More mischief from our authors

Posted on 24 July 2014 by admin

So, Sally Hunter (née Foster) is about to swim in the Commonwealth Games, Kate Strohm‘s casually ambling all over the world, and Sally van Gent has so many author events coming up that we’ve been considering sending her a few cases of energy drinks to help her out!

Sally Foster signing books at the launch of Born to Swim.

Kate Strohm discussing Siblings.

Sally van Gent relaxing at home in between a crazy, crazy schedule talking about Clay Gully.

Phew! We can hardly keep up with these guys!

And, for no reason other than it’s Thursday and everyone’s been so amazing this week, here’s a little bit of funk to get us through to the weekend (courtesy of Geek in Residence, Simon!).

Siblings in Italy …

Posted on 21 July 2014 by admin

Ready for a bit of jealousy for your Monday morning?

WP author Kate Strohm has sent word back from Italy, where she presented a one day seminar on the topic of siblings of children with disability in Assisi (looks terrible, right?). She says,

With an audience of family members and professionals, the seminar was a lively and rewarding day. It is interesting that the issues are the same for families the world over. This particular event was so well organised by the Serafico Institute, and included simultaneous translation which made things so much easier. We had some adult and teen siblings tell their stories, always moving, but especially so this time when a young sibling expressed herself through music.

And some photos —

As far as views go, this one’s … passable.

Yes, those are shoes made of chocolate.

Not finished yet, Kate is soon to present in Scotland.

Delicious food and gorgeous art writers

Posted on 9 July 2014 by admin

The SALA Festival is almost upon us, and we’re celebrating art writers over at Wakefield!

At the top of the particularly excellent list is the SALA Writing Art Literary Dinner, and you’re all invited, just by the way —

Good food, good company, interesting conversation – can you go wrong?

Oh, and about that food – let me show you a peek of the menu so you know what I’m talking about:

AMIRITE??

The Geek’s Blog: All About Ebooks

Posted on 3 July 2014 by admin

Hi! My name is Simon Collinson and I’m Wakefield Press’s new ‘Geek in Residence’. Thanks to the generosity of the Australia Council, I’m here until the end of August to work on Wakefield’s ebook business.

So what exactly are ebooks? Essentially, they’re a website in a box: a kind of text file which can be displayed on computers, tablets, phones, and dedicated ereader devices.

Ebooks come in a few formats. The most widely used of these is an open format called EPUB, followed closely by MOBI, a proprietary format owned by Amazon, the creator of the popular ‘Kindle’ line of ereaders.

Ebooks are great for people who prefer to read large print books, as the text size can be enlarged. This means that every ebook is a large print book! They’re also good for travellers, because an average tablet or ereader is capable of holding hundreds or even thousands of ebooks.

‘But where can I buy Wakefield’s ebooks?’, I hear you asking? Luckily, you have a few options: find our ebooks at your preferred retailer, or buy them directly from us. EPUB format ebooks work on just about every device around (except for Kindles). Click here to see which ebook formats are supported by your tablet or ereader.

Ebooks are taking the publishing world by storm: they now make up at least 10% of all books sold in Australia. While I’m at Wakefield, my job is to make sure we can compete in this growing market. To do this, I need to know what our readers want. That’s why I’m asking you, dear readers, to get in touch and let me know what you think of our ebooks.

I’m looking forward to hearing your comments, suggestions, and questions.

Grammar Nazis

Posted on 24 June 2014 by admin

Just had to share.

Today we found actual grammar Nazis.

And then discovered that we wished we could take Annabelle Lukin‘s classes. Sound rad.

And here’s a picture of a kitten. That is all.

Cojones meme, nerd!

Posted on 19 June 2014 by admin

Thursday links are in, kiddies!

We have a fantastic article from the Guardian about words invented by authors, which has been doing the rounds these last couple of days, and has provided the wonderful title to this blog post. The list of author-invented words is wonderful, but some seem particularly apt – that cojones (from the Spanish) entered regular English usage courtesy of Hemingway is glorious. Read more here.

From Esquire, we have a step-by-step guide to giving up the Amazon addiction and shopping in your local bookshop. Discontent with Bezos’ empire has been growing recently, but shopping local shouldn’t just be about a boycott. Bricks and mortar bookshops are wonderful places to find new authors, new titles, and to find out more about your local community of writers and readers. There’s nothing quite like being able to drop into Imprints on your break and spend some time familiarising yourself with the current crop of great reads. I would live in Matilda’s if they’d let me. And you’re always ALWAYS in good hands at Dymocks or Dillons. Just to name a few!

Next up, I think I’m feeling Velvet Underground after all that!

Hope the week’s treating y’all well!

Oh me oh my

Posted on 18 June 2014 by admin

Let the awards for Nature’s Line begin.

The shortlist for the very highly respected Ernest Scott Prize was announced today, and Janis Sheldrick’s amazing George Goyder biography is top of the list! With some spot on judges’ comments, too.

We’re incredibly proud of this book, and the mammoth amount of work, love and dedication put into by Janis.

We’re definitely expecting more from where this came from. Congratulations Janis!

Born to Swim – we’re famous! …

Posted on 12 June 2014 by admin

… Or at least our very talented author Sally Hunter (née Foster) is.

Skip forward to 1:45 to see a reference to Sally’s upcoming book, Born to Swim. Available here soon – watch this space!

New Wakefieldians and Thursday links

Posted on 12 June 2014 by admin

Thanks to an awesome Oz Co grant, we now have an ebook expert in residence for the next three months. Or, as we like to say: Simon is in the house!

We like this one. As well as being a general ebook Grand Master, he’s also an avid reader and reviewer, and an on-the-side Brow Lifter (online editor).

He also finds the best articles on interesting book-related things.

Which brings me to today’s links!

We have an awesome, awesome article on the struggle to read from the New York Review of Books. It’s a great piece on the way that we read today, and how it affects the way we write. Cheers for this Simon!

Second up is associated: an article from the New Yorker, on the proposed trigger warnings for students of literature, and the kind of impact that could have on readers. Another fascinating piece on the act of reading – something we’re pretty keen on exploring over here.

Third up is not a link, but an apology from me. Two New York-centric articles in one blog post? Not good enough!

Fourth, to localise things a bit, we have the interactive timeline for Golden North Ice Cream’s history. Just to continue with the Laura theme from yesterday. Also because it’s damn cool. Also also because I think we need more ice cream in this office. Whatever the weather.

Also also ALSO — this one‘s back in stock guys!

Better be quick!

Tracking Wakefield’s authors

Posted on 10 June 2014 by admin

Rise and shine kiddies, let this new (and short!) week begin …

To be perfectly honest, we’re struggling to keep up with our authors over here —

There’s Dino Hodge, on Late Night Live with Phillip Adams last night discussing Don Dunstan. Wonderful interview.

Then there’s Kate Strohm, who’s again heading to Italy to present on sibling issues discussed in her book, Siblings: Brothers and Sisters of Children with Disability. She presented at workshops in Italy in 2006 and 2013, and this year she’s preparing to present in Assisi and Glasgow. Kate says the experiences have been especially memorable – though working with a translator all day can be exhausting! – and reinforce the idea that families are the same the world over.

Siblings Revised Ed.

Then Philip Butterss, who has been running all over town presenting for the brilliant C.J. Dennis biography, An Unsentimental Bloke, has a launch coming up at Laura on the 22 June. Laura‘s a pretty rad place – C.J. Dennis wrote the poem ‘Laura Days’ about his time there:

When the evening sun slants through the gums,
By my forest-rimmed abode
Once more the old clear picture comes,
And my mind drifts down the road;
Back to the town by Beetaloo,
Where the rocky river strays;
Back to the old kind friends I knew
In the dear dead Laura days.

Couldn’t have put it better myself, Clarry. Except I would have added a line about how it’s the homeplace of Golden North ice cream, obvs.

And that’s only three accounted for! To keep up with everyone else, keep an eye on our events calendar.

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