Local news | Books+Publishing

NZ book sector campaign to promote creative rights

Friday, 6 November 2020
The New Zealand Society of Authors, the Publishers Association of New Zealand, and Copyright Licensing New Zealand (CLNZ) have launched a new campaign to promote creative rights. The ‘Creative Rights...

Leading Edge opens Indie Awards to all Australian independents

Friday, 6 November 2020
For the first time, all Australian independent bookstores can nominate for the Indie Book Awards. The Leading Edge buying group, which administers the awards, said nominations for the 2021 awards...

Mullane to join Ultimo

Friday, 6 November 2020
Ultimo Press has announced the appointment of Brigid Mullane as commissioning editor. Mullane, who has been managing editor at Hachette for the past three years, said she was ‘beyond excited...

UQP acquires Behrendt’s ‘After Story’

Thursday, 5 November 2020
The University of Queensland Press (UQP) has acquired rights to After Story, the third novel by academic, broadcaster and author Larissa Behrendt. UQP said After Story is an ‘ambitious and...

Australia Reads campaign: Nielsen reports sales up almost 5%

Thursday, 5 November 2020
Nielsen Book Australia reports that sales of print books are up nearly 5% on the previous year. Territory manager Bianca Whiteley said that, for the year to the week ending...

Bloomsbury to repay pandemic pay cuts

Thursday, 5 November 2020
Bloomsbury Australia’s parent company in the UK has announced it will repay almost £700,000 (A$985,000) to staff who took a pay cut during the first months of the Covid-19 pandemic,...

Serong shortlisted for 2020 Staunch Book Prize

Wednesday, 4 November 2020
Australian author Jock Serong has been shortlisted for the 2020 Staunch Book Prize, having won the inaugural award in 2018 for On the Java Ridge (Text). Serong is shortlisted for...

‘The Killing Streets’ wins 2020 Danger Prize

Wednesday, 4 November 2020
The Killing Streets by Tanya Bretherton (Hachette) has won the 2020 Danger Prize. Bretherton, who has been shortlisted for the prize for each of her three books, thanked prize administrators...

Hicks wins inaugural SBS Emerging Writers’ Competition

Wednesday, 4 November 2020
Papua New Guinean–Australian digital content maker, writer, director and producer Alana Hicks has won the inaugural SBS Emerging Writers’ Competition. Hicks’s entry was chosen as the winner from more than...

Report: Aus market up 4%, almost half of consumer sales online

Wednesday, 4 November 2020
A report commissioned by Booktopia from consultants Frost & Sullivan has forecast that Australia’s overall book sales in the 2021 financial year will be up 4% on the previous year,...

Booktopia to list on ASX in December

Wednesday, 4 November 2020
Australian online bookseller Booktopia has lodged a prospectus with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) to raise $43.1 million and list on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) in December....

Ngaio Marsh Award 2020 winners announced

Monday, 2 November 2020
Debut novelist Becky Manawatu has won the 2020 Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel for Auē (Makaro Press). A novel portraying domestic violence and gang life, the book is...

Victorian libraries to celebrate Australian Reading Hour with ‘Dressmaker’ exclusive

Monday, 2 November 2020
More than 40 Victorian library services will promote a shared online Victoria Reads event to celebrate Australian Reading Hour on 12 November. The event, to be hosted by new Public...

‘Printed on Stone’ wins Victorian Premier’s History Award

Monday, 2 November 2020
Printed on Stone: The lithographs of Charles Troedel (Amanda Scardamaglia, Melbourne Books) has won the Victorian Premier’s History Award, as part of the Victorian Community History Awards. Scardamaglia’s book, about...

Wollongong Writers Festival 2020 program announced

Friday, 30 October 2020
The program for the eighth Wollongong Writers Festival, which will run online from 23 to 29 November, has been announced. Helen Garner, Tara June Winch, Bruce Pascoe, Dervla McTiernan and...

‘Smart Ovens for Lonely People’ wins 2020 Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction

Friday, 30 October 2020
The winner of the 2020 Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction is Smart Ovens for Lonely People by Elizabeth Tan (Brio). Readings Carlton manager Joe Rubbo, who judged the award...

Six Australian nominees for 2021 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award

Friday, 30 October 2020
Six Australian authors, illustrators and organisations have been announced as candidates for the 2021 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, the world’s richest prize for children’s literature. The Australian candidates are: Jeannie...

‘The Unforgiven’ shortlisted for UK sports book award

Friday, 30 October 2020
Ashley Gray’s The Unforgiven (Pitch Publishing) has been shortlisted for the UK-based William Hill Sports Book of the Year award. The Unforgiven tells the story of the 20 West Indies...

Wakefield announces YA horror anthology winning submissions

Thursday, 29 October 2020
Wakefield Press has announced the winning submissions to its national callout for contributions to its YA fiction anthology Hometown Haunts: #LoveOzYA Horror Tales. The four winning stories are: An 'intense,...

Inaugural $50k Historical Novel Prize shortlist announced

Thursday, 29 October 2020
The Historical Novel Society Australasia (HNSA) has announced the shortlist for the inaugural ARA Historical Novel Prize. The shortlisted novels are: Master of My Fate (Sienna Brown, Vintage) Shepherd (Catherine...

McClymont receives Danger Lifetime Achievement Award

Thursday, 29 October 2020
Walkley Award–winning investigative journalist Kate McClymont is the winner of the 2020 Danger Lifetime Achievement Award, presented by Bad: Sydney Crime Writers Festival. ‘Kate McClymont is a genuine investigative journalist....

Text acquires Webb ‘anti-usage’ guide

Wednesday, 28 October 2020
Text Publishing has acquired world rights to an 'anti-usage' language guide by ABC journalist Tiger Webb. Webb is the ABC’s language research specialist, providing broadcasters with pronunciation guidelines, updating the...

QBD to open two new Melbourne stores as Covid restrictions ease

Wednesday, 28 October 2020
The QBD bookselling chain has opened a new Parramatta store and will open two new stores in Melbourne before Christmas. The Parramatta store, in Westfield Shopping Centre, opened on 24...

Ibrahim wins 2020 Heyman Mentorship Award

Wednesday, 28 October 2020
HarperCollins Australia and Kathryn Heyman of the Australian Writers Mentoring Program have announced Naima Ibrahim as the winner of the 2020 Heyman Mentorship Award. Ibrahim’s winning fiction manuscript follows 10-year-old...