Category Archives: For fun

Here’s to a lovely Book Market weekend

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And what a weekend it was.

People everywhere, delicious sausages (have I mentioned how much I like sausage sizzles?), bargains galore, author signings and readings – but the best part was all the people who came out to celebrate with us.

We feel like we’ve met a little more of the neighbourhood now – and like we’ve been welcomed with open arms. Thanks so much, guys. It’s so lovely getting to know you all. And for all our old friends who made the trek across town: thanks so much for coming, because it was bloody lovely to see you all too!

And for those of you who were with us when the heavens opened on Saturday afternoon – wasn’t it spectacular?! We made a mad dash to get all books, people and sausages inside. I am very relieved to say that not a single sausage was ruined by rain. The books and people seemed to come out of it okay, too.

Welcome!

Come one, come all!

Book Market customers

Looking for the perfect book for mums/dads/siblings/niblings (now isn’t that a great word?)

Our fearless leader on sales duty

Our fearless leader on sales duty.

Book Market author schedule

A big thanks to all the Wakefield authors who came along – we’re all WP family. And the readings were fantastic!

Book Market sausage sizzle

Clinton and Neil, sausage sizzlers extraordinaires. These guys kept me well fed for the duration.

Thanks so much for coming out, y’all! Here’s to Book Market 2015!

Wednesday links

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So, at this point, I’m pretty sure it will never get warm and we’re going to live in an endless winter and eventually die of sunlight deprivation with most of our extremities missing.
Sometimes my ears get cold on the ride into work, you know? It’s getting pretty dire.
(Also, possibly besides the point, but how do you ride without using your hands? I keep on trying and end up swerving wildly into oncoming traffic.)

If I manage to survive the week – we won’t look forward to the end of the month, that would be ridiculous – I will definitely make use of this fantastic article that Simon found for us. Big red barn or red big barn? We know instinctively which one sounds better, but WHY??!

Oh, I do love ogling a good selection of well-designed book covers. Go.

And last but not least, the dumbest sign ever. It gives you something to think about in this world of signifiers and simulacra.

Also, Genesis. Because: Genesis.

 

 

 

More mischief from our authors

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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

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

 

Kate Strohm (centre)

Kate Strohm discussing Siblings.

 

Sally van Gent

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!).

The Geek’s Blog: All About Ebooks

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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.

Ereader with books

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.

Cojones meme, nerd!

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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!

New Wakefieldians and Thursday links

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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!

Nature's Line

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Better be quick!