Local news | Books+Publishing

A&U acquires Debra Oswald novel after ‘heated’ auction Archive

Wednesday, 25 March 2020
Allen & Unwin (A&U) has acquired world rights to Debra Oswald’s novel The Family Doctor after a ‘heated’ auction. Described as a ‘riveting moral thriller’, The Family Doctor tells the...

ADS, Ingram take precautions in response to Covid-19 Archive

Tuesday, 24 March 2020
Alliance Distribution Services (ADS) and Ingram have assured customers they remain open and operational following various mandated shutdowns across the country. In a letter to customers yesterday, ADS said it...

McGaughey announced as KYD’s First Nations Editor-in-Residence Archive

Tuesday, 24 March 2020
Kill Your Darlings (KYD) has announced writer and editor Jasmin McGaughey as the publication’s new First Nations Editor-in-Residence. The First Nations Editor-in-Residence is a newly created role that has been...

‘There Was Still Love’ wins 2020 Indie Book of the Year Archive

Tuesday, 24 March 2020
Favel Parrett’s novel There Was Still Love (Hachette) has been named Book of the Year at the 2020 Indie Book Awards, presented by Leading Edge Books (LEB). The winning titles...

Retailers allowed to remain open as federal, state govts introduce lockdown measures Archive

Monday, 23 March 2020
Bookshops and other retailers can continue to trade under new lockdown measures announced by the federal government last night in response to the Covid-19 outbreak. The NSW, ACT and Victorian...

NSW Premier’s Literary Awards 2020 shortlists announced Archive

Friday, 20 March 2020
The shortlists for the 2020 NSW Premier’s Literary Awards have been announced. The shortlisted titles in each category are: Christina Stead Prize for Fiction ($40,000) The White Girl (Tony Birch,...

NewSouth acquires book on journalism for kids Archive

Friday, 20 March 2020
NewSouth Books has acquired ANZ rights to children's nonfiction book Kid Reporter: The secret to breaking news from Benython Oldfield at Zeitgeist Agency. Written by journalists Dhana Quinn and Saffron Howden,...

Tumarkin wins 2020 Windham Campell prize for nonfiction Archive

Friday, 20 March 2020
Melbourne-based writer and academic Maria Tumarkin is one of eight winners of the 2020 Windham Campbell Prize, the world's richest literary prize. Each winner receives a cash prize of US$165,000...

ABA asks publishers for support during Covid-19 outbreak Archive

Friday, 20 March 2020
The Australian Booksellers Association (ABA) is asking publishers to consider a range of assistance measures for member stores in response to the Covid-19 outbreak. In an email to members, ABA...

Mosley to host three-part SBS docuseries on diabetes Archive

Friday, 20 March 2020
Author and science journalist Michael Mosley will host a three-part SBS TV series with sports physiologist and health educator Ray Kelly, which investigates a new treatment for type 2 diabetes....

Tan shortlisted for 2020 Kate Greenaway Medal Archive

Thursday, 19 March 2020
Shaun Tan has been shortlisted for the 2020 Kate Greenaway Medal for distinguished illustration in a book for children and young people for his book Tales from the Inner City...

Pantera acquires Courtney Act memoir Archive

Thursday, 19 March 2020
Pantera Press has acquired ANZ rights to It’s All an Act, the debut memoir by Shane Jenek, the performer behind drag queen Courtney Act, via Wendy Richards at Working Management....

Richardson wins Hazel Rowley Fellowship 2020 Archive

Thursday, 19 March 2020
Writers Victoria has announced that Lance Richardson has been awarded the $15,000 Hazel Rowley Literary Fellowship for his proposed biography of writer, naturalist and Zen Buddhist, Peter Matthiessen. ‘Lance’s subject...

ABA conference, BookUp postponed Archive

Wednesday, 18 March 2020
The Australian Booksellers Association (ABA) has postponed its annual conference, which was due to take place in Sydney on 21–22 June, with the following day’s inaugural BookUp event being postponed...

Australian Reading Hour expands, rebrands as Australia Reads Archive

Wednesday, 18 March 2020
The Australian Reading Hour campaign will expand this year to encompass 17 days of activities from 1–17 September, under the new name Australia Reads. The campaign will be headlined by...

Morrissey awarded Boundless Indigenous Writer’s Mentorship Archive

Wednesday, 18 March 2020
John Morrissey, a Melbourne writer of Kalkadoon descent, has been awarded the 2020 Boundless Indigenous Writer’s Mentorship. Morrissey’s winning submission, ‘The Dig’, is described as ‘a riotous, page-turning short story...

Hardie Grant Egmont sells ‘Your Planet Needs You’ to five territories Archive

Wednesday, 18 March 2020
Hardie Grant Egmont has sold rights in five territories to Philip Bunting’s forthcoming picture book Your Planet Needs You! (May). German-language rights were sold following a ‘significant’ pre-empt offer from...

CBCA NSW branch conference postponed Archive

Wednesday, 18 March 2020
The NSW branch of the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) has postponed its professional development conference until 8 September, in line with government directions about mass gatherings. Originally scheduled...

McGuinness to leave NewSouth Archive

Wednesday, 18 March 2020
NewSouth publisher Phillipa McGuinness is leaving UNSW Press after 18 years to continue her career as an author. UNSW Press CEO Kathy Bail said McGuinness has made ‘a significant contribution'...

Year-to-date trade sales down 2.9% as academic sales see sharp decline Archive

Tuesday, 17 March 2020
Sales in the Australian book market are down 7.3% in value for the year to 7 March, with the trade sector down 2.9% over the same period, according to Nielsen...

Record book sales at Adelaide Writers’ Week Archive

Tuesday, 17 March 2020
Record book and catering sales at Adelaide Writers’ Week, which ran from 29 February to 5 March, indicate the highest recorded attendance numbers at the festival, according to director Jo...

Latest cancellations: SWF, the Wheeler Centre, MJBW and ABDA Awards Archive

Tuesday, 17 March 2020
A number of festivals and literary organisations made announcements overnight related to the Covid-19 outbreak. Sydney Writers’ Festival (SWF) organisers said the festival's cancellation was an ‘inevitable but nonetheless devastating...