Crikey readers have their say.
Publishing
vale 
Good night, Diana Gribble, goodbye, rest in peace
Diana Gribble was a legend in the book world, instrumental in creating two Australian beacons of independent publishing: McPhee Gribble, and Text. W H Chong pays tribute to his dear friend.
Short fiction and Spineless Wonders
Crikey book blogger Angela Meyer discusses short fiction with Bronwyn Mehan, founder of new Australian publishing company Spineless Wonders.
An intriguing read that paints a vivid portrait of the publishing industry
Does a plug by another author on a book cover ever convince you to buy it? Author Bill Morris explains the delicate business of ‘blurbing’, where writers indulge in mutual pats-on-the-back and help aspiring writers get their books onto shelves.
Sophie Cunningham: is writing evolving?
Is form following function? Are we evolving? Or, to the question I want to consider here: is writing evolving? And is there a danger of Australian writers losing their distinctive voice, asks writer and editor Sophie Cunningham?
Shaffer plays Afghan Whispers with Pentagon … and wins
Spies, scandals, secret documents, crises in the Pentagon … and that’s before anyone’s even opened the bloody book! Controversy around Afghan War exposé Operation Dark Heart will likely drive big sales, writes Crikey intern Nick Johns-Wickberg.
Want to write a book? Become an editor
Usually being a writer and being an editor was a complete different kettle of fish. But is it actually advantageous for a young author to work in the publishing industry or does that just cause writing and reading fatigue?
must read 
How I blew publishing J.D Salinger’s final book
Roger Lathbury recounts the fascinating story of how he wrote to famously reclusive author JD Salinger, met with him, was to publish his final book and then… the story hit the news and Salinger walked away.
Video of the Day: The future of publishing
Oh dear. It’s the death of publishing, with young people only caring about what Lady Gaga is wearing and hating the feel of books. Or is it?
Fiction is dead; long live the autobiography!
What’s with the spate of tell-alls, autobiographies and memoirs lately? According to a new book, it’s all about the “democratisation” of authorship: everyone has a story to tell, and it’s now easier than ever to tell it.
Marieke Hardy reaches for the phone book
With all the talk of Kindles coming to Oz, The Age are releasing a 20 episode fiction story written by Marieke Hardy to be sent daily to your mobile. How will the publishing experiment play out?
The secret life of publishing interns
Publishing may have the reputation of being a sexy, glamour job but what it is like if you’re just starting out? Estelle Tang interviews the lucky recipients of the Australian Publishers Association internships to get the real story.
Teens score Twitter book deal
Two 19-year-olds have signed a deal with Penguin to release their book “Twitterature: The World’s Greatest Books, Now Presented in Twenty Tweets or Less”, which they describe as a “hipster’s Cliff Notes”
Make it free, then make your fortune
Everything Explained books always sell well. Wired editor, Chris Anderson, adds his contribution, Free, which argues that taking the price tag off something is the path to riches.
Gannett feel the credit crunch
With their credit status slashed to junk, the largest newspaper publisher in the US, Gannett Co (owners of USA Today, amongst over 90 other titles) need to raise $400 million over the next two year to survive — but many of their bondholders would rather they default.
Bob Ellis v Margot Saville: from farts to Ingmar Bergman
Author and sometimes Crikey contributor Margot Saville reviewed Bob Ellis’ And So It Went: Night Thoughts in a Time of Change for the Sydney Morning Herald. Bob Ellis begged to differ
Childhood memories published for all to see
How will the increase in confessional ‘bad’ mum and dad memoirs affect their children in future years? What does it say about the parents?
10 cursed second novels
Frazier’s Cold Mountain sold in bucketloads and he received an $8million advance for Thirteen Moons. It flopped.
Meanjin: Productivity Commission committing cultural sabotage
If you don’t care about the survival of independent publishing in Australia, perhaps the Commission’s recommendations won’t bother you. If you do, they should, writes Sophie Cunningham.
Read this: is parallel importation the path to a literary nation?
The Productivity Commission’s inquiry into the Copyright Act has once more opened the debate about the parallel importation of books in Australia, writes Jeff Sparrow.
Maybe this will be the book that gives Costello a spine
The looming Costello memoir doesn’t signal a political end for the Liberal Hamlet, writes Bernard keane.
Harry Potter and the battle for free speech
Gripping scenes in a New York court this week, as famed Harry Potter author JK Rowling and her publisher are suing another publisher, RDR Books, writes Charles Richardson.
Adler: Quality arts require government protection
If the arts sector needed reminding of its lowly status in the free market arcadia the response to my suggestion that the arts need more secure funding should confirm it, writes Louise Adler.
