Local news | Books+Publishing

Surf Coast Writers Festival starts strong

Wednesday, 8 July 2026
The inaugural Surf Coast Writers Festival wrapped up a successful program on Saturday 27 June in the Victorian town of Torquay. Organisers said the event attracted “hundreds of readers, aspiring...

Hachette to publish CFMEU exposé by Nick McKenzie and Ben Schneiders

Tuesday, 7 July 2026
Hachette Australia has acquired world rights to Building Bad, a work of investigative nonfiction by Nick McKenzie and Ben Schneiders. Building Bad focuses on the scandal surrounding the Construction, Forestry...

A&U acquires Natalie Murray rom-com “Love Your Enemy”

Tuesday, 7 July 2026
Allen & Unwin (A&U) has acquired world rights to Natalie Murray’s “steamy rom-com” Love Your Enemy from Sarah McKenzie at Sarah McKenzie Literary Management. The enemies-to-lovers romance brings together Dr...

Ubud Writers & Readers Festival first line-up announced

Tuesday, 7 July 2026
Ubud Writers & Readers Festival has announced the first line-up for the program set to run 21 to 25 October 2026 in Bali, Indonesia. This year’s festival theme is “Samarasā:...

Varuna announces 2027 residential fellowships

Tuesday, 7 July 2026
Varuna, the National Writers’ House has announced the recipients of its residential fellowships for 2027. The writers and their projects are: Eleanor Dark Fellowship for Fiction André Dao for “Joseph...

Survey of local book-banning efforts launched

Tuesday, 7 July 2026
Former LoveOzYA secretary Alice Boer-Endacott is conducting a survey into “the prevalence of book-banning efforts within Australian libraries and bookstores”. The survey of booksellers, public librarians and school librarians (which...

2026 Mid-Year Faber Writing Scholarships announced

Monday, 6 July 2026
Faber Writing Academy has announced the recipients of the 2026 Mid-Year Faber Writing Scholarships and its partial scholarships for underrepresented voices. The recipients of the Mid-Year Faber Writing Scholarships are: Jessica Elliot (for Writing a...

Izzy Roberts-Orr joins Mountain Writers Festival

Monday, 6 July 2026
Izzy Roberts-Orr has been appointed festival director of the Mountain Writers Festival, which runs in Macedon, Wurundjeri Country, from 13 to 15 November. Formerly artistic director and co-CEO of the...

Poetry Month 2026 program announced

Monday, 6 July 2026
Red Room Poetry has announced the 2026 Poetry Month program running throughout August. Featuring artists, musicians, comedians and journalists alongside international poets Jericho Brown, Tusiata Avia, Michael Pederson and Pádraig...

Su Dharmapala adaptation filming in Melbourne

Monday, 6 July 2026
Su Dharmapala’s 2012 novel The Wedding Season (Simon & Schuster) is being adapted for the screen as new feature film Written in the Stars. Written in the Stars is directed...

Laura McCluskey wins CWA Dagger for “The Wolf Tree”

Monday, 6 July 2026
Australian author Laura McCluskey has won the UK Crime Writers’ Association’s (CWA) 2026 ILP John Creasey (First Novel) Dagger award for The Wolf Tree (HarperCollins). McClusey’s novel was chosen from a shortlist...

Dorothy Hewett Award 2026 shortlist announced

Monday, 6 July 2026
UWA Publishing has announced the shortlist for the 2026 Dorothy Hewett Award. The shortlisted works, chosen from more than 280 entries, are: “Shedding Skin” by Faiza Bokhari (WA) “Snow” by Chris...

ACT Literary Awards 2026 winners announced

Friday, 3 July 2026
MARION has announced the winners of the 2026 ACT Literary Awards. The winner of the overall Marion Halligan Award, selected from the category winners was The Dingo’s Noctuary (Judith Nangala...

Audiobook Reading in Australia report released

Thursday, 2 July 2026
A new report, Audiobook Reading in Australia, by Millicent Weber, ARC DECRA fellow (audiobooks and digital book culture) and senior lecturer in English at the Australian National University, has found...

Marginalia Lit Fest Live announces 2026 program

Thursday, 2 July 2026
Marginalia Lit Fest Live (previously Amplify) has announced its 2026 program, featuring 22 authors and publishing professionals from Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore and the US across 10...

Funder, Griffiths among creators urging government to hold the line on copyright

Thursday, 2 July 2026
Authors Anna Funder and Andy Griffiths were among a group of creators that gathered at Parliament House in Canberra on Wednesday 1 July, calling on the federal government to resist...

UQP acquires Dan Dixon debut

Thursday, 2 July 2026
University of Queensland Press (UQP) has acquired world rights to The Department, the debut novel by writer and academic Dan Dixon. According to the publisher, The Department follows a narrator...

Nabilah Said named 2026 Patricia Kailis International Writing Fellow

Thursday, 2 July 2026
Centre for Stories has announced Nabilah Said as the 2026 recipient of the Patricia Kailis International Writing Fellowship. Said is a Singapore-based playwright, journalist and artist whose work explores identity,...

Darby Jones wins inaugural Magabala Pride Fellowship

Wednesday, 1 July 2026
Kamilaroi writer and editor Darby Jones has won the inaugural Magabala Pride Fellowship for his essay collection Country Boy. Presented by Magabala Books and Pride Foundation Australia (PFA), the fellowship...

Amsterdam University Press acquires ATF Press Publishing Group

Wednesday, 1 July 2026
Amsterdam University Press has acquired independent academic publisher ATF Press Publishing Group, headquartered in Adelaide, effective 1 July 2026. The acquisition includes ATF Press’s backlist of more than 400 titles published...

Woodslane acquires Lioncrest Education

Wednesday, 1 July 2026
Australian distributor Woodslane has acquired primary schools distribution business Lioncrest Education, effective 30 June 2026. Lioncrest Education represents HarperCollins UK with Collins Big Cat; Hachette UK with Reading Planet; Macmillan...