Simon & Schuster acquires Vasiliou’s “Better Man”
Thursday, 28 May 2026
Simon & Schuster Australia (S&S) has acquired world rights to Better Man by Ben Vasiliou, in a deal negotiated by Daniel Pilkington of The Pilkington Agency. The “practical guide to...
ABC Radio National countdown to focus on Australian books
Thursday, 28 May 2026
This year, ABC Radio National’s annual Top 100 Books Countdown will focus on the theme “Australian books”, both fiction and nonfiction. The ABC said the countdown’s definition of Australian was...
NT Writers Festival 2026 festival opens
Thursday, 28 May 2026
The NT Writers Festival will return to Garramilla/Darwin today, running from 28 to 31 May under the theme “Navigating”. Panels, workshops and conversations will include appearances by writers Omar Musa,...
Pink Shorts Press acquires Ball’s “A Map and Other Parts”
Thursday, 28 May 2026
Pink Shorts Press has acquired world rights to Timmah Ball’s A Map and Other Parts. The publisher described the work as “a poetic interrogation of Australia’s relationship with the built...
Simon & Schuster acquires three Hammer novels
Thursday, 28 May 2026
Simon & Schuster Australia (S&S) imprint Summit Books has acquired ANZ rights to 3 novels by Chris Hammer from Grace Heifetz at a4 Literary, with UK rights sold to Rachel...
Bancroft receives 2026 Red Ochre Award for lifetime achievement
Thursday, 28 May 2026
Bundjalung writer and artist Bronwyn Bancroft is one of the recipients of the 2026 Red Ochre Award for Lifetime Achievement in Artistic Excellence in the First Nations Arts and Culture...
Allen & Unwin acquires Wills’s “Dopamining”
Wednesday, 27 May 2026
Allen and Unwin (A&U) has acquired ANZ rights to Dopamining by Samantha Wills, via Samuel Bernard at Zeitgeist Agency. Part memoir and part cultural commentary, Dopamining examines “how we became...
ALS Gold Medal 2026 shortlist announced
Wednesday, 27 May 2026
The shortlist for the 2026 ALS Gold Medal, awarded by the Association for the Study of Australian Literature, has been announced. The shortlisted works are: Discipline (Randa Abdel-Fattah, University of...
Vale Neale Daniher
Wednesday, 27 May 2026
Australian Rules football player, author and co-founder of FightMND, Neale Daniher, has died, aged 65. Pan Macmillan Australia writes: Pan Macmillan Australia is deeply saddened by the passing of AFL...
A win for illustrated books all round: Thames & Hudson celebrates with “another reprint on top of the reprint”
Wednesday, 27 May 2026
Once I Was a Giant (Zeno Sworder) was shortlisted in this year’s CBCA awards ahead of its overall win as Book of the Year at last week’s Australian Book Industry...
“My parents made a brilliant decision … to choose a bookseller as our godmother”: Zeno Sworder on winning ABIA Book of the Year
Wednesday, 27 May 2026
A heartfelt thank you to ABIA and Australian booksellers and publishers for this honour and for the valuable work that you do. My parents made a brilliant decision before my...
Riveted Press acquires Sandhu middle-grade fiction
Wednesday, 27 May 2026
Riveted Press has acquired world rights to Khet and the Medallion of Ra by Jo Sandhu, via a Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) Queensland pitch event. The...
Miles Franklin longlist; ABIA winners; record-breaking SWF
Wednesday, 27 May 2026
Sydney Writers’ Festival and Auckland Writers Festival Waituhi o Tāmaki each reported box office record-breaking years for the 2026 festival (and shared their bestsellers); while Melbourne Writers Festival reported attendance...
ABIA 2026 lost & found
Wednesday, 27 May 2026
A few items were left behind at the Australian Book Industry Awards on Thursday, 21 May. If you think something might belong to you, we would love to help reunite...
A Funny Thing Happened…with Robbie Swan and Fiona Patten
Wednesday, 27 May 2026
A sharp, darkly funny insider account of the sex industry’s collision with politics, censorship and everyday Australian life by Robbie Swan, a former national magazine editor turned political lobbyist for...
Account manager, Queensland
Wednesday, 27 May 2026
Penguin Random House We are seeking a full-time Account Manager to join our sales team in Brisbane. Reporting to the Field Sales Manager, you will maximise book sales across selected...
When the World Sleeps (Francesca Albanese, Hardie Grant)
Tuesday, 26 May 2026
Francesca Albanese, the first woman to serve as United Nations Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, conveys the soul of a people through ten unforgettable stories of resilience and...
Allen & Unwin acquires James’s “The Wreck”
Tuesday, 26 May 2026
Allen & Unwin (A&U) has acquired ANZ rights to crime novel The Wreck by Riley James in a deal brokered by Caitlan Cooper-Trent of Curtis Brown Australia. In 1998, researchers...
Story Factory opens Bidwill centre
Monday, 25 May 2026
Creative writing not-for-profit Story Factory has opened a new centre in the western Sydney suburb of Bidwill, New South Wales. Having previously established centres in Redfern and Parramatta, the Story...
Sworder wins ABIA Book of the Year
Thursday, 21 May 2026
The winners of the 2026 Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) have been announced, with Once I Was a Giant by Zeno Sworder (Thames & Hudson) taking out the overall Book...
Tax offsets, GST reductions, solutions to “theft of Australian authors’ work”: industry bodies’ submissions to next National Cultural Policy
Thursday, 21 May 2026
As this Sunday’s deadline for submissions to the next National Cultural Policy approaches, Writing Australia and other industry bodies are calling on those in the publishing sector to shape the...
“Taiwan Travelogue” wins 2026 International Booker Prize
Wednesday, 20 May 2026
Taiwanese author Yáng Shuāng-zǐ has won the 2026 International Booker Prize, worth £50,000 (A$94,300) for Taiwan Travelogue (translated by Lin King, Scribe), reported the Bookseller. The International Booker Prize is awarded...
NSW Literary Awards; Stella winner; Heiss resigns from UQ
Wednesday, 20 May 2026
Anita Heiss has announced her resignation from the University of Queensland; Penguin Random House marketing and publicity director Dot Tonkin has left the publishing house; Better Reading has appointed Natika...
Miles Franklin 2026 longlist announced
Wednesday, 20 May 2026
The longlist for the 2026 Miles Franklin Literary Award has been announced. Longlisted titles for the $60,000 prize are: Discipline (Randa Abdel-Fattah, University of Queensland Press) I Want Everything (Dominic...
Macdonald wins 2026 Pixie O’Harris Award
Wednesday, 20 May 2026
Paul Macdonald has been named as the recipient of the 2026 Pixie O’Harris Award in the Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA). The outgoing president of the Children’s Book Council of...
Fox wins 2026 Lloyd O’Neil Award
Wednesday, 20 May 2026
Mem Fox has been named as the recipient of the 2026 Lloyd O’Neil Award in the Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA). Fox has written more than 40 books for children,...
Affirm Press Distribution Change (AU & NZ)
Wednesday, 20 May 2026
Effective 27 June 2026, all Affirm Press and Affirm Press distribution client titles will be distributed by Harper Entertainment Distribution Services (HEDS) in Australia and New Zealand. Titles will continue...
Nominations open for the Australian publishing industry’s Rising Star Award
Wednesday, 20 May 2026
The Rising Star Award is a great opportunity to shine a spotlight on the incredible early-career staff who are making a significant impact to your organisation. Nominees must currently be...
Jacinta Dimase Management change of address
Wednesday, 20 May 2026
New address for Jacinta Dimase Management 140 Smith Street Thornbury Victoria 3071
Time Travel for Beginners (Jaclyn Moriarty, Ultimo)
Tuesday, 19 May 2026
On a bustling road in Sydney lies a nondescript storefront known simply as the Time Travel Agency. Inside, you’ll be welcomed by the smell of freshly brewed coffee, a selection...
