News | Books+Publishing

Dominic Smith recommends

Tuesday, 24 January 2023
I was late in coming to Kim Scott’s That Deadman Dance (Picador), which won the Miles Franklin in 2011. I loved it for its ability to give the colonial settling...

Books in the media this weekend, 28–29 January

Tuesday, 24 January 2023
A round-up of the books being reviewed and mentioned in key media this coming weekend. National The Saturday Paper Bad Cree (Jessica Johnson, Scribe) Little Plum (Laura McPhee-Browne, Text) Too...

Online Storytime program ends; 12 most recorded books

Tuesday, 24 January 2023
The Online Storytime program, which launched as a pilot program in 2020 and was extended a further 12 months to December 2022, has ended. The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA),...

Redundancies at Booktopia as company looks to lift profits

Tuesday, 24 January 2023
Booktopia has announced an organisational restructure involving 30–40 redundancies, as the company looks to make an improvement to its earnings. The restructure is one of several initiatives that Booktopia expects...

More companies allowing the option to work January 26

Tuesday, 24 January 2023
More and more Australian publishers are offering staff the option to work on January 26, despite it officially being the Australia Day public holiday. Many Australian companies, including Woolworths, Telstra...

All About Women of Colour 2023 mentorship recipients announced

Monday, 23 January 2023
The Sydney Opera House has announced Margretta Sowah and Uppma Virdi as the recipients of the 2023 All About Women of Colour mentorship program, presented in partnership with Sweatshop. Sowah,...

Shaw sells US rights to Adam’s ‘The New Animals’

Monday, 23 January 2023
Martin Shaw at Shaw Literary has sold US rights to New Zealand author Pip Adam’s 2017 novel The New Animals (Te Herenga Waka University Press) to Dorothy, a publishing project....

Perth Festival 2023 Literature & Ideas program announced

Friday, 20 January 2023
Perth Festival has announced the full line-up for its 2023 Literature & Ideas program, comprising A Day of Ideas on Saturday, 18 February and the Writers Weekend, to be held...

Ultimo acquires Smith debut novel in two-book deal

Friday, 20 January 2023
Ultimo Press has acquired ANZ rights to Twelve Steps to a Long and Fulfilling Death, a ‘whip-smart comedy’ debut by television drama writer Sarah Smith, in a two-book deal brokered...

Nichol joins A&U NZ as publisher

Friday, 20 January 2023
Allen & Unwin (A&U) New Zealand has announced the appointment of Tess Nichol as publisher. Nichol, who will be publishing local titles, was most recently deputy editor of North &...

Waterstones sales, profit up in year to April 2022

Friday, 20 January 2023
In the UK, bookselling chain Waterstones posted an increased profit and revenue in the year ending April 2022, a recovery to the company’s finances following a plunge during multiple lockdowns...

Books in the media this weekend, 21–22 January

Friday, 20 January 2023
A round-up of the books being reviewed and mentioned in key media this coming weekend. National The Saturday Paper Abandon Every Hope (Hayley Singer, Upswell) All the Rage (Paulie Stewart,...

Disney wins 2023 Porter Prize

Friday, 20 January 2023
Seoul-based Australian poet Dan Disney has won the Australian Book Review's (ABR) 2023 Peter Porter Poetry Prize for his poem ‘periferal, fantasmal’. Judges Sarah Holland-Batt, Des Cowley and James Jiang described Disney's...

‘Abomination’ wins Jewish Book Award

Friday, 20 January 2023
In the US, Abomination by Melbourne-based author Ashley Goldberg (Vintage) has won the 2022 National Jewish Book Award for debut fiction. Published in May last year, Goldberg's debut novel follows...

Last chance to complete our Christmas survey

Thursday, 19 January 2023
Books+Publishing is currently conducting its annual Christmas survey of booksellers and publishers. Please take a few minutes to complete the survey online. We are accepting submissions until Friday, 20 January. Booksellers...

German book sales down 2.1%

Thursday, 19 January 2023
Book sales in Germany were down 2.1% by value in 2022, according to statistics from the country’s publishers’ and booksellers’ association Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels (BDG), reports Publishing Perspectives. The...

Black Inc. sells Skinner memoir to Steerforth Press

Thursday, 19 January 2023
Black Inc. has sold North American rights to forthcoming memoir I’d Rather Not (July 2023) by Robert Skinner to Chip Fleischer at Steerforth Press, in a deal made with Black...

ABIAs add new categories

Thursday, 19 January 2023
Three new categories have been added to the 2023 Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA), which will take place in Sydney on 25 May. In addition to the existing industry and...

Please complete our Christmas survey

Wednesday, 18 January 2023
Books+Publishing is currently conducting its annual Christmas survey of booksellers and publishers. Please take a few minutes to complete the survey online. We are accepting submissions until Friday, 20 January. Booksellers...