Have you seen the latest issue of Books+Publishing magazine?
Inside you’ll find 13 reviews of adult books publishing in June, July and August.
Our reviewers awarded four or more stars to four fiction books, including Max Barry’s thriller Lexicon, which spans New York City and Broken Hill; John Harwood’s ‘compelling page-turner’ The Asylum; Ron Elliott’s short-story compilation Now Showing; and Ali Alizadeh’s collection of interconnecting stories Transactions. One poetry book also scored four stars: Unearthed by Tracy Ryan, a book that demonstrates ‘how poetry can best address the intricacies of our emotional lives’.
The three nonfiction books reviewed in this issue were also popular with reviewers. Battlers & Billionaires: The Story of Inequality in Australia by Andrew Leigh; Girt: The Unauthorised History of Australia by David Hunt; and Out of Shape: Debunking Myths about Fashion and Fit by Mel Campbell all scored three-and-a-half stars.
You’ll also find interviews with John Harwood, Max Barry and Vanessa Russell, author of the debut novel Holy Bible, while Hugh Howey, author of the bestselling sci-fi ‘Wool’ series, is our on-tour author.
This issue contains a feature on Mother's Day titles, with lots of book ideas for Mum. For those keen to stay abreast of new developments in publishing contracts, Alex Adsett highlights some key areas for publishers and authors; Ruth Jelley presents her findings on ebook pricing and marketing; Andrea Hanke explores the market for romance book post-Fifty Shades; and Jane Caro, the keynote speaker at this year’s ABA conference, offers her opinions on the Australian book industry, suggesting that ‘an opportunity to market reading and books as a whole may be worth exploring’.
Our bookseller’s diary is from Chris Saliba from North Melbourne Books, which has just notched up a year in business, and our Talkback column explores how publishers determine the price of their ebooks.
» Junior Term 2
In our Junior supplement you’ll find 17 reviews of children’s and YA books publishing in June, July and August.
Our reviewers were particularly impressed with the young-adult fiction available, with five YA books scoring four stars or more, including Nicole Hayes’ exploration of teenage grief The Whole of My World; Fiona Wood’s Wildlife, which examines ‘friendships, family and new romance’; and Allyse Near’s literary debut Fairytales for Wilde Girls, which was this issue’s only book to score five stars for its ‘clever and sharp’ writing. Roseanne Hawke’s Shahana, the first instalment of the ‘Through My Eyes’ series for young readers, was also popular with our reviewer, as was Sarah Acton’s whimsical picture book Hold on Tight.
You can read interviews with editor Lyn White, author-illustrator team James Vance Marshall and Francis Firebrace, and YA author Kate Hendrick, while Libba Bray answers our on-tour questions ahead of her visit to Australia in May.
Our industry profile is on community outreach consultant Matt Finch, who shares the highlights of his work in Australian schools and libraries. In our other features Markus Zusak and Melina Marchetta give Andrew Wrathall their thoughts on the upcoming film adaptations of their books, and Kate Blackwood speaks to several authors about the process of bringing a children’s book series to an end.
You'll find all these reviews, author interviews and stories, and many more, at our website www.booksandpublishing.com.au.
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To receive the magazine, contact subscriptions on (03) 8517-8333 or email subs@thorpe.com.au