Local news | Books+Publishing

Text acquires Flannery’s ecological history of Europe

Monday, 6 November 2017
Text has acquired world rights to Tim Flannery’s Land at the Crossroads: An Ecological History of Europe for publication in Australia in August 2018. Rights were acquired by Text publisher...

Verso Books to open in regional Victoria

Monday, 6 November 2017
A new bookstore, Verso Books, is set to open in the Victorian regional town of Healesville. Owner Nina Sturgess said she is aiming to open the store in early November...

Zusak, Fox top 2016-17 lending rights surveys

Friday, 3 November 2017
Books by Markus Zusak and Mem Fox have topped the lists of the highest scoring books in the most recent Public Lending Rights (PLR) and Educational Lending Rights (ELR) report....

Better Reading launches food spinoff, Cooking the Books

Friday, 3 November 2017
Book recommendation website Better Reading has launched a new food-focused Facebook page, called Cooking the Books. Better Reading director Cheryl Akle said Cooking the Books is ‘a new take on...

Grey-Smith promoted to publisher at Fremantle Press

Friday, 3 November 2017
Fremantle Press has promoted senior editor Naama Grey-Smith to the role of publisher. Grey-Smith will commence in the role on 1 November, joining Fremantle Press’ two other publishers Cate Sutherland...

‘ABR’ announces $10,000 fellowship to mark its 40th anniversary

Friday, 3 November 2017
The Australian Book Review has announced a new $10,000 fellowship to mark its 40th birthday next year. The ABR Fortieth Birthday Fellowship is seeking proposals for four ‘stylish and original...

Speech Pathology Australia book awards 2017 winners announced

Friday, 3 November 2017
The winners of the 2017 Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year awards have been announced. Chosen from shortlists announced in July, the winning titles are: Birth to three years...

AusRomToday Reader’s Choice Awards 2017 nominees announced

Thursday, 2 November 2017
The nominees for the 2017 AusRomToday Reader’s Choice Awards have been announced. The nominees in each category are: Book of the year Girl Unseen (Athena Daniels, Sunset Coast Publishing) Dark...

‘Squishy Taylor’ series optioned for TV

Thursday, 2 November 2017
Robyn Kershaw Productions (RKP) has optioned the TV rights to Ailsa Wild’s ‘Squishy Taylor’ children’s book series (illus by Ben Wood, Hardie Grant Egmont). Eight titles have been published so...

PMLA judging panels overhauled

Thursday, 2 November 2017
The judging panels for the 2017 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards (PMLAs) have been announced, revealing an overhaul to the 2016 panels. The judging panels include: Nonfiction and history Lynette Russell,...

Coley wins 2017 Richell Prize

Thursday, 2 November 2017
Adelaide-based writer Sam Coley has won the 2017 Richell Prize for Emerging Writers for his entry ‘State Highway One’. Coley’s novel follows two siblings as they travel New Zealand’s State...

Affirm acquires memoir ‘Sophie’s Boys’

Wednesday, 1 November 2017
Affirm Press has acquired world rights to Sophie’s Boys, a memoir by Sophie Smith, who lost her triplets after going into labour prematurely, as told to journalist Deborah Fitzgerald. Sophie’s...

Ngaio Marsh Award 2017 winners announced

Tuesday, 31 October 2017
Fiona Sussman’s The Last Time We Spoke (Allison & Busby) has won the 2017 Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel. Sussman is the first female author to win the award, which...

YABBAs 2017 winners announced

Tuesday, 31 October 2017
The winners of the 2017 Young Australians Best Book Awards (YABBAs), Victoria’s children’s choice awards, have been announced. The winning titles are: Picture storybooks Do Not Open This Book (Andy...

SPN Independent Publishing Conference 2017 program announced

Tuesday, 31 October 2017
The Small Press Network (SPN) has launched the program for its 2017 Independent Publishing Conference, which will run at the Wheeler Centre in Melbourne from 16-18 November. The three-day conference...

CBCA NSW announces shortlist for 2017 mentorship program

Tuesday, 31 October 2017
The Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) NSW branch has announced the shortlist for the 2017 Aspiring Writers Mentorship Program for unpublished children’s writers. The three shortlisted writers are: Angela...

A&U acquires local crime-fiction debut with ‘major international buzz’

Tuesday, 31 October 2017
Allen & Unwin has acquired ANZ rights to Australian journalist Chris Hammer’s crime-fiction debut Scrublands for publication in August 2018. A&U reports that the novel is ‘causing major international buzz’,...

‘SRB’ to publish anniversary anthology

Monday, 30 October 2017
The Sydney Review of Books (SRB) will publish an anthology of essays on Australian fiction, poetry and nonfiction to mark its five-year anniversary. Essays in The Australian Face, previously published...

Arts Tasmania 2018 Artist Investment Program recipients announced

Monday, 30 October 2017
Three writers have received grants in the 2018 round of Arts Tasmania’s Arts Investment Program, which provides funding for artists’ creative projects. Thirty-five successful applications shared in a total of...

‘Extinctions’ wins 2017 Colin Roderick Award

Saturday, 28 October 2017
Josephine Wilson’s Miles Franklin Award-winning novel Extinctions (UWA Publishing) has won the 2017 Colin Roderick Award and the HT Priestley Medal, administered by the Foundation for Australian Literary Studies at James...

‘The Dry’ wins CWA Gold Dagger

Friday, 27 October 2017
Australian author Jane Harper has won the 2017 UK Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) Gold Dagger for her debut novel The Dry (Pan). The Dry was one of seven titles shortlisted...

WA government honours arts ‘champions’ in inaugural awards

Friday, 27 October 2017
The Western Australian government has announced the recipients of the inaugural State Arts and Culture Partnership Honours, which ‘acknowledge the outstanding contributions of individual philanthropists and businesses who partner with...