Trade News

CHARLAINE HARRIS AUTHOR TOUR: TICKETS ON SALE NOW

Fans of HBO series True Blood, and lovers of the Sookie Stackhouse novels the show is based on, are in for a treat come October.

Charlaine Harris, author of the bestselling series of books which spawned the critically-acclaimed TV show, will be touring New Zealand for the first time from October 4 – 6.

Charlaine will speak at two public events – one in Auckland and one in Wellington –  and tickets, which have just gone on sale, are already in hot demand.

Couldn’t get to conference? Here's a quick and easy summary.

Booksellers are suffering in the current recovery-from-recession phase, but speakers at Booksellers Conference last weekend projected a confident future. Yes, e-books will impact on trade – but ABA’s Len Vlahos showed how they can work for independent booksellers.

The Read will cover the key speakers in detail over following issues, but right now here’s the conference in a capsule:

In a major publishing event, renowned artist Jeannie Baker’s new picture book Mirror was officially launched at the Museum of Sydney on Wednesday 18 August 2010 by Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir AC CVO, Governor of NSW.
 
Over two hundred people gathered to celebrate the publication of what many believe to be Jeannie’s best book yet. Featuring intricate, eye-catching artworks, the original collages  are now exhibited to the public at the Museum of Sydney.

31st August - 4 September

The Taranaki Children's Book Festival 2010 kicks off Tuesday (31st August) with an awards night in Stratford. After judging a junior and intermediate writing competition, the touring authors will announce the winners.

For the rest of the week, the authors and illustrators will visit schools on the Taranaki Book Trail. The festival ends on Saturday (4 September) with a grand Gala Finale at The TSB Hub in Hawera (10am - 2pm).

Len Vlahos’ story of how he came to be a bookseller will be familiar to many Kiwis in the trade… he first had a job at the NYU campus bookstore while studying film.

Random House New Zealand has been reaccredited as an an Enviro-Mark NZ Gold-certified company, joining a group of leading New Zealand businesses certified by Enviro-Mark®NZ.

Thanks to the dedication of Random House staff, who have been working hard to recycle, reduce waste and thereby lower their company’s carbon footprint.

Random House managing Director Karen Ferns is thrilled with the reaccreditation and says that “with great team work, anything is possible”, and encourages other businesses to do the same.

A little less conversation, a little more action…(from VUP):

While others are talking themselves hoarse, Victoria University Press and mebooks.co.nz have quietly been going about publishing some ebooks. They’ve been joined by VicBooks, who are leading the way for independent booksellers.

For ebooks to become established in New Zealand doesn’t require a tipping-point event such as the entry of a big international player or a sexy new device. This is a process that has been happening gradually for more than 20 years, and the barriers to entry, and costs, are now low.

Christchurch Writers’ Festival 9 – 12 September

Writers Festivals have their own styles: Auckland is cosmopolitan with a touch of showbiz, Wellington is intellectual and Christchurch has its own distinctive mix of international headliners and local authors over many genres. If you liken the Christchurch festival to Christchurch fashion there are parallels – well designed, beautifully made and showing unexpected flair and panache.

The three finalists for the inaugural Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel, which will be presented at a ceremony at the upcoming The Press Christchurch Writers’ Festival in September, have now been confirmed. The award is made for the best crime, mystery, or thriller novel written by a New Zealand citizen or resident, published in New Zealand during 2009.

A panel of seven local and international judges has been considering the best of locally written crime and thriller fiction published last year.

Eminent New Zealand author Maurice Shadbolt wrote only one story for children, and it is now published some six years after his death and 15 years after he and David Ling first looked for a suitable illustrator. Now The Mountain Who Wanted to Live in a House has come to life in the hands of exciting new talent Renee Haggo.