature Heroes’, a conservation-focused non-fiction project.

The selection panel were excited by the array of projects in the 65 applications received. They were particularly impressed with the range of material aimed at young people and in multiple languages that will help to respond to New Zealand's changing demographic. They also commented that it was great to be able to support both digital and physical projects.
The CLNZ Contestable Fund is a dynamic fund able to support projects that may not fit with other funding providers objectives. CEO of CLNZ, Paula Browning, said “We intentionally established the Contestable Fund with broad criteria and the variety of projects that have been funded in the past four years, endorses this approach. Investing in authors and publishers and supporting organisations that deliver value to the sector is what the CLNZ Cultural Fund (where this funding comes from) was set up for.”
Applications for the next round of the CLNZ Contestable Fund will be called for in mid-2018.


The Contestable Fund is part of CLNZ’s Cultural Fund, which derives revenue from CLNZ’s licensing activity in New Zealand. Other grants and awards made from this fund include the CLNZ Writers Aware, NZSA/CLNZ Research Grants and tertiary scholarships for creative writing students. Revenue generated through the licensed copying of copyright material is helping to fund the creation of new work.

The Roundup with PW

Celebrities Are Changing the Book Game: Book publicists are working to get new hardcovers into celebrities’ hands in hopes of getting a profile-boosting post on social media.

Saving the 'Paradise Lost' Cottage: A British charity seeks to secure a lasting future for a museum in the home where John Milton completed his epic poem on the fall of man.

George Guidall, King of Audiobooks: The undisputed star of the audiobook world has made more than 1,300 recordings, and has a stack of new prospects sitting beside his bed.

Cara Delevingne Novel Gets Pub Date: The model and actress's debut novel, a coming-of-age YA entry, will be published by Harper on October 3.

Jeff VanderMeer Sees the Apocalypse: The writer dubbed the “Weird Thoreau” on ecological fiction and the cult of climate-change denial.

Still Breathing

STILL BREATHING, my elegy for Derick Burleson, poet / artist, presented here as a video poem, produced & read by the author. I would be most appreciative if you would post this video poem on your blog.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeaudYVjay8



Stephen Oliver - Australasian poet / voice artist and author of 18 volumes of poetry. Lived in Australia for 20 years. Now NZ. Signed on with the radio ship The Voice of Peace broadcasting in the Mediterranean out of Jaffa, Israel in the late 70s. Free-lanced as production voice, narrator, newsreader, radio producer, columnist, copy and feature writer, etc. He has published widely in international literary journals and anthologies. Regular contributor of creative non-fiction and poems to Antipodes: A Global Journal of Australian and New Zealand Literature. Poems translated into German, Spanish, Chinese, and Russian. Oliver’s poem cycle Deadly Pollen, Word Riot Press, USA (2003) translated into Spanish (Polen Mortal) by the Chilean poet, Sergio Badilla Castillo and first published in Nagari (Vol 7 2015). Represented in: Writing To The Wire Anthology, edited by Dan Disney and Kit Kelen, University of Western Australia Publishing 2016; Manifesto: A Political Anthology, edited by Emma Neale and Philip Temple, Otago University Press, 2017. Newly released: GONE: Satirical Poems: New & Selected, Greywacke Press, Canberra, 2016. https://www.amazon.com/Gone-Satirical-Poems-New-Selected/dp/0473360047