NZ Booklovers Awards 2026 shortlists announced
Wednesday, 25 February 2026
In Aotearoa New Zealand, the 2026 NZ Booklovers Awards shortlists have been announced. Shortlisted titles include: Best Adult Fiction Book 1985 (Dominic Hoey, Penguin) A Beautiful Family (Jennifer Trevelyan, A&U)...
Narrative Muse recognised by UNESCO centre
Wednesday, 25 February 2026
Aotearoa New Zealand–based content discovery company Narrative Muse is among 100 projects recognised by the International Research Centre on Artificial Intelligence (IRCAI) for its application of generative AI. Narrative Muse...
Christmas 2025: Sales plateau despite signs of a “cost-of-living Christmas”
Wednesday, 25 February 2026
Sales in Christmas 2025 were much the same as the previous year for most booksellers, despite some signs of a "cost-of-living Christmas", according to Books+Publishing’s annual survey completed by respondents...
Constellations: Not Writers’ Week releases full program
Wednesday, 25 February 2026
Constellations: Not Writers’ Week, created following the cancellation of this year’s Adelaide Writers' Week (AWW), has named more than 100 authors who will appear at 50 events in 19 venues,...
CBCA 2026 Notable Books announced
Wednesday, 25 February 2026
The Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) has announced its list of Notable Books for 2026. The list acts as the longlist for the CBCA Book of the Year Awards....
Upswell acquires Scott-Patrick Mitchell poetry
Wednesday, 25 February 2026
Upswell Publishing has acquired world rights to poet Scott-Patrick Mitchell’s next collection, Incantations to a Drowned Canyon. A Perth-based poet and spoken word performer, Mitchell published their first volume of...
DARTS launches “Fair Play Reflections” report
Tuesday, 24 February 2026
Diversity Arts Australia (DARTS) has released “Fair Play Reflections”, an evaluation of the Fair Play equity and culture-change initiative over the past 7 years. Literature organisations represented 15% of project...
Riveted Press acquires Stanton’s “The Adventures of Squidape”
Tuesday, 24 February 2026
Riveted Press has acquired worldwide rights to The Adventures of Squidape, a middle-grade mystery by John Stanton. The novel follows Roland Bickering-Jones – who “likes facts, lists and things that make...
MidnightSun announces inaugural Picture Book Prize shortlist
Tuesday, 24 February 2026
MidnightSun Publishing has announced the shortlist for its inaugural picture book prize. Shortlisted works are: “An Excellent Hat” (Linda Brucesmith) “The Tinker’s Light” (Ashling Kwok) “The Battle of the Beast”...
A&U acquires Saunders’s “Fighting for Country”
Tuesday, 24 February 2026
Allen & Unwin (A&U) has acquired world rights to a new nonfiction title, Fighting for Country: The Extraordinary Life of Reg Saunders, Australia’s First Indigenous Military Officer, Hero of Two Wars by...
Aurealis Award 2025 winners announced
Monday, 23 February 2026
The winners of the 2025 Aurealis Awards for science fiction, fantasy and horror writing have been announced at GenreCon in Brisbane. Winning titles in each category, chosen from shortlists announced...
Leavy wins 2026 Peter Porter Poetry Prize
Monday, 23 February 2026
Cheryl Leavy has won the 2026 Peter Porter Poetry Prize for her poem “Kumanjayi”. Presented by the Australian Book Review (ABR) and worth $6000, the prize honours the life and work...
Australian Poetry appoints Bufton as CEO and publisher
Monday, 23 February 2026
Australia’s peak poetry body, Australian Poetry, has appointed Melinda Bufton as its new CEO and publisher. Bufton is an experienced leader and poet, according to Australian Poetry. “She has worked...
HarperCollins acquires “Bondi Terror” by Markson and Ryvchin
Monday, 23 February 2026
HarperCollins Australia has acquired world rights to Bondi Terror: The Tragedy, the Courage, the Aftermath by Sharri Markson and Alex Ryvchin. “Bondi Terror reconstructs the massacre in real time, from...
A&U acquires “Being” by Menzies & Menzies
Monday, 23 February 2026
Allen & Unwin has acquired Australian, New Zealand, Oceania and non-exclusive Southeast Asia rights to Rachel E Menzies and Ross G Menzies’s Being: Why It’s Harder to be Human Than...
Australian Book Design Awards 2026 longlists announced
Friday, 20 February 2026
The Australian Book Designers Association (ABDA) has released the longlists for the 2026 Australian Book Design Awards. The longlisted titles in the first 3 categories, and the emerging designer category,...
Castro, Dunn on 2026 Asia Pacific Arts Awards shortlist
Thursday, 19 February 2026
Authors Brian Castro and Winnie Dunn have been shortlisted for the 2026 Asia Pacific Arts Awards. Castro is shortlisted for the Legacy award, which recognises “an individual or arts organisation that...
Wyld among authors longlisted for 2026 Dublin Literary Award
Thursday, 19 February 2026
Evie Wyld, winner of the 2014 Miles Franklin Award and the 2021 Stella Prize, is among the 20 authors whose novels have been longlisted for the 2026 Dublin Literary Award,...
PRH screen options Friday Barnes and Bookshop Detectives
Thursday, 19 February 2026
Penguin Random House Australia and New Zealand (PRH) has announced that the Friday Barnes series by RA Spratt and Bookshop Detectives series by Gareth Ward and Louise Ward have been...
International Literary Programmers Roundtable participants announced
Thursday, 19 February 2026
Melbourne City Council’s City of Literature Office has announced the participants in this year’s International Literary Programmers Roundtable, the fifth, held in partnership with Melbourne Writers Festival. In May this...
HarperCollins acquires Ferguson’s narrative nonfiction
Wednesday, 18 February 2026
HarperCollins has acquired ANZ rights to narrative nonfiction by Kirstin Ferguson in a multi-book deal brokered by Key People Creative Management. Ferguson has worked as an officer in the Royal...
Australia Post extends Indigenous Literacy Foundation partnership
Wednesday, 18 February 2026
Australia Post has extended its partnership with the Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF) for a further 3 years. The partnership has seen more than 600,000 books delivered to over 400 remote...
Text acquires Kernot’s “Night Swimming”
Wednesday, 18 February 2026
Text Publishing has acquired world rights to Night Swimming, a psychological thriller in verse by Sharon Kernot, in a deal brokered by Martin Shaw at Shaw Literary. According to the publisher,...
Fiction, wellness, biographies feature in Rakuten Kobo 2025 report
Tuesday, 17 February 2026
The 2025 Rakuten Kobo Book Report records a sharp rise in immersive fiction ebook and audio downloads in Australia, alongside sustained interest in wellness and biography-led nonfiction. Readers are “gravitating...
BookPeople pivots back to ABA
Tuesday, 17 February 2026
BookPeople will revert to its previous branding as the Australian Booksellers Association (ABA) for its industry-facing work. CEO Susannah Bowen said, “We are pivoting back to the name Australian Booksellers...
CBCA announces 2026 book week theme
Tuesday, 17 February 2026
The Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) has announced the theme of “Symphony of Stories” for this year’s Children’s Book Week, running 22 to 28 August. Author and illustrator Briony...
Arasu wins inaugural travel fund
Monday, 16 February 2026
Poet Prema Arasu has been announced as the inaugural winner of the Forrest Research Foundation and Fremantle Press travel fund for Western Australian writers to promote their work outside of...
“Tori Woods” found guilty
Monday, 16 February 2026
Author Lauren Ashley Mastrosa, who writes under the pen name Tori Woods, has been found guilty of possessing, disseminating and producing child abuse material, reported the Guardian. Mastrosa was charged over...
Hardie Grant appoints new board members
Monday, 16 February 2026
Hardie Grant has appointed Janey Martino and Shirley Chowdhary to its board. The publisher’s announcement noted that Martino has founded and scaled multiple companies across media, martech, and fintech in...
Hardie Grant acquires Niland’s “Saint Peter”
Monday, 16 February 2026
Hardie Grant Books has acquired world rights to Josh Niland’s Saint Peter: Chapter & Verse. According to the publisher, Saint Peter is “a definitive statement from one of Australia’s most original culinary...
