Local news | Books+Publishing

Holland-Batt longlisted for 2023 Griffin Poetry Prize

Thursday, 16 March 2023
Sarah Holland-Batt’s poetry collection The Jaguar (UQP) has been longlisted for the 2023 Griffin Poetry Prize, worth C$130,000 (A$142,700). The Griffin Poetry Prize is awarded annually for the best collection of poetry...

Giramondo sells US, UK rights to Wright titles

Thursday, 16 March 2023
Giramondo has sold international rights to several Alexis Wright books. In North America, New York-based independent press New Directions will publish Alexis Wright's forthcoming novel Praiseworthy (April) and her novel...

Moriarty’s ‘Apples Never Fall’ to be adapted for screen

Thursday, 16 March 2023
Liane Moriarty’s novel Apples Never Fall (Macmillan) will be adapted as a limited series. Apples Never Fall centres on the Delaneys, who appear to be a contented family. Former tennis coaches...

Australian Reading Hour digital event attracts 17,000

Wednesday, 15 March 2023
The 2023 Australian Reading Hour on Thursday 9 March involved more than 250 events across the country. Over 17,000 students watched the The Magic of Storytelling live digital event, held...

Judith Wright Poetry Prize, Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize 2022 winners announced

Wednesday, 15 March 2023
Overland has announced the winners of the 2022 Judith Wright Poetry Prize and Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize. Abbra Kotlarczyk has won the $6000 Judith Wright Poetry Prize for outstanding...

Transit Lounge acquires anaesthetist’s thriller

Wednesday, 15 March 2023
Transit Lounge has acquired world rights to All You Took From Me by NSW author and doctor Lisa Kenway in a direct publisher-to-author deal. ‘This is a dark, twisty thriller...

PRH acquires new Flanagan book

Wednesday, 15 March 2023
Penguin Random House (PRH) Australia has acquired ANZ rights to Question 7 by Richard Flanagan via PRH publisher at large Nikki Christer. Question 7 melds fiction and nonfiction, 'beginning at...

QBD Books to open 86th store in Frankston

Tuesday, 14 March 2023
Bookselling chain QBD Books has announced the opening of its 86th store in Bayside Shopping Centre, Frankston on 1 April. The opening of QBD Books Bayside will feature local crime...

PANZ climate action report released

Tuesday, 14 March 2023
The Publishers Association of New Zealand Te Rau o Tākupu (PANZ) has announced the completion of its report on Climate Action for the New Zealand Publishing Industry: A snapshot and...

Llewellyn to step down as Wheeler Centre CEO

Tuesday, 14 March 2023
The Wheeler Centre (TWC) CEO Caro Llewellyn has announced her resignation and will vacate the role at the end of her contract in July this year, to focus on writing...

Australian Book Design Awards 2023 longlists announced

Friday, 10 March 2023
The longlists for the 2023 Australian Book Design Awards, presented by the Australian Book Designers Association (ABDA), have been announced. The longlisted titles in the first three categories are: Best...

UQP announces ‘best sales results in over 20 years’

Friday, 10 March 2023
University of Queensland Press (UQP) has announced its 2022 sales results, boasting a 15.4% increase in trade sales value, a 10.2% increase in ebook sales value and 105% increase in...

Bendigo Writers Festival announces 2023 program

Friday, 10 March 2023
The Bendigo Writers Festival (BWF) has announced its program for the festival running from 4–7 May 2023 in Bendigo, Victoria. Based at the 150-year-old Capital Theatre, the festival will feature...

Aurealis Awards shortlists announced

Friday, 10 March 2023
The shortlists for the 2022 Aurealis Awards, presented for science fiction, fantasy and horror writing in Australia, have been announced. Among the shortlists are: Best Fantasy Novel The Not So...

Penguin Literary Prize 2023 shortlist announced

Thursday, 9 March 2023
Penguin Random House Australia (PRH) has announced the shortlist for the 2023 Penguin Literary Prize. The shortlisted titles are: 'The Elementals' by Liz Allan, the story of The Bastards, a...

Bell wins Hazel Rowley Fellowship 2023

Thursday, 9 March 2023
Writer and anthropologist Diane Bell has been awarded Writers Victoria’s $20,000 Hazel Rowley Literary Fellowship for her proposed biography of the relationship between Ngarrindjeri woman Louisa Karpany, née Kontinyeri (c1840–1921)...

VIPs announced for 2023

Thursday, 9 March 2023
The Australia Council has announced the 14 international publishers, editors, and literary agents participating in the 22nd year of the Visiting International Publishers (VIPs). The program will return this year...

HarperCollins acquires Blanchard novel in two-book deal

Thursday, 9 March 2023
HarperCollins Publishers Australia has acquired world rights to A Woman of Courage by Tania Blanchard in a two-book deal brokered by publisher Roberta Ivers. Set in the last decade of...

HarperCollins acquires Taffe novel

Wednesday, 8 March 2023
HarperCollins Australia has acquired ANZ rights to the novel Freida by Marion Taffe, in a deal via Jacinta di Mase of Jacinta di Mase Management Literary Agency. Freida is set...

Ockham NZ Book Awards 2023 shortlists announced

Wednesday, 8 March 2023
The shortlists for the 2023 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards have been announced. The shortlists titles in each category are: Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction Better the Blood (Michael...

Norcliffe announced as 2023 Margaret Mahy Medal winner

Wednesday, 8 March 2023
Children's book author and poet James Norcliffe has won the 2023 Storylines Margaret Mahy Medal, presented annually for lifetime achievement and distinguished contribution to New Zealand children’s literature. Norcliffe is...

Crew, Ottley nominated for 2024 Hans Christian Andersen Awards

Wednesday, 8 March 2023
Writer Gary Crew and illustrator Matt Ottley have been nominated by IBBY (International Board on Books for Young People) Australia as the Australian candidates for the 2024 Hans Christian Andersen...

Magabala wins 2023 Bologna Prize, Oceania region

Wednesday, 8 March 2023
Magabala is the 2023 Oceania winner of the Bologna Prize for the Best Children's Publisher of the Year. 'This is such an honour as the voting is by our peers...

BookPeople releases sustainability report

Tuesday, 7 March 2023
BookPeople, formerly the Australian Booksellers Association, has released its industry sustainability report, Towards a Sustainable Bookselling Future. Written by publisher and author Angela Meyer, the report outlines key areas of concern...