TSS: Announcing.... something for the Aussies

I've been working on a new project for the last little while, and today is the day that I can share the details. First though, I thought I would talk about the whys and then give the detail.

For quite a long time, I have been thinking about Aussie bloggers and wondering about how many there are and how to connect with more. Some times I have been reading a blog for a few weeks and then suddenly they will post something and the penny will drop and I realise that they are an Australian! I am sure that there are loads of Australian book blogs that I either don't realise or Aussies or who I haven't come across before!

Reading about all the fun that everyone had in New York connecting with each other in real life at BEA was the next prompt, as was the acceptance that there appeared to be from the big published house towards bloggers at BEA.

So, an idea was born.

Today, I am pleased to announce the creation of

Australian Book Bloggers Directory

The idea behind the directory is that it is a place where people can register their blogs, plus a few details like what genres you like to blog about, and a general idea of location. Then hopefully we will be able to easily find other Australian bloggers with similar reading interests that you might not already know about, or other bloggers who may live in your area.

The second aim in setting up the directory is with a view to starting to get blogger meet-ups happening, at this stage probably in the capital cities, and maybe aligned with some of the major bookish festivals. In due course, assuming enough interest, we will look towards trying to set up a national book blogger event.

The third aim in setting up the directory is to try and raise the profile of Australian book blogging with some of the major publishers here. I don't know if I am just not aware of it happening, but I can't think of many examples where Australian publishers are working with book bloggers in the same way as it happens in other countries.

So are you an Australian book blogger? If yes, and it doesn't matter if you are a kids lit book blog, or a romance blog, or YA, or any type of book blogger really, head on over and add your details. Hopefully you will be able to connect with other bloggers who share your interests.

I would really appreciate people would help spread the word, to try and make the directory as comprehensive as possible. Also, if anyone has any graphic skills and would like to make some kind of badge that we could use both on the website and maybe to display on our blogs let me know! I do not have any skills in that area at all. Finally, if anyone has any suggestions on how to make the directory better, then I will be glad to hear them.

I would like to say specific thanks to Kerrie from Mysteries in Paradise, Amanda from Desert Book Chick and Kat from Bookthingo who were all very helpful in checking out the site and giving suggestions to help make it as easy and user friendly as possible.