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Sales of Bluey books hit 1 million copies

Thursday, 18 June 2020
Sales of Bluey children's books have reached 1 million copies in Australia, the series’ publisher Penguin Random House Australia (PRH) has announced. The first three Bluey titles, which launched in...

Juchau wins 2020 Walkley-Pascall Prize for arts criticism

Thursday, 18 June 2020
Novelist, essayist and critic Mireille Juchau has won the 2020 Pascall Prize for arts criticism for her essays ‘How Dreams Change Under Authoritarianism’ (The New Yorker), 'Twilight Knowing: Jenny Offill’s...

Hachette acquires Lau’s ‘Gunk Baby’ 

Thursday, 18 June 2020
Hachette Australia has acquired ANZ rights to the novel Gunk Baby by Jamie Marina Lau. Hachette head of literary Robert Watkins said he is excited to be publishing the novel,...

Miles Franklin Literary Award 2020 shortlist announced

Wednesday, 17 June 2020
The shortlist for the $60,000 Miles Franklin Literary Award 2020 has been announced. The six longlisted novels are: The White Girl (Tony Birch, UQP) Islands (Peggy Frew, A&U) No One (John Hughes, UWA...

Billie B Brown optioned for TV

Wednesday, 17 June 2020
Fremantle and development partner 720 Creative have acquired screen rights to the children’s book character Billie B Brown, from the junior fiction series written by Sally Rippin, illustrated by Aki...

Pantera Press Foundation donates $85k in FY2020

Wednesday, 17 June 2020
Pantera Press has announced the company has donated $85,000 via the Pantera Press Foundation this financial year. Its donations include a total of $70,000 in untied funding to arts organisations...

Creative Vic Sustaining Creative Workers grants announced

Wednesday, 17 June 2020
Creative Victoria has announced the first recipients of its Sustaining Creative Workers initiative, created as part of the Victorian Government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Initially announced in April as...

Latest ArtsACT grant recipients announced

Tuesday, 16 June 2020
ArtsACT has announced the successful recipients of its Homefront funding round, which was developed to support individual artists in response to the impact of Covid-19 on the arts sector. Funding...

Overett wins Penguin Literary Prize 2020

Tuesday, 16 June 2020
Penguin Random House Australia (PRH) has announced that the winner of the 2020 Penguin Literary Prize is The Rabbits by Sophie Overett. Victoria-based Overett wins $20,000 (which acts as an...

Roff wins 2020 Peter Carey Short Story Award

Monday, 15 June 2020
Andrew Roff has won the Peter Carey Short Story Award for his story ‘Bock Bock’. Announcing the winner via YouTube, judge Elizabeth Tan said the story, which follows an ‘investigator...

New online Book Clubs Hub undertakes national survey

Friday, 12 June 2020
The organisers of Clunes Booktown Festival have established a free online platform for book clubs to connect and share information, and are undertaking a national survey of Australian book clubs....

The Book Grocer celebrates 20th anniversary

Friday, 12 June 2020
The Book Grocer is celebrating 20 years since establishing its first store. In a letter to staff and customers, founder Karl Slotte described opening the first of the chain’s stores...

Magabala Books announces First Nations’ publishing cadetship

Thursday, 11 June 2020
Magabala Books has announced it will create a new cadetship for First Nations publishing professionals. The cadetship program will provide on-the-job training, professional development and sustainable employment, with mentorship from...

Rachel Funari Prize for Fiction 2020 shortlist announced

Thursday, 11 June 2020
Lip magazine has announced the shortlist for the 2020 Rachel Funari Prize for Fiction. The shortlisted stories are: 'Plant Life' by Tanya Vavilova 'Arrow' by Mia-Francesca McAuslan 'Baby Season' by...

Lit orgs, writers receive Create NSW funding

Tuesday, 9 June 2020
A number of literary organisations and writers are among the recipients of the second round of Create NSW’s annual organisation, project and Creative Koori Projects arts funding program, which has...

UQP acquires debut essay collection by Nyuon 

Tuesday, 9 June 2020
The University of Queensland Press (UQP) has acquired a collection of essays on identity by South Sudanese–Australian lawyer, community advocate, writer and public speaker Nyadol Nyuon. Nyuon is a lawyer...

Wright hosts new web series

Friday, 5 June 2020
The State Library of Victoria and University of Melbourne have partnered to present a new three-part web series hosted by award-winning author Alexis Wright. Signposts: Stories for our fragile times...

S&S acquires Pickett life story ‘Belief’ 

Friday, 5 June 2020
Simon & Schuster Australia (S&S) has acquired Belief, the life story of Richmond Tigers player Marlion Pickett from the Jane Novak Literary Agency via Pickett’s agent, Anthony Van Der Wielen...

REAL Awards 2020 shortlists announced

Thursday, 4 June 2020
The shortlists for the 2020 Reading & Enjoying Australian Literature (REAL) Awards—which act as shortlists for children’s choice book awards in New South Wales (KOALAs), Northern Territory (KROC Awards) and...

S&S acquires two books by Kailas Wild 

Wednesday, 3 June 2020
Simon & Schuster Australia (S&S) has acquired illustrated book The 99th Koala and an as yet untitled memoir by Kailas Wild, the climbing arborist who received widespread attention for his...