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New journal of trans and gender-diverse creativity launches

the front cover of transitive rag, a yellow and orange sunburst Tuesday, 21 October 2025
transitive rag, a journal for trans and gender-diverse creativity, has launched its first issue. The quarterly online journal will publish poetry, personal writing, art and digital projects from transgender and...

A&U acquires Wright fiction

A portrait of Michelle Wright. Tuesday, 21 October 2025
Allen & Unwin (A&U) has acquired ANZ rights to Michelle Wright’s Good Boy, in a deal brokered by Alexandra Christie at Curtis Brown Australia. The novel follows Cookie, an inmate in a...

UQP acquires new Prosser novel

A portrait of Jordan Prosser. Tuesday, 21 October 2025
University of Queensland Press (UQP) has acquired world rights for Blue Giant by writer and filmmaker Jordan Prosser. The novel centres on disillusioned Melburnian millennial Abby Horne. “Abby once believed...

Manawatu wins 2025 Keri Hulme Award

Pikihuia Awards logo Monday, 20 October 2025
Becky Manawatu (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Māmoe, Waitaha) has been awarded the 2025 Keri Hulme Award for Kataraina (The Cube Press) as part of the biennial Pikihuia awards. The Keri Hulme...

Murdoch acquires King nonfiction

A portrait of Madonna King, a woman with long red hair wearing a fuchsia blouse. Monday, 20 October 2025
Murdoch Books has acquired world rights to Screen Wise by Madonna King. Screen Wise will address screen time and online safety, “the biggest issue facing parents today”, said the publisher....

David Brooks wins 2025 Patrick White Literary Award

a portrait of David Brooks, a bald man with a white moustache and goatee Monday, 20 October 2025
Poet, writer, and academic David Brooks has won the $20,000 Patrick White Literary Award for 2025. Award trustee Perpetual described the award as “a richly deserved recognition of [Brooks’s] profound...

Walkley Book Award 2025 longlist announced

The Walkley foundation logo Monday, 20 October 2025
The Walkley Foundation has announced the finalists for the 70th annual Walkley Awards for Excellence in Journalism. The works longlisted for the Walkley Book Award are: All Women Want (Alyx...

Tan announced as managing editor for Overland

Photo of Cher Tan Monday, 20 October 2025
Overland has announced Cher Tan will step into the role of managing editor. An essayist, editor and critic, Tan takes over from Natasha Seymour, who is leaving the journal after seven...

Arnott, Walton, Leal win 2025 ARA Historical Novel Prize

a composite image of three book covers: I am Nannertgarrook, Dusk, and The Year We Escaped Thursday, 16 October 2025
Robbie Arnott and Tasma Walton will share the $100,000 ARA Historical Novel Prize in the adult category for their works Dusk (Picador) and I Am Nannertgarrook (Bundyi) respectively, while Suzanne Leal has...

Ventura Press acquires Fitzsimmons’s debut crime novel

An image of Whitney Fitzsimmons. Thursday, 16 October 2025
Ventura Press has acquired world rights to The Rising, a gripping police procedural crime novel by journalist Whitney Fitzsimmons. The Rising follows journalist Bec Carter, who finds the bones of...

2025 Richell Prize for Emerging Writers shortlist

Logo for the Richell Prize, featuring a swooping bird Thursday, 16 October 2025
Hachette Australia and the Emerging Writers’ Festival (EWF) have announced the shortlist for the 2025 Richell Prize for Emerging Writers. Chosen from the longlist announced last month, the 5 shortlisted writers...

Jenner wins 2025 Kathleen Grattan Poetry Award

a portrait of Lynn Jenner, an older woman wearing a green cardigan Thursday, 16 October 2025
In Aotearoa New Zealand, Lynn Jenner has been announced as the winner of the 2025 Kathleen Grattan Poetry Award for her manuscript The Gum Trees of Kerikeri. The collection is...

Prichard wins 2025 Landfall Tauraka Essay Prize

An image of Tasmin Prichard. Thursday, 16 October 2025
In Aotearoa New Zealand, literary journal Landfall Tauraka has announced Tasmin Prichard as the winner of this year’s Landfall Tauraka Essay Prize for their essay “Four Hours in the Dark,...

A&U acquires Legge’s memoir

An image of Kate Legge. She sits at a table with her head leaning on her fist. Thursday, 16 October 2025
Allen & Unwin (A&U) has acquired world English rights to Delicious, a memoir “celebrating food and friendship” by author and journalist Kate Legge. According to the publisher, Delicious: Stories of Cooking, Love...

Bayt Al-Hikma: the first library in the Islamic world

Thursday, 16 October 2025
With libraries, their work, and free access to information under increasing threat around the world, B+P and the Melbourne UNESCO City of Literature Office reached out to libraries in other designated cities of...

Murray awarded 2025 ASA Medal

a portrait of Kirsty Murray. She has long curly blonde hair and is wearing a black top. Wednesday, 15 October 2025
The Australian Society of Authors (ASA) has announced Kirsty Murray is the recipient of the 2025 ASA Medal. The ASA board noted Murray’s contribution to young people’s literature, including “her...

Bowen named incoming BookPeople CEO

Book people logo Wednesday, 15 October 2025
BookPeople, the Australian booksellers association, has announced Susannah Bowen as incoming CEO, starting “in the coming weeks”. Bowen takes over from current CEO Robbie Egan, who began the role in...

O’Malley wins 2025 CLNZ/NZSA Writers’ Award

a portrait of Vincent O'Malley. He is bald and wears glasses. Wednesday, 15 October 2025
Vincent O’Malley has won the 2025 Copyright Licensing New Zealand (CLNZ) and the New Zealand Society of Authors (NZSA) Te Puni Kaituhi O Aotearoa (PEN NZ Inc) Writers’ Award, worth...

Tse named 2025 Malouf poet-in-residence

Photo of poet Chris Tse in front of a fireplace. Wednesday, 15 October 2025
Aotearoa New Zealand poet and editor Chris Tse has been named the 2025 Arts Queensland Malouf poet-in-residence. Based in Te Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington), Tse was Aotearoa New Zealand’s Poet Laureate from...

Voss Literary Prize 2025 longlist announced

Emu Park, the Voss literary award Wednesday, 15 October 2025
The longlist for the 2025 Voss Literary Prize, awarded to the best novel published in Australia in the previous year, has been announced. The longlisted titles are: The Burrow (Melanie...