Local news | Books+Publishing

Craig appointed Ultimo Press publisher

Wednesday, 21 October 2020
Former Picador Australia publisher Alex Craig has been appointed publisher of Ultimo Press. Craig spent 12 years at Pan Macmillan, including five as Picador publisher, before resigning from the company...

Scribner acquires Lucy’s ‘Turns Out, I’m Fine’

Tuesday, 20 October 2020
Scribner Australia has acquired ANZ rights to comedian Judith Lucy’s new book Turns Out, I’m Fine, from Kevin Whyte at Token Artists. ‘For a while, Judith didn’t know what this...

Nielsen report: over a third of listeners new to audiobooks

Tuesday, 20 October 2020
A new report from Nielsen Book Australia has found that 37% of Australian audiobook consumers began listening to audiobooks for the first time in the past year. The report also...

Watkins appointed Ultimo Press publishing director

Tuesday, 20 October 2020
Hachette Australia head of literary and head of illustrated Robert Watkins has been appointed publishing director of new Hardie Grant–backed independent publisher Ultimo Press. Watkins joined Hachette as commissioning editor...

Hardie Grant appoints Spilva to accelerate transformation

Monday, 19 October 2020
Hardie Grant has appointed Konrad Spilva to a consulting role to advise the business’s executive management team as it accelerates its digital transformation strategy in the wake of Covid-19. ‘Like...

Book Links announces new children’s historical fiction award

Monday, 19 October 2020
Book Links, the Centre for Children’s Literature in Queensland, has announced a new biennial award, the Book Links Award for Children's Historical Fiction. A prize of $1000 will be awarded...

CBCA Book of the Year 2020 winners announced

Friday, 16 October 2020
The winners of the 2020 Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) Book of the Year Awards have been announced. The winning titles and honour books in each category are: Older...

Varuna announces recipients of 2021 Residency Fellowships

Friday, 16 October 2020
Varuna, the Writers House, has announced the recipients of the 2021 Varuna Residency Fellowships. The writers and their projects are: The Mick Dark flagship fellowship Rachael Mead, for her literary...

Missingham to deliver keynote as SPN annual conference goes online

Friday, 16 October 2020
The Small Press Network (SPN) has announced that Sam Missingham, founder of the UK-based marketing agency The Empowered Author, will be the keynote speaker at its 2020 Independent Publishing Conference,...

Deacon in the running for US award

Friday, 16 October 2020
Australian writer Desley Deacon is in the running for the US Theatre Library Association’s 2020 George Freedley Memorial Award. Deacon’s book Judith Anderson: Australian Star First Lady of the American...

Arnott wins inaugural $30,000 Hedberg residency

Friday, 16 October 2020
Robbie Arnott has won the inaugural University of Tasmania Hedberg Writer-in-Residence Program. Arnott said the program, which carries a stipend of $30,000, would give him the time and space needed...

PRH acquires Edgar’s ‘The Coffin Confessor’

Thursday, 15 October 2020
Penguin Random House Australia (PRH) has acquired world rights to The Coffin Confessor by ‘funeral crasher’ Bill Edgar. Edgar's memoir was acquired by PRH commissioning editor Brandon VanOver, who said...

Walkley Book Award 2020 longlist announced

Thursday, 15 October 2020
The Walkley Book Award longlist for 2020 has been announced. The longlisted titles are: After the Count (Stephanie Convery, Viking) City On Fire (Antony Dapiran, Scribe) Hazelwood (Tom Doig, Viking)...

Study finds CBCA early childhood category shortlisted books overwhelmingly white

Thursday, 15 October 2020
A study of books shortlisted for the CBCA Book of the Year Award in the early childhood category since 2001 has found that only 12% of human main characters in...

Ned Kelly Awards 2020 winners announced

Thursday, 15 October 2020
The Australian Crime Writers Association (ACWA) has announced the winners of this year’s Ned Kelly Awards for Australian crime writing. The winning works and authors in each category are: Best...

New $10k Albert Ullin Award for children’s book creators

Wednesday, 14 October 2020
The Victorian branch of the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) will administer a new $10,000 award for children's book creators, established with a bequest from the late Albert Ullin,...

HarperCollins acquires Benns’s ‘The Dying Diplomats’ Club’

Wednesday, 14 October 2020
HarperCollins has acquired world rights to The Dying Diplomats’ Club, a ‘Nick and La Contessa novel’ written by the Daily Telegraph editor-at-large Matthew Benns. Benns began the serialised mystery novel Dangerous...

BookUp: APA announces online panels

Wednesday, 14 October 2020
The Australian Publishers Association (APA), which in March postponed its planned one-day BookUp conference due to the Covid-19 pandemic, will instead present a series of online panel and conversation sessions...

ABA, APA launch #ShopEarly #ShopLocal Christmas campaign

Tuesday, 13 October 2020
The Australian Publishers Association (APA) and the Australian Booksellers Association (ABA) have partnered on a new campaign encouraging Australians to do their Christmas shopping early 'to avoid disappointment when shopping...