An editorial in the Sydney Morning Herald states,
The book industry is at war. The outcome could well be a new deal for [its] long neglected consumers.
In
one camp in the industry is an alliance of publishers and authors
fighting to retain the closed market of parallel import restrictions,
which grants exclusive copyright to the local market provided a book is
"published" within 30 days - even a few copies will do - and supplied
within 90 days.
... In another camp are the divided booksellers. The Australian Booksellers Association wants to trim the supply chain to seven days, imposing a
regulated, supposedly lower, pricing structure as well. A new Coalition
for Cheaper Books ... wants a free market, abolishing all restrictions
on parallel importing of copyright books.
Read the rest of the editorial here.
Meanwhile, The Australian notes that
The newly formed Australian Children's Literature Alliance hopes [an]
initiative [to appoint a children's laureate] will promote Australian children's and youth literature, as
well as convince school kids of the importance and pleasure of reading.
Finally, the Australian Publishers Association and the Australian Booksellers Association are "among those donating books and resources" to those affected by the recent bushfires in Victoria, reports the Herald Sun, who is also providing education resources along with The Gould League, an organization specializing in environmental education.
