Local news | Books+Publishing

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...

Morton to edit ‘Growing Up in Country Australia’

Tuesday, 13 October 2020
Black Inc. has announced the latest addition to its 'Growing Up' nonfiction anthology series, Growing Up in Country Australia, to be edited by journalist Rick Morton. Morton is the Saturday Paper's...

Lucas-Pennington wins 2020 Nakata Brophy prize

Tuesday, 13 October 2020
Grace Lucas-Pennington has won the 2020 Nakata Brophy Short Fiction and Poetry Prize for her poem ‘Superposition’. Lucas-Pennington receives $5000 and a three-month writing residence at Trinity College at the...

Deborah Cass Prize 2020 shortlist announced

Tuesday, 13 October 2020
The shortlist for Writers Victoria’s Deborah Cass Prize for emerging writers from migrant backgrounds has been announced. The shortlisted works and their authors are: ‘Oluwale, My God Has Come Home’...

Bad Sydney Crime Writers Fest in-person program announced

Monday, 12 October 2020
The full program for the 2020 Bad Sydney Crime Writers Festival, which will run in-person on 7–8 November at the State Library of NSW, has been announced. Festival guests appearing...

Australia Reads campaign to host live YouTube events

Monday, 12 October 2020
Australia Reads will host a series of live YouTube events as part of this year’s campaign, which runs from 1–12 November. Australia Reads will broadcast its main event at 12.30pm...

Audible partners with arts bodies for new Australian content

Monday, 12 October 2020
Audiobook publisher Audible has partnered with Create NSW and Screen NSW to offer a new $240,000 podcast opportunity. The Frequency program will ‘support the development of up to eight new...

Word for Word nonfiction festival 2020 program launched

Friday, 9 October 2020
The Word for Word National Nonfiction Festival has launched its 2020 program. The event, which usually runs in Geelong, Victoria, will this year take place online due to Covid-19 restrictions....

Booktopia set for December IPO: report

Friday, 9 October 2020
Online bookseller Booktopia is planning for an initial public offering (IPO) in December, reports the Australian. According to the Australian, Booktopia was holding early investor education meetings earlier this month,...

Pan Mac UK sells Jaku’s memoir in 22 languages

Friday, 9 October 2020
Pan Macmillan UK has sold rights in 22 languages to Holocaust survivor Eddie Jaku’s memoir The Happiest Man on Earth, with ‘multi-publisher auctions in many territories’, reports the Bookseller. Pan...

Bragg Prize for Science Writing 2020 shortlist announced

Thursday, 8 October 2020
The shortlist for this year’s UNSW Press Bragg Prize for Science Writing has been announced. The shortlisted pieces are: ‘True Grit’ by Ceridwen Dovey (Wired) ‘Case of the missing frogs’...

Affirm acquires Rees children’s book

Thursday, 8 October 2020
Affirm Press has acquired world rights to a children’s book by ABC children’s television presenter Jimmy 'Giggle' Rees, via Red Mgmt. Rees’s debut, to be illustrated by Briony Stewart, will...

Hachette acquires Wilson picture book series

Wednesday, 7 October 2020
Hachette Australia has acquired ANZ rights to a ‘funny and heartfelt’ picture book series by Australian comic actress Rebel Wilson. The ‘Bella the Brave’ series, to be published in hardback...

Victorian literary orgs to receive Creative Vic funding

Wednesday, 7 October 2020
Creative Victoria has announced the 78 arts and cultural organisations that will share in $7.85 million in grants in stage two of its Strategic Investment Fund. The funding is ‘focused...

Inaugural $50k Historical Novel Prize longlist announced

Wednesday, 7 October 2020
The Historical Novel Society Australasia (HNSA) has announced the longlist for the inaugural ARA Historical Novel Prize. The HNSA has also confirmed sponsor ARA has doubled its funding for the...

ALIA welcomes library budget announcement

Wednesday, 7 October 2020
The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) has welcomed the ‘positive outcomes’ for library and information workers announced in the Federal government’s 2020-21 budget. The federal government announced $31.2 million...