(Last updated: 14/10/2009) Just in from Twitter: Amazon will now ship the Kindle internationally. According to Bookseller+Publisher:

Kindles are available to order for US$279 (A$313) from the Amazon website now and will begin shipping from 19 October. Amazon’s director of merchandising Laura Porco is scheduled to run a demonstration of the device in Sydney on Monday 26 October. An Amazon spokesperson told WBN that it had ‘not been confirmed as yet whether [books from] Australian publishers will be available’ to read on the device.

CNET Australia provides some technical details:

The reader can either download books via USB or by 3G or 2G wireless, without any mobile contracts … but the spokesperson could not (more)

See more Lolcats and funny pictures

I’ve been meaning to write another post on the issue of parallel import restrictions (PIR) in Australia, but I’ve been putting it off because, well, I just can’t decide where I stand on this issue. Anyway, when I found myself commenting on this post, Parallel importing and ebooks in Australia, over at bookbook blog, I decided to move my comment diarrhoea here instead. Before you read any further, you should check out that link as this will be a response to that post.

I have to confess, I’m on the fence with this one. I agree that book prices in Australia have to come down. I recently spent $55 to buy a hardcover. I’m crazy, I know, and it gives new meaning to the term “book crack”. But I also don’t think an open market is the solution.

First, let’s talk about price

I believe the abolition of PIR will probably result in lower wholesale prices. Will these savings be passed on to consumers? Maybe, but if Angus & Robertson admit to pricing above the RRP now, it’s certainly not guaranteed. (more)

Romance Book of the Year finalists

The Romance Writers of Australia has announced the finalists for this year’s R*BY Awards:

Short Sweet
Claire Baxter — The Single Dad’s Patchwork Family
Melissa James — A Mother in a Million
Marion Lennox — His Island Bride
Fiona McArthur — The Midwife’s Baby

(more)

Romance authors in the media

Australian romance author Anne Gracie was interviewed on the 9am show with David & Kim (click on Entertainment, then Books).

Sarah Wendell and Candy Tan, the women behind popular romance blog Smart Bitches, Trashy Books and authors of Beyond Heaving Bosoms: The Smart Bitches’ Guide to Romance Novels, were interviewed by Alan Brough on ABC Radio in Melbourne. Hilarity ensues.

Coming not so soon

I’ve been told that the Australian release date for Anna Campbell’s next novel, Captive of Sin, is December 16. Just in time for Christmas, but still so much longer than the US date. I don’t know if I can wait that long, to be honest. I haven’t seen any images of the cover yet.

Parallel import restriction debates continue

The Productivity Commission was due to hand in its report regarding restrictions on the parallel importation of books to Australia on Wednesday, but they’ve asked for and have been granted an extension until June. Until then, I expect we’ll hear more about the issue in the media. For some good arguments from both sides: (more)

Swan & Edgar bar (via the Booktagger blog)

First things first: Happy Mother’s Day to all you mums, nannas and mums-to-be! I hope you enjoyed a good breakfast in bed and that the kids’ arts and craft project churned out something useful or appealing or edible or easy to hide. :-D

Apologies for slacking off last week with the Bizzo, but this one is absolutely chockers with good romancey stuff, so I hope it’s worth the wait.

ARRC09 audio recordings

Audio recordings from the Australian Romance Readers Convention in February are now available. Click here for more information and an order form.

International Association for the Study of Popular Romance

The IASPR is offering yearly, 5-yearly and lifetime memberships. Click here for more information. The IASPR, University of Queensland, Queensland University of Technology, and the Romance Writers of Australia are sponsoring an academic conference on Popular Romance Studies. (more)

Lost in Austen (DVD)

Pride and Prejudice time travel shenanigans

Tomorrow night, ABC1 will screen the first part of Lost in Austen, a British mini-series in which a 21st-century reader swaps places with Elizabeth Bennet and finds herself inadvertently changing Jane Austen’s story. It sounds fabulously fun, and the SMH provides some background to the series. Lost in Austen has become one of Britain’s best selling DVDs, with talks of a film adaptation. Click here to watch a preview of the show.

Ebooks in Australia

Thinking of buying an ebook? David Frith at Doubleclick has a good round-up of ebook options for Australians. The BeBook seems to be the cheapest option, although Frith seems to have missed the products sold by DA Direct (which, according to a reader at ARRC, will be selling more ebook readers through their Melbourne store). (more)

This is a round-up of ARRC09 and is not in chronological order. If you want to read more anecdotes, check out the liveblog. Click here for a list of ARRC09 posts and liveblogs .

Ebooks

I missed the speeches on Sunday morning because we had an informal Cellie breakfast at the cafe next door. It was a lovely way to start off the day, and I was told of a ubiquitous photo on the Lora Leigh forums that I must go and check out, but NOT while I’m at work. The search term is “King Neptune”, in case you’re curious.

The morning panels all sounded really good, so I had a difficult choice to make. In the end, I opted for the ebook panel since I had friends going to the others. The session was sponsored by Torquere Press, and the panelists were Helen Woodall, Jordana Ryan and Jess Dee. Most of the discussion was around the benefits of ebooks and the publishing process. It kind of felt more author-focused than reader-focused, but it would’ve been useful for readers who were thinking about writing for an epublisher. (more)