Is This Week The End of Print Media?

I don't talk about my family much because, well, they're mortified that I'm not only a journalist but also a writer and a memoirist. (However, they're relieved I have a different name; this allows them to pretend, when asked, that they're not related.)  But I want to mention my brother this week (although I'll refrain from naming names), because he's caught in the Fairfax crossfire over the

NY's BookExpo (And Books To Buy In 2012)

Last week, I took a break from photographing New York for a new book and instead went and looked at other people's books. Lots and lots of them. I went along to the great, gargantuan, carnivalesque event known as BookExpo America (BEA), the publishing industry's big trade show.There were 1200 exhibitors in the cavernous space, most of them publishers, and more famous authors than you could shake

Truly Beautiful Book Covers...

Sandy Cull is one of my favourite book designers. I first noticed this Melbourne-based freelancer when she designed Carla Coulson's gorgeous book Italian Joy, which was, literally and aesthetically, a book of sheer joy. Since then, I've started noticing that some of my favourite book covers are Sandy Cull ones. I thought I'd share a few of them with you here, along with some other beautiful

Best Illustrated Book in Australia Nominees

I'm often told by my lovely publishers that I'm not as enthusiastic about self-publicity as I should be. This is because I've always thought that authors should not have to speak for books. If books are beautiful enough, they should speak for themselves. Authors are really the behind-the-scenes people; the wizards pulling the curtains for the Land of Oz that is literature.In saying that, it's