Reid wins 2025 Landfall Tauraka Young Writers’ Essay Prize
Thursday, 5 June 2025
Ava Reid has been announced the Landfall Young Writers’ Essay Competition winner for her essay ‘Two and a Half Mealworms’. An Ōtepoti resident, Reid is an anthropology student at Ōtakou...
Julia Marshall included in 2025 Aotearoa New Zealand King’s Birthday Honours
Thursday, 5 June 2025
As part of the 2025 King's Birthday Honours, Julia Marshall has been announced as an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit ‘for services to children's literature’, Publishers Association...
Slatter announced as 2025 Hedberg Writer-in-Residence
Thursday, 5 June 2025
The University of Tasmania has announced author Angela Slatter as the 2025 Hedberg Writer-in-Residence, running from 4 August to 12 December 2025. Slatter receives a $20,000 stipend, three months of...
Green appointed Story Factory chair
Thursday, 5 June 2025
Ali Green has been appointed chair of the Story Factory board, replacing Gemma Salteri, who served three three-year terms. Story Factory is a not-for-profit organisation delivering creative writing programs for...
A&U Aotearoa New Zealand acquires Shapiro’s second novel
Thursday, 5 June 2025
Allen & Unwin Aotearoa New Zealand has acquired world rights for Good Things Come and Go by Josie Shapiro. The novel follows Penny Whittaker and Adam Riggs after the death of...
Summit Books acquires Gray’s ‘Chosen Family’
Thursday, 5 June 2025
Summit Books has acquired ANZ rights to Chosen Family by Madeleine Gray, via Grace Heifetz at a4 Literary. Overseas, Chosen Family was also acquired by Lettice Franklin at Orion (UK), via...
Melbourne Rare Book Week program announced
Wednesday, 4 June 2025
Rare Books Melbourne has announced the 2025 program for the Melbourne Rare Book Week, running 24 July to 2 August across Melbourne. The program, which ‘celebrates the rich tradition and...
Raven wins 2025 Fogarty Literary Award for ‘Glimmers in the Sea Glass’
Wednesday, 4 June 2025
Chuckie Raven has won the 2025 Fogarty Literary Award for their novel Glimmers in the Sea Glass. Raven receives a $20,000 cash prize from the Fogarty Foundation, a publishing contract...
AWF 2025: attendance, book sales up
Wednesday, 4 June 2025
Auckland Writers Festival Waituhi o Tāmaki (AWF) has reported the overall attendance for the 2025 program, which ran 13–18 May, slightly exceeded last year’s record number of 85,000, as well...
Murdoch acquires Leong memoir
Tuesday, 3 June 2025
Murdoch Books has acquired world rights to Guts by Melissa Leong, a ‘gripping, incisive, and darkly funny memoir’. ‘Guts is a powerful exploration of identity, resilience and finding the courage...
Bendigo Writers Festival 2025 program announced
Tuesday, 3 June 2025
The program for the 2025 Bendigo Writers Festival program, which runs 15–17 August on Dja Dja Wurrung and Taungurung Country, has been announced. The festival will open with an ABC Radio...
Hardie Grant Melbourne office moves to Collingwood
Tuesday, 3 June 2025
Hardie Grant has announced the relocation of its Melbourne office. The new office, located in the T3 building in Collingwood, offers ‘spaces for both teamwork and focused individual work, reflecting...
Roberts-Orr wins 2024 Anne Elder Award
Tuesday, 3 June 2025
Raw Salt (Vagabond Press) by Izzy Roberts-Orr has been announced the winner of the 2024 Anne Elder Award. The prize is awarded annually for a debut, solo-authored collection of poetry,...
Disher, Bishop on CWA Dagger shortlists
Monday, 2 June 2025
Garry Disher and DV Bishop have been shortlisted for the UK Crime Writers’ Association’s (CWA) 2025 Dagger Awards. Disher and Bishop were shortlisted from longlists announced earlier this year. The shortlisted...
2025 Michael King Writers Centre Australian Residency announced
Monday, 2 June 2025
The 2025 Michael King Writers Centre Australian Residency, in association with Varuna, The National Writers House, has announced Ingrid Horrock as the 2025 Aotearoa New Zealand winner. Horrock is the author...
Dorothy Hewett Award 2025 shortlist announced
Monday, 2 June 2025
UWA Publishing has announced the shortlist for the 2025 Dorothy Hewett Award for an unpublished manuscript. The shortlisted manuscripts, chosen from over 300 entries, are: ‘Clutch Feathers, Draw Breath’ by...
PRH acquires Stedman’s ‘A Far-flung Life’
Monday, 2 June 2025
Penguin Random House (PRH) Australia has acquired ANZ rights to A Far-flung Life by ML Stedman. The novel will be published simultaneously with Doubleday in the UK. A Far-flung Life...
S&S acquires Pub Choir creator’s memoir
Thursday, 29 May 2025
Simon & Schuster (S&S) Australia has acquired world rights to Average at Best, a memoir by Pub Choir founder and director Astrid Jorgensen, via Alex Adsett Literary Agency. 'Average at...
Ganner awarded 2025 Janet Mackenzie Medal
Thursday, 29 May 2025
The Institute of Professional Editors (IPEd) announced Julie Ganner as the winner of its 2025 Janet Mackenzie Medal. Ganner has worked in the editing and publishing industry for over 35...
Fogarty receives 2025 Red Ochre Award for Lifetime Achievement
Wednesday, 28 May 2025
Yugambeh poet and activist Lionel Fogarty has been recognised with a Red Ochre Award for Lifetime Achievement at the 2025 First Nations Arts and Culture Awards. Born on Wakka Wakka...
Mary Gilmore Award 2025 shortlist announced
Wednesday, 28 May 2025
The Association for the Study of Australian Literature (ASAL) has announced the shortlist for the 2025 Mary Gilmore Award, a prize for a poet's first book of poetry. Judges Kate...
MWF ticket sales up 47%
Wednesday, 28 May 2025
Melbourne Writers Festival (MWF) recorded a 47% year-on-year increase in revenue for this year’s festival program, running 8–11 May. Representing the highest revenue since 2019, the festival reported over 21,000...
Jacky Winter Group launches Gildlings
Wednesday, 28 May 2025
The Jacky Winter Group – a creative agency with offices in Melbourne, New York, and London – has announced the creation of new literary agency Gildlings. According to the organisation,...
SLV publishes ‘Ways of Working Commitment’
Tuesday, 27 May 2025
The State Library Victoria (SLV) has published a 'Ways of Working Commitment', following last year’s duty of care review. In its May newsletter, the Australian Society of Authors (ASA) noted...
Affirm partners with Your Kid’s Next Read team for junior series
Tuesday, 27 May 2025
Affirm Press and the creators of Your Kid’s Next Read (YKNR) have partnered to launch a new junior fiction series, titled Your Next Read (YNR), aiming to ‘encourage the joy...
Chidgey’s ‘The Book of Guilt’ tops NZ charts
Tuesday, 27 May 2025
The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey (Te Herenga Waka University Press) is the first Aotearoa New Zealand title to hit number one across all book sales, according to NielsenIQ...
King wins EWF Speculate Prize
Tuesday, 27 May 2025
The Emerging Writers’ Festival (EWF), in partnership with RMIT University, has announced Melissa King as the winner of the inaugural Speculate Prize for Emerging Writers for her short work 'The...
ABDA 2025 winners announced
Monday, 26 May 2025
The winners of the 2025 Australian Book Design Awards, presented by the Australian Book Designers Association (ABDA), have been announced. The winners in each category are: Designer's Choice Award Eat...
Atria acquires BookToker Bateman debut
Monday, 26 May 2025
Atria Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Australia, has acquired world rights to Luke Bateman’s debut fantasy series in a two-book deal, via Sean Anderson and Tim Wall at...
Australian Society of Authors releases statement on black&write! fellowship withdrawal
Monday, 26 May 2025
The Australian Society of Authors (ASA) has released a statement regarding the State Library of Queensland’s decision to withdraw a $15,000 black&write! fellowship that was due to be awarded to...




