Roald Dahl Funny Prize 2012 judges announced

The Great British Bake Off and Light Lunch presenter Mel Giedroyc and journalist and author of The Reluctant Bride Lucy Mangan are two of the judges announced for the fifth year of the Roald Dahl Funny Prize. Joining them on the panel tasked with seeking out the funniest children's books of 2012 are Liz Pichon, winner of the 2011 Prize for 7-14 years with The Brilliant World of Tom Gates, and Ed Vere, award-winning picture book author of Chick and Mr Big. Children's book royalty and author of a new Roald Dahl biography - Fantastic Mr Dahl - Michael Rosen returns to lead this gloriumptious selection of human beans in their quest to find two splendiferous winners: for children aged 6 years and under, and children aged 7–14 years categories

Berkley purchases Sylvain Reynard's Gabriel's Inferno Series from Omnific Publishing

Penguin Group has acquired USA Today & NYT bestselling author Sylvain Reynard's Gabriel's Inferno & Gabriel's Rapture, in a two-book deal on behalf of Omnific Publishing, facilitated by Deidre Knight & Melissa Jeglinski of The Knight Agency. Berkley purchases Sylvain Reynard's Gabriel's Inferno Series from Omnific Publishing in a seven-figure deal

John Vitale leaving HarperCollins

John Vitale is leaving HarperCollins this month. He worked with authors that included Kurt Vonnegut, Maurice Sendak and Shel Silverstein

Michael Cart reminisces about the late great Ray Bradbury

In his latest podcast, Michael Cart pays a loving tribute to writer and faithful library supporter Ray Bradbury, who passed away on June 5, 2012. Ray Bradbury titles cited in this podcast: Dandelion Wine, The Martian Chronicles, Farenheit 451, The Halloween Tree

Not the Booker prize 2012: vote for the shortlist

Not the Booker prize 2012: vote for the shortlist:

Socrates Adams - Everything's Fine

Kitty Aldridge - A Trick I Learned from Dead Men

Louis Armand - Breakfast at Midnight

Ros Barber - The Marlowe Papers

Nicola Barker - The Yips

Ned Beauman - The Teleportation Accident

Liam Murray Bell - So It Is

Caroline Brothers - Hinterland

Peter Carey - The Chemistry of Tears

Adam Christopher - Empire State

Glen Duncan - Talulla Rising

Steve Ely - Ratmen

Stuart Evers - If This Is Home

Jenni Fagan - The Panopticon

Patrick Flanery - Absolution

Vanessa Gebbie - The Coward's Tale

Jonny Gibbings - Malice in Blunderland

Andrea Gillies - The White Lie

M John Harrison - Empty Space

Lander Hawes - Captivity

Peter Hobbs - In the Orchard, the Swallows

Kerry Hudson - Tony Hogan Bought Me an Ice Cream Float Before He Stole My Ma

JW Ironmonger - The Notable Brain of Maximilian Ponder

Lars Iyer - Dogma

Suzanne Joinson - A Lady Cyclist's Guide To Kashgar

Susanna Jones - When Nights Were Cold

Aj Kirby - Paint This Town Red

Margo Lanagan - The Brides of Rollrock Island

John Lanchester - Capital

Harriet Lane - Alys Always

Will Le Fleming - Central Reservation

Deborah Levy - Swimming Home

Nell Leyshon - The Colour of Milk

Karen Lord - Redemption In Indigo

Kenneth Macleod - The Incident

Hilary Mantel - Bring Up the Bodies

Paul Mason - Rare Earth

Simon Mawer - The Girl Who Fell from the Sky

Stephen May - Life! Death! Prizes!

Samantha Mills - The Quiddity of Will Self

Timothy Mo - Pure

Alan Monaghan - A Soldier's Farewell

Ewan Morrison - Tales from the Mall

Steve Mosby - Dark Room

Benjamin Myers - Pig Iron

Michael Palin - The Truth

Elliot Perlman - The Street Sweeper

Richard Pierce - Dead Men

Tom Pollock - The City's Son

Alex Preston - The Revelations

David Rain - The Heat of the Sun

Anna Raverat - Signs of Life

Dan Rhodes - This Is Life

Keith Ridgway - Hawthorn and Child

Gwendoline Riley - Opposed Positions

Adam Roberts - Jack Glass

Bethan Roberts - My Policeman

Fiona Robyn - The Most Beautiful Thing

Iain Rowan - One of Us]

Zadie Smith - NW

James Smythe - The Testimony

Simon Swift - The Casablanca Case

Graeme Talboys - Stealing Into Winter

Tarun Tejpal - The Story of My Assassins

Paul Torday - The Legacy of Hartlepool Hall

Adam Thorpe - Flight

Alan Warner - Dead Man's Pedal

Peter Wild - The Passenger

Will Wiles - The Care of Wooden Floors

Ada Wilson - Red Army Faction Blues

Jacqueline Winspear - Elegy For Eddie

Chris Womersley - Bereft

2012 Ned Kelly Awards Short list

The short list for the 2012 Ned Kelly Awards has been announced:

Best First Fiction
Boyd Anderson Ludo
Allan Barbeler An Absence of Discretion
Andrez Bergen Tobacco Stained Mountain Goat
Claire Corbett When We Have Wings
Virginia Duigan The Precipice
Y.A. Erskine The Brotherhood
Maggie Groff Mad Men, Bad Girls and the Guerrilla Knitter’s Institute
Sylvia Johnson Watch Out For Me
Melanie Joosten Berlin Syndrome
Stuart Littlemore Harry Curry: Counsel of Choice
Noel Mealey Murder and Redemption
Daniel O’Malley The Rook
Alastair Sarre Prohibited Zone
Peter Twohig The Cartographer
Kim Westwood The Courier's New Bicycle
Gas Wylde Casino Kurnell

Best Fiction
Lenny Bartulin De Luxe
A.A. Bell Hindsight
Honey Brown After The Darkness
J.C. Burke Pig Boy
Peter Corris Comeback
Miranda Darling Siren’s Sting
Garry Disher Whispering Death
Jaye Ford Scared Yet?
Kerry Greenwood Cooking the Books
Brett Hoffmann The Race
Katherine Howell Silent Fear
Stephen M Irwin The Broken One
Malcolm Knox The Life
Adriana Koulias The Sixth Key
Nansi Kunze Dangerously Placed
Tobsha Learner The Map
Stuart Littlemore Harry Curry: Counsel of Choice
Colleen McCullough The Prodigal Son
Barry Maitland Chelsea Mansions
Kel Robertson Rip Off
Michael Robotham The Wreckage
Jennifer Rowe Love, Honour & O’Brien
Kirsten Tranter A Common Loss
Peter Twohig The Cartographer
Kim Westwood The Courier's New Bicycle
Felicity Young A Dissection of Murder

Best True Crime
Hilary Bonney The Double Life of Herman Rockefeller
Peter Corris Mad Dog
Eamonn Duff Sins of the Father
Michael Duffy Call Me Cruel
Lucy Frost Abandoned Women
Fiona Harari A Tragedy in Two Acts
Rochelle Jackson Partners and Crime
Rachael Jane Chin Nice Girl
Kevin Morgan Detective Piggot’s Casebook
Kevin Morgan Gun Alley
James Morton and Susanna Lobez Gangland Melbourne
James Morton and Susanna Lobez Gangland Sydney
Stephen Orr The Cruel City
Liz Porter Cold Case Files
Mark ‘Chopper’ Read Road To Nowhere
Kay Schubert Perfect Stranger
Adam Shand Outlaws
David Spiteri The Prez

The SD Harvey Short Story
TBA

Melbourne Writers Festival 2012 (Australia)

Since 1986, Melbourne Writers Festival has been a cornerstone of the city's literary culture. The festival's success - and that of the city's writers, publishers and all those across the industry - has provided the opportunity for Melbourne's community of readers and writers to grow and prosper. The 27th Melbourne Writers Festival runs from 23 August to 2 September 2012

London book and poetry events: 1-7 August, 2012

Book, poetry and spoken word events in London 1-7 August, 2012

PA Bulletin 30 July 2012

PA Bulletin 30 July 2012, from The Publishers Association, UK, is now available online #publisher #publishing

Gore Vidal dead at 86

Gore Vidal has died at the age of 86