Local news | Books+Publishing

Affirm acquires Lord debut YA spec-fic

Wednesday, 11 January 2023
Affirm Press has acquired world rights to Anomaly, the debut young adult novel by Sydney-based writer Emma Lord. Described by the publisher as Tomorrow When the War Began meets The...

Law to adapt Pung’s ‘One Hundred Days’ for screen

Tuesday, 10 January 2023
Black Inc. has sold screen rights to Alice Pung's novel One Hundred Days to author and screenwriter Michelle Law, in a deal made by Black Inc. international director Sophy Williams. Pung’s...

Mascara, Varuna residency winners announced

Tuesday, 10 January 2023
The winners of the inaugural Mascara Varuna Writers’ and Editors’ Residency have been announced. The successful writers and their manuscripts are: Timmah Ball, for experimental nonfiction collection 'Blue Print for Another World'...

Clarke joins HGCP with two-book deal

Monday, 9 January 2023
Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing (HGCP) has acquired two books by Maxine Beneba Clarke. Releasing in June 2023, the first title, It’s the Sound of the Thing: 100 new poems for...

VPLAs 2023 shortlists announced

Monday, 9 January 2023
The shortlists for the 2023 Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards were announced in December. The shortlisted and highly commended works in each category are: Fiction ($25,000) An Exciting and Vivid Inner...

Tasmanian Literary Awards 2022 winners announced

Monday, 9 January 2023
The recipients of the 2022 Tasmanian Literary Awards were announced in December. The winners in each category, chosen from shortlists announced in November, are: Young readers and children ($25,000) Ella...

Splatt awarded Beatrice Davis Editorial Fellowship

Monday, 9 January 2023
The Australian Publishers Association (APA) has announced Allen & Unwin editor Sophie Splatt as the recipient of the 2022–23 Beatrice Davis Editorial Fellowship (BDEF). An editor of books for children...

PMLAs 2022 winners announced

Tuesday, 13 December 2022
The recipients of the 2022 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards (PMLAs) have been announced. The winners in each category receive $80,000 and the shortlisted writers each receive $5000. All prizes are...

Magabala 2022 fellowship and scholarships recipients, inaugural AIC grant winners

Friday, 9 December 2022
Magabala Books has recently partnered with Australian Indigenous Coffee (AIC) to launch the AIC Creative Grant which supports First Nations creators at any stage of their journey. The winners of...

Burland assumes APA presidency from Kellow

Thursday, 8 December 2022
The Australian Publishers Association (APA) has appointed Penguin Random House ANZ CEO Julie Burland as its new president. Burland will replace Ultimo Press managing director James Kellow, who recently announced...

Indie Book Awards 2023 longlists announced

Thursday, 8 December 2022
Leading Edge Books has announced the longlists for the 2023 Indie Book Awards. The longlisted titles in each category are: Fiction Limberlost (Robbie Arnott, Text) Cold Enough for Snow (Jessica...

Hay wins 2022 Blake-Beckett Trust Scholarship

Thursday, 8 December 2022
The Australian Society of Authors (ASA) has announced Ashley Hay as the winner of the $20,000 Blake-Beckett Trust Scholarship for her manuscript ‘The Running Dream’. Selected from a shortlist of...

New category added to WA Prem’s awards

Wednesday, 7 December 2022
The Western Australian Premier's Book Awards has added a new category for the 2023 awards. The Premier's Prize for Book of the Year Award, worth $15,000, will be sponsored by...

Ultimo acquires Knight memoir

Wednesday, 7 December 2022
Ultimo Press has acquired world rights to the memoir Strange Little Girl by Melbourne-based writer, performer and zine maker Jess Knight. Described by the publisher as a ‘heart-warming, unapologetic and...

A&U, Voices from the Intersection mentorship recipients announced

Wednesday, 7 December 2022
Allen & Unwin (A&U) and Voices from the Intersection have announced the recipients of their partnership mentorship program for emerging children’s and YA own voices writers and illustrators. The successful...

Booktopia sells stake in Welbeck ANZ

Tuesday, 6 December 2022
Online bookseller Booktopia has sold its share in Welbeck Publishing Australia New Zealand (Welbeck ANZ) for $1.5 million. Booktopia, which invested $3 million for a 25% stake in Welbeck ANZ...

Copyright Agency funding: Au, Tsao receive $25k Create grants, new fellowship for young writers

Tuesday, 6 December 2022
Twenty-one arts organisations have received a total of $274,517 in the latest round of funding from the Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund. The major capital city writers’ festivals and Byron Writers’...

Hachette Aotearoa launches Moa Press

Tuesday, 6 December 2022
Hachette Aotearoa has established a new imprint, Moa Press, which ‘aims to champion a diverse range of voices, representing a multitude of cultures and perspectives from within Aotearoa New Zealand’....

UWAP acquires Akhurst YA novel

Tuesday, 6 December 2022
UWA Publishing (UWAP) has acquired ANZ rights to Graham Akhurst’s young adult novel Borderland, via Danielle Binks of Jacinta di Mase Management. Set in Brisbane and the fictional rural town of...

Ross wins first prize in 2022 Scarlet Stiletto Awards

Monday, 5 December 2022
Sisters in Crime Australia has announced the winners of the 2022 Scarlet Stiletto Awards. ‘Tuesday Jocks’ by Fin J Ross won first prize ($2000); last year’s winner Hayley Young won...

Text acquires new Lohrey novel

Monday, 5 December 2022
Text Publishing has acquired world rights to Amanda Lohrey's new novel The Conversion, via Lyn Tranter of Australian Literary Management. The Conversion follows Zoe, who leaves Sydney for a small...

A&U acquires Bolton debut ‘Life Itself’

Monday, 5 December 2022
Allen & Unwin (A&U) has acquired world rights to Trish Bolton’s debut novel Life Itself. Rights were acquired by A&U publisher Jane Palfreyman and executive editor Genevieve Buzo. Life Itself...

HarperCollins acquires Whitlam biography by Bramston

Friday, 2 December 2022
HarperCollins Australia has acquired Troy Bramston’s biography of former Australian prime minister Gough Whitlam. The currently untitled work will be a ‘thorough, highly readable’ biography drawing on newly discovered archival...