Blackgum Distribution Services

16/02/2025

https://www.arts.tas.gov.au/tasliteraryawards

Congratulations to everyone who has been nominated for this years literary awards!

The Department of State Growth's role is to support economic growth and facilitate the creation of jobs and opportunities for Tasmanians. We work with business, industry and the community to manage regulatory and infrastructure plans that support the development of market expansion and innovation st...

21/01/2025

Richard Flanagan's 'The Narrow Road to the Deep North' is slated for an April 2025 release of the TV series adaption

18/12/2024

Such an amazing list of authors, congratulations!

Arts Tasmania have announced the longlists for the Tasmanian Literary Awards today! Huge congratulations to all nominated creators including SCBWI members Lian Tanner Author and Fiona Levings Illustration who have been recognised in the Minister for the Arts Prize for Books for Young Readers and Children. The full list for this category is copied below - some brilliant creators there - congratulations to everyone who made it in, we know exactly how many years of hard work this represents for you.

https://www.arts.tas.gov.au/tasliteraryawards

Amazing Animal Journeys by Jennifer Cossins (Lothian Children’s Books, 2022)
Before the Mountain had a Name by Fiona Levings (Forty South Publishing, 2024)
Digger Digs Down by Johanna Bell, illustrated by Huni Melissa Bollinger (University of Queensland Press, 2024)
Feathered Alphabet by Monica Reeve (Forty South Publishing, 2022)
Spellhound: A Dragons of Hallow Book by Lian Tanner (Allen & Unwin, 2023)
The Letterbox Tree by Rebecca Lim and Kate Gordon (Walker Books Australia, 2023)
Too Many Tigers by Monica Reeve (Forty South Publishing, 2024)
When You're a Boy by Blake Nuto (Affirm Press, 2023)

06/12/2024

19/11/2024

Just arrived in the warehouse; a whimsical anecdotal dive into the past in Tullah, and the Wee Georgie Wood Railway. Told by a passionate local, and reprinted for the first time in 25 years by her great-grandson for all to enjoy.

ISBN: 9780646706382
Blackgum Item Code: DATH0001
Title: Whistle at the Bridge
Author: Jean Thorne
Here, by one who lived them, are tales of Tullah in the 1920s - a very different Tullah from the one we know today.

Back then, there was only the gelana mine, and no road; the only link to the outside was the 2 foot gauge steam loco Wee Georgie Wood.

They are tales of isolation; of the struggle to rear a family and get higher education for the children; of loneliness, and the lack of facilities (no doctor, no dentist), of the shortage of work after the Great War had stopped the export of metals to Germany.

We learn how the people alleviated their lot - with pigeon racing, wood chopping, cards, billiards, football, dancing, movies and music.

And we find that even in such a small community there existed a definite social pecking order; mine manager, teacher, bush nurse, parson, tradesmen, miners and timber workers.

But they are more than simple outback tales: through them we share the struggles and feelings of the characters - their grief at the loss of loved ones; their pride in achievements for the children through stubborn effort and self-sacrifice; their fight for better pay and conditions at the mine.

And too, we share with them what the author calls ‘the simple pleasures in a unique community now gone forever’.

30/10/2024

Our local award winning author Jennifer Cossins has her book release day today!

22/10/2024

Love it when we get a fabulous book in! Timeless Tasmania has arrived, and is ready to ship now. It's a gorgeous photography book, and my top pick for Christmas! Order now!
ISBN: 9780648178828
Blackgum Item Code: LOBP0002
Title: Timeless Tasmania
Author:
Imprint:
RRP: $65.00
Discount: 40%
Discount Extension: $39.00
More information:
Timeless Tasmania is the second book by Tasmanian Landscape photographer Luke O'Brien following his first book 'Tasmania a photographic journey' published in 2018.

23/09/2024

Local Author Christina Booth's new picture book Purnina has just arrived in the warehouse! It's a gorgeous looking hardcover, order now!

ISBN: 9781486317264
Blackgum Item Code: NSWB0760
Title: Purinina Tasmanian Devil
Author: Christina Booth
Imprint:
RRP: $24.99
Discount: 40%
Discount Extension: $14.99
More information:
Can Purinina survive without her mother?

Will she survive the challenges of the Tasmanian wilderness?

Follow the lives of the purinina (Tasmanian devils) and discover the issues facing this iconic species. With captivating illustrations and lyrical text, this new rendition brings the award-winning story of Purinina: A Devil's Tale to a new generation.

You can even learn how to speak 'purinina'!

Reading level varies from child to child, but we recommend this book for ages 5 to 9.

Christina Booth is a multi-award winning, internationally published author working from her studio in southern Tasmania. She grew up in the bush with wombats, quolls, wallabies, possums and, of course, purinina.

03/09/2024

Calendar Pre-orders now open

Tasmania 2025 Calendar A4 - $16.95 - 9326170000543
Tasmania 2025 Calendar Small - $15.95 - 9326170000550

16/08/2024

So good to see our Tassie bookshops represented!

From cosy to stylish to cafe-adjacent: we've rounded up the best bookshops in Australia, that are a destination unto themselves.

14/08/2024

Back in stock now! This cute little activity pack includes everything kids need to have fun and learn about Tasmania.

ISBN: 9781760796631
Blackgum Item Code: NHND0424
Title: Fun in Tasmania Activity Pack
Author:
Imprint:
RRP: $12.99
Discount: 40%
Discount Extension: $7.79

19/05/2024

Such fantastic news from our Tassie writers!

In wonderful news to wake up to on a Sunday morning, Spellhound has won the 2023 Aurealis Award for Best Children's Fiction! I am utterly delighted!

10/05/2024

Faeries of Tasmania: Collected sightings from Lady Plummage is reminiscent of Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy book by the amazingly talented Brian Froud (based loosely on the Cottingly Fairy hoax from the early 1900's). Lady Plummage has collected many accounts of Faery sighting in Tasmania, and Terry Whidborne has delightfully bought these these tales to life through his illustrations.

In a gorgeous hardback edition with a decadent ribbon bookmark and dustcover, filled with sketches and whimsical watercolour illustrations it resembles the Gnome books from the 1970's with a tongue in cheek scientific journal-esque feel.

In the warm glow of a spring afternoon, I had my own faery encounter. Only brief, but it changed everything for me. This was not the typical faery one sees depicted in films, all rainbows, wands and glitter. It looked like it belonged here.
- Lady Plummage

ISBN: 9780645034127
Blackgum Item Code: TEWH0001
Title: Faeries of Tasmania: Collected sighting from Lady Plummage
Author: Terry Whidborne
Imprint:
RRP: $65.00

05/03/2024

Now available!

ISBN: 9780648640592
Blackgum Item Code: FRKD0014
Title: From Horses to Horsepower
Author: L J Morley
Imprint:
RRP: $29.99
Discount: 40%
Discount Extension: $17.99
More information:
Step back in time and embark on a captivating visual odyssey through the pages of From Horses to Horsepower, a nostalgic exploration of Tasmania's transportation evolution from Tasmanian author L.J. Morley.

The photographs, carefully curated and thoughtfully arranged, invite readers to witness the milestones of Tasmania's transportation history. From dusty country roads to bustling city streets, the visual journey captures the essence of an era marked by both simplicity and progress.

14/02/2024

Fantastic new book on Maria Island, available to order now!

ISBN: 9780645708639
Blackgum Item Code: NAVP0023
Title: Maria Island History and Landscapes 1825 - 1930
Author: Michael Nash, Martin Gibbs Richard Tuffin
Imprint:
RRP: $19.95
Discount: 40%
Discount Extension: $11.97
More information:
Maria Island's European history is one of exploration and dispossession, incarceration and labour, resources and exploitation, entrepreneurship and tourism.

This book is structured around four key touchstones from Maria Island's recent past - the two phases of convict occupation during the Penal Period (1825 - 32) and the Probation Period (1842 - 52), the optimistic tenure of the Bernacchi Period (1884 - 96), and the resource exploitation of the Industrial Period (1920 - 30).

Of course, Maria Island's story stretches both backwards and forwards from these points, stories in which Aboriginals, whalers, farmers and park rangers figure prominently. Yet the landscape that we see today was primarily shaped by these four periods of occupation and it is through them that we can best piece together some of the story of this remarkable island.

21/01/2024

https://libraries.tas.gov.au/news/tasmanias-top-10s-of-2023/

Some fantastic Tassie authors being read!

Libraries Tasmania’s annual Top 10s have been released! What did Tasmanians most love to read and borrow from the library last year?