Crikey readers have their say,
Australian booksellers
Life after REDgroup — Crikey maps the bookshop closures
In 2009, the number of Australian bookshops stood at around 2270. Following the REDgroup administration, and other shop openings and closures, we know that this figure is now around the 2000 mark. Some suburbs and towns are now without a dedicated bookshop, writes Bookseller + Publisher’s Elly Keating.
Death of the bookshop: what you pay for when you buy local
Many book lovers might choose to shop locally rather than on overseas websites if they had the chance to ponder some of the implications of their decisions, says editor-in-chief of Bookseller+Publisher magazine Matthia Dempsey.
Last page for book buying? Carr, Cunningham, Rosenbloom on REDgroup
Book retailer REDgroup is a victim of online retailers (and the federal government’s rejection of recommendations to open up the local market) or simply poor management. Crikey asked publishers and retailers what it means.
Closing the book on retailing? Publishers nervous at giant’s health
Redgroup Retail — owner of Borders and Angus & Robertson — has been forced to jack up prices, increase returns and extend trading terms with its suppliers, leaving publishers anxious about the industry’s health.
Daily Proposition: Drink from the world’s well (through a book)
The Well at the World’s End is a wonderful book. I particularly enjoyed his encounter with the secret tourist police in Laos, writes bookseller
Talking the Town: Turnbull launches Shitstorm in Sydney. The book, that is
If a week is a long time in politics, then it’s an eternity in book publishing. Last week, then PM Kevin Rudd launched the new Shitstorm book. This week Malcolm Turnbull launched it.
Book import change can only hurt consumers
What sets Australia’s book retail environment apart is its variety and the range of books on our shelves, but the latest turn of events in the saga of Australian territorial copyright for books is putting that reputation at risk, writes Steve Robinson.
Book industry has to accept the Kindle: it may be a bumpy ride
Australian publishers may not like it, but e-books are not going away. And with the launch of the Kindle in Australia, the industry’s going to have to adapt.
Kindle not the book’s iPod moment
The release of Amazon’s Kindle e-reader in Australia has impatient early adopters crying “about time”. But don’t get too excited, says Matthia Dempsey: you may not actually be able to read anything on it.
Dan Brown saves the literary world, one cliché at a time
Dan Brown may be the writer we love to bash (see his 20 worst sentences here!) but without him many other great writers would never be read. His books are like gateway drugs, says Christopher Scanlon.
Battle of the books turns political
The Productivity Commission has recommended the removal of parallel import restrictions on books. So the issue will be politicised. And the battleground is likely to be jobs.
Also on Crikey
Shane Maloney: I am a leech on my readers
The juicy Tom Cruise bits digested. So sue us
Australian booksellers are cagey about stocking Andrew Morton’s tell-all Tom Cruise biog. Crikey is not. Here’s our 2-minute tell-all version.
