Christmas 2026 preview: Adult general fiction
Friday, 14 August 2026
With the festive season approaching, Australian publishers have highlighted their top titles for the Christmas selling period for the Books+Publishing Christmas Preview. To view their top picks in the adult...
Book Club – this month’s reads
Friday, 14 August 2026
Looking for your next great group read? Our monthly Book Club rounds up new release titles perfect for sparking conversation and perhaps even some debate. From compelling fiction to thought-provoking...
Christmas 2026 preview: YA books
Thursday, 13 August 2026
With the festive season approaching, Australian publishers have highlighted their top titles for the Christmas selling period for the Books+Publishing Christmas Preview. To view their top picks in the YA book...
Anthropic’s Claude to add “watermark” to AI-generated text
Thursday, 13 August 2026
Anthropic has announced that new models of its generative AI product Claude will embed an “imperceptible watermark” directly into AI-generated text, reports US-based Business Insider. “The watermark doesn’t change the text’s...
Producers looking for crime, rom-coms and “feel-good domestic stories” at 2026 Books at MIFF
Thursday, 13 August 2026
There was “a real energy in the air to acquire and get things made” at 37ºSouth Market’s Books at MIFF 2026 program, said agent Alex Adsett of the event, which...
Spring Writes 2026 launched in South Australia
Thursday, 13 August 2026
Writers SA, Adelaide Festival Centre, Flinders University’s Assemblage Centre for Creative Practice Research and the State Library of South Australia have partnered on Spring Writes, an “initiative designed to amplify...
Agents, AI, trust and transparency: Local literary agents respond to situation “we all live in fear of”
Wednesday, 12 August 2026
In the world of generative AI, how can agents prepare to stand by their authors? Books+Publishing spoke to local agents about their approach. The recent news that an agent in...
Who’s up for a Prime Minister’s Literary Award?
Wednesday, 12 August 2026
The shortlists for the 2026 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards were announced yesterday afternoon, with the winners to be announced in Canberra on 10 September; Helen Ennis has won the National...
One More Chapter launches crime and thriller imprint
Wednesday, 12 August 2026
In the UK, HarperCollins’s One More Chapter has launched a new imprint, Cliffhanger, dedicated to crime, thriller, horror and action/adventure titles, reports the Bookseller. Publishing director Jennie Rothwell and marketing...
Max Dupain biography wins 2026 National Biography Award
Wednesday, 12 August 2026
Helen Ennis has won the $25,000 National Biography Award for Max Dupain: A Portrait (4th Estate). The biography explores “the complexities and contradictions of the man who produced Australia’s most well-known image,...
Blue Mountains Writers’ Festival author line-up announced
Wednesday, 12 August 2026
The Blue Mountains Writers’ Festival has announced this year’s author line-up for the program running 30 October to 1 November 2026 on Dharug and Gundungurra land. Guest authors at the...
“Sometimes they’d walk out with a butterfly guide as well because we got talking”: Lindy Jones on the tacit arts of bookselling
Wednesday, 12 August 2026
Bookseller Lindy Jones announced her retirement from Sydney specialist bookstore Abbey’s earlier this year. This followed a long career in the book industry, which included more than 30 years of...
Christmas 2026 preview: junior and middle-grade books
Wednesday, 12 August 2026
With the festive season approaching, Australian publishers have highlighted their top titles for the Christmas selling period for the Books+Publishing Christmas Preview. To view their top picks in the junior...
Staff changes at Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing, Chren Byng appointed North America commercial director
Wednesday, 12 August 2026
Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing (HGCP) has announced the appointment of former senior publisher Chren Byng to the newly created role of commercial director, North America, as well as the promotion...
Prime Minister’s Literary Awards 2026 shortlists announced
Tuesday, 11 August 2026
Writing Australia has announced the shortlists for the 2026 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards. The shortlisted titles in each category, chosen from 673 entries, are: Children’s Bored (Felicita Sala, Hardie Grant...
US publishers report 2.5% increase in sales for 2025
Tuesday, 11 August 2026
In the US, figures by the Association of American Publishers showed industry sales were worth US$32.5 billion in 2025, a 2.5% increase over 2024, reported Publishers Weekly (PW). “Unlike 2024,...
Christmas 2026 preview: children’s picture books
Tuesday, 11 August 2026
With the festive season approaching, Australian publishers have highlighted their top titles for the Christmas selling period for the Books+Publishing Christmas Preview. To view their top picks in the children’s...
Australian Publishers Association launches significant TitlePage upgrade
Tuesday, 11 August 2026
The Australian Publishers Association (APA) has overnight launched its upgrade to TitlePage, promising a “mobile-friendly site design” that includes barcode scanning, enhanced security and an improved search function. These changes...
Witi Ihimaera Smiler recognised with the Arts Foundation’s highest honour
Tuesday, 11 August 2026
In Aotearoa New Zealand, author Witi Ihimaera Smiler is among the 2026 Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi Icon Whakamana Hiranga Awards recipients. The Icon Whakamana Hiranga Awards are the Arts...
Allen & Unwin acquires Debra Oswald’s “The Buxton Celebration”
Tuesday, 11 August 2026
Allen & Unwin (A&U) has acquired ANZ rights to Debra Oswald’s novel The Buxton Celebration, in a deal brokered by Anthony Blair of Cameron’s Management. After the death of Frank...
Local authors listed in IBBY–UNESCO Collection
Monday, 10 August 2026
Australian and Aotearoa New Zealand titles have been listed in the catalogue for the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural...
Penguin Random House acquires “Malachite” by Hasib Hourani
Monday, 10 August 2026
Penguin Random House has acquired ANZ rights to the novel Malachite by Hasib Hourani, with Jane Novak Literary Agency selling UK & Commonwealth rights (ex ANZ) to Prototype Publishing via...
Libro.fm to add ebooks
Monday, 10 August 2026
Libro.fm, the US-based platform through which many Australian independent bookshops sell audiobooks, has announced it will add ebooks to the platform. As with the company’s audiobook offering, ebooks will be...
“Grandmother from the East, Grandmother from the West” wins 2026 Crystal Kite Award
Monday, 10 August 2026
Author Jacinta Liu and illustrator Freda Chiu have won the Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand and Oceania division of this year’s Crystal Kite Member Choice Awards, presented by the Society of...
Shalom Collective Australian Jewish Writer Awards 2026 winners announced
Monday, 10 August 2026
The 2026 Shalom Collective Australian Jewish Writer Awards winners have been announced. The winners and highly commended works, selected from shortlists announced in July, are: The Leslie and Sophie Caplan...
Varuna announces 2026 Affirm Press Fellowship recipients
Monday, 10 August 2026
Varuna, the National Writers’ House has announced the recipients of the 2026 Affirm Press Fellowship. The fellowship recipients are: Catherine Padmore Michelle Tom Sam Elkin co-writers Georgia Grubelich-Foo and Trent Foo....
Junior Book Club – this month’s reads
Friday, 7 August 2026
Our Junior Book Club highlights new titles each month that are perfect for classrooms, libraries and family reading time. From fun and imaginative adventures to books that spark curiosity and...
Allen & Unwin acquires Tanya Scott’s “Stillwater” follow-up “The Family Business”
Thursday, 6 August 2026
Allen & Unwin (A&U) has acquired ANZ rights to The Family Business by Tanya Scott from Tom Gilliatt at a4 Literary. Beginning “some months after the conclusion of her debut...
Emerging Writers’ Festival 2026 program announced
Thursday, 6 August 2026
The program for the Emerging Writers’ Festival (EWF), which will run from 10 to 18 September in Melbourne and online and include the announcement of the 2026 Paragraph Fellowship recipients,...
Good Girls Read romance bookstore opens in Geelong
Thursday, 6 August 2026
Good Girls Read, a bookshop specialising in romance titles, has opened in Geelong, Victoria. The day before she opened the doors on 4 July, owner Marianne Locke told the Geelong...
