News | Books+Publishing

HarperCollins acquires Orgias’ debut crime novel

Wednesday, 10 September 2025
HarperCollins Publishers Australia has acquired ANZ rights to Teeth Kicker, the debut crime novel by Glenn Orgias, in a deal brokered by Jeanne Ryckmans of Key People Literary Management. ‘Set on...

Hazel Rowley Literary Fellowship to end in 2026

Wednesday, 10 September 2025
The Hazel Rowley Literary Fellowship will conclude in 2026. In a joint email from the Hazel Rowley Fellowship committee and Writers Victoria, organisers said, ‘It is with some sadness, but...

‘Cultural pillage’: The Australian literary community responds to Meanjin’s closure

Wednesday, 10 September 2025
In light of the news late last week that Melbourne University Publishing (MUP) withdrew funding from Meanjin, industry figures and publications across the local scene shared their dismay at the...

Queensland Literary Awards 2025 shortlists announced

Tuesday, 9 September 2025
The shortlists for the 2025 Queensland Literary Awards have been announced. The shortlisted titles in each category are: Queensland Premier's Award for a Work of State Significance ($30,000) Australian Gospel:...

Meanjin archive to be ‘made available for free’

Tuesday, 9 September 2025
Literary journal Meanjin will make its complete archive available online for free from February 2026, according to a post made to the journal's social media pages. This follows news late...

Inaugural PEN Presents x International Booker Prize winners announced

Tuesday, 9 September 2025
In the UK, the inaugural winners of the PEN Presents x International Booker Prize have been announced, reported BookBrunch last night. Chosen from a shortlist of 12, the winning translators and their...

Books for Cooks named ‘2025 Legend’

Tuesday, 9 September 2025
The Melbourne Food & Wine Festival (MFWF) has inducted Books for Cooks bookshop owners Tim White and Amanda Schulze to its Legends Hall of Fame in the Communicators, Educators category....

Davitt Awards 2025 winners announced

Tuesday, 9 September 2025
Sisters in Crime has announced the winners of the 2025 Davitt Awards for the best crime books by Australian women. The winning titles in each category, chosen from shortlists announced...

Queenstown Writers Festival announces 2025 program

Tuesday, 9 September 2025
The Queenstown Writers Festival (QWF) has announced its 2025 program, running 30 October to 3 November 2025 in Queenstown, Aotearoa New Zealand. Local guests headlining this year’s festival include Nalini...

Story Factory announces ambassador program

Tuesday, 9 September 2025
Story Factory has announced its inaugural ambassador program. Six ambassadors joining the organisation are: Julia Baird Benjamin Law Zindzi Okenyo Debra Oswald Amy Thunig-McGregor Jennifer Wong. The ambassadors will amplify...

A&U acquires Cullen memoir

Tuesday, 9 September 2025
Allen & Unwin (A&U) has acquired world rights to The Desert Swimmer, a memoir by Brendan Cullen. The Desert Swimmer follows Cullen as he begins swimming ‘as part of his recovery from...

Anthropic agrees to settle book piracy lawsuit

Monday, 8 September 2025
AI company Anthropic has agreed to pay US$1.5 billion (A$2.28b) to settle a class-action lawsuit by book authors who say the company took pirated copies of their works to train...

Garner longlisted for 2025 Baillie Gifford nonfiction prize

Monday, 8 September 2025
In the UK, How to End a Story: Collected Diaries by Australian author Helen Garner (Text) has been longlisted for the 2025 Baillie Gifford Prize for Nonfiction, worth £50,000 (A$103,010)....

NSW History Awards 2025 winners announced

Monday, 8 September 2025
The winners of the 2025 NSW History Awards, worth a total of $85,000, were announced on 5 September 2025 at the State Library of NSW (SLNSW) as part of NSW...

Nakata Brophy Prize 2025 shortlist announced

Monday, 8 September 2025
Overland journal has announced the shortlist for the 2025 Nakata Brophy Prize for the best short story by a young Indigenous writer. The shortlisted writers, selected by judges Mykaela Saunders and...

PRH announces 2025 Personal Penguin

Monday, 8 September 2025
Penguin Random House (PRH) Australia has announced the Personal Penguin figurine will return for this year’s Love Your Bookshop Day (LYBD), running on 11 October 2025. The collectable figurine aims...

The Booksellers Association of Aotearoa New Zealand announces Bookshop Day

Monday, 8 September 2025
The Booksellers Association of Aotearoa New Zealand has announced that national Bookshop Day will run on Saturday 11 October 2025, to encourage readers to celebrate their local bookstores. This year’s...

Junior Book Club – this month’s reads

Friday, 5 September 2025
Searching for your next great read to share with kids? Our Junior Book Club highlights 10 new titles each month that are perfect for classrooms, libraries and family reading time....

Meanjin literary journal to close on ‘financial grounds’

Thursday, 4 September 2025
Melbourne University Publishing (MUP) has withdrawn funding to quarterly literary journal Meanjin, forcing the journal to close. In a statement, Melbourne University professor and MUP chair, Warren Bebbington, said, ‘This...