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The Guardian has reported that for the first time the number of books available as iPhone apps on itunes now exceeds the number of games. Read on ...

The Help by Kathryn Stockett will be adapted to film by Dreamworks. Tate Taylor, who was a childhood friend of Stickett's, adapted the novel into a screenplay after acquiring the rights. He also will direct the film.

The Australian Society of Authors has announced the shortlist for the 2010 Barbara Jefferis Award.

The Barbara Jefferis Award is offered annually for “the best novel written by an Australian author that depicts women and girls in a positive way or otherwise empowers the status of women and girls in society”.

Barbara Jefferis (pictured) was a feminist, a founding member of the Australian Society of Authors, its first woman President and, in the words of Thomas Keneally, “a rare being amongst authors, being both a fine writer but also organisationally gifted. She was a professional and internationally published writer long before most of us dreamed of such things”.

The shortlist is as follows:

Steven Carroll The Lost Life

Enza Gandolfo Swimming

Cate Kennedy The World Beneath

Kristina Olsson: The China Garden

Susan Varga Headlong

Robert De Niro has signed up to star alongside Bradley Cooper in the film adaptation of Alan Glynn's novel, The Dark Fields. Filming is due to start in May this year.

 

As publishers continue to prepare for increased e-book demand, Penguin is working to be ahead of the game. Take a peek at these first-look demos of forthcoming books from iPad’s iBook Store, presented by Penguin Books’ CEO John Makinson in London. It will give you an idea how publishers are ready for Apple’s new tablet, especially in the realm of non-fiction.

Read on ...