Small Press Network

Congratulations to all Small Press Network members who've made an appearance on these two very impressive lists.
To view the full shortlist for the Children's Book of the Year Awards click here: https://buff.ly/43qqH6p
For the 2024 Book Awards Shortlist click here:
https://buff.ly/3Tl6U3C

How do we write or hold our former selves, our ancestries? How does where we come from connect to where we are headed? How do we tell the stories of those who have been diminished or ignored in the writing of history? How do we do justice to the lives they lived, or to the people they were?

In this collection of essays from Liminal and published by Pantera Press, First Nations writers and writers of colour bend and shift boundaries, query the past and envision new futures. Read the interview from the prize-winning editors of Against Disappearance: Essays on Memory, Leah Jing McIntosh and Adolfo Aranjuez, here: https://buff.ly/3UNTFLb

From Kangaroo Tail Bourguignon to Saltbush Butter, First Nations chef Nornie Bero "champions the tastes of native flavours in everyday cooking" in Mabu Mabu, which was Shortlisted for the 2023 BOTY Award.

Nornie Bero is from the Meriam People of Mer Island in the Torres Strait and is the Executive Chef, CEO and Owner of Mabu Mabu. Bero has been a professional chef for more than twenty-five years. Her style of cooking is all about generosity and flavour and she has been creating dishes using Australian native ingredients for much of her career. Mabu Mabu’s venues – Tuckshop in Yarraville, and Big Esso in Federation Square, Melbourne – champion Islander flavours and Australian native produce. Through the business and her book, Nornie is on a mission to make Indigenous herbs, spices, vegetables and fruits a part of everyone’s kitchen pantry. Find our interview with Nornie Bero here!: https://buff.ly/3uLKaBz

🏆📚 Congratulations to our SPN members and their authors part of the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2024 - 1️⃣ 6️⃣ fantastic titles Shortlisted! 🤩

We were lucky enough to chat with Andrew Sutherland about Paradise (point of transmission), which was Shortlisted for the 2023 BOTY Award. Andrew's work draws upon intercultural and Q***r critical theories, identity, culture, and self. Read the full interview here: https://buff.ly/3Ty5CDX 🧡📖

A huge thanks to the four independent bookshops across Australia who helped sponsor this year’s BOTY Award! Bookoccino (NSW), Fullers Bookshop (TAS), Avid Reader (QLD), and Readings (VIC)! Let’s continue to support and celebrate our independent bookshops! Read more by following the link below!:

Independent bookshops sponsor the 2023 Book of the Year (BOTY) Award - The Small Press Network The Small Press Network’s Book of the Year (BOTY) Award is an annual award that highlights authorial and publishing excellence by small and independent publishers. Open to any book released by an SPN member during the previous calendar year, the BOTY Award provides significant recognition and prom...

We're back from our hiatus after the 2023 Independent Publishing Conference! 📚 More posts to come to wrap up the year 🎁. But first, in case you missed it, read more about the 2023 SPN Book of the Year (BOTY) Winner here!: https://buff.ly/3uZSUUt

In just under one hour the Wheeler Centre will be hosting SPN's Book of the Year (BOTY) Award presentation, where one of the Shortlisted titles will be announced as the Winner! 📚🤩 A special shout-out, also, to this year's Honourable Mentions: This All Come Back Now ed. by Mykaela Saunders (UQP), and Lockdown by Chip Le Grand (Monash).

We were lucky enough to chat with Jo Riccioni about The Branded, one of the shortlisted titles for the 2023 SPN Book of the Year Award. Jo Riccioni graduated with a Masters in Medieval Literature from Leeds University. Her short stories have won awards in the UK and Australia and have been anthologised in Best Australian Stories. Jo’s first novel, The Italians at Cleat’s Corner Store, won the International Rubery Award for fiction and was longlisted for the New Angle Prize in the UK. The Branded Season is her first epic fantasy duology. Read more about Jo's shortlisted title and her creative process by following this link!: https://buff.ly/47FYEkf 🤩

"The Branded is an addictive YA novel from Jo Riccioni. With captivating protagonists and an immersive landscape, this story is entirely devourable. It includes all of the best parts of YA – a treacherous journey, a dystopian societal structure, tests of loyalty, and just the perfect amount of desire."

—BOTY 2023 judging panel

We were lucky enough to chat with George Haddad about Losing Face, one of the shortlisted titles for the 2023 SPN Book of the Year Award. George Haddad is an award-winning writer, artist and academic practising on Gadigal land. In 2023 he was named a Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Novelist. He is a lecturer and researcher at the Writing and Society Research Centre, Western Sydney University. Read more about George's shortlisted title and his writing process by following this link!: https://buff.ly/46pN0c8 🤩

"For a novel about violence, Losing Face is surprisingly tender. George Haddad is a writer with a talent for voice and place, vividly capturing the intensity of Western Sydney. Haddad uses layered intergenerational storytelling to demonstrate the complexity with which lives intertwine and unravel around a violent crime. He avoids delivering neat and easy answers but instead lingers in places that we usually want to look away from. But we don’t look away; Haddad has achieved a page-turning urgency that makes this a compelling reading experience."

—BOTY 2023 judging panel

It's almost time! ⏱️🥳📚 The 2023 Independent Publishing Conference will be held over three days from 23–25 November at Melbourne’s Wheeler Centre and livestreamed online.

Last up: Workshop Day! The final day of the 2023 Independent Publishing Conference will entail practical workshops. These will include sessions on what goes into the production of audiobooks, how to efficiently and successfully self-edit a draft, tips on career progression, how to engage in e-commerce, what makes good book design, the challenges of setting up a publishing business, the popularisation of new review platforms and so much more! ✍️😍

Scroll through the slides to see a breakdown of Saturday's events - and book your tickets through this link!: https://buff.ly/47fLAlD We look forward to seeing you there! 🤩

It's almost time! ⏱️🥳📚 The 2023 Independent Publishing Conference will be held over three days from 23–25 November at Melbourne’s Wheeler Centre and livestreamed online.

Next up: Industry Day! The second day of the 2023 Independent Publishing Conference will feature industry professionals speaking on important topics such as ‘First Nations – Story, Culture and Community’, ‘Creating Author Communities’ and ‘AI and the Literary World’.

Discussions will entail inclusion, diversity and innovation in bookselling, new directions in children’s books and strategic development for small publishers. Joining us on-screen from New York is international guest Mike Shatzkin, legendary publishing consultant, in conversation with Tim Coronel (SPN GM), discussing global industry trends.

Join us later in the evening for the SPN Book of the Year Award (BOTY) presentation, presented by The Wheeler Centre as part of its Next Big Thing program. Scroll through the slides to see a breakdown of Friday's events - and book your tickets through this link!: https://buff.ly/47fLAlD We look forward to seeing you there! 🤩