News | Books+Publishing

ABIA Rising Stars 2021 shortlist announced

Friday, 9 April 2021
The shortlist for the Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) 2021 Rising Star of the Year Award has been announced. The Rising Star Award is given to an emerging talent in...

May reviews round-up

Thursday, 8 April 2021
In May Anita Heiss will release her latest work of historical fiction, Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray (River of Dreams), which reviewer Joanne Shiells loved and said deserves to be read by all...

Black Inc. acquires Plibersek biography

Thursday, 8 April 2021
Black Inc. has acquired world rights to a biography of Tanya Plibersek to be written by Margaret Simons, via Lyn Tranter at Australian Literary Management. ‘This book will tell the...

The rights approach: Australians on rights sales and acquisitions in Latin America

Thursday, 8 April 2021
This year the Australian Publishers Association is running a series of rights networking events to help Australian publishers connect with overseas markets. In the lead-up to its event with Latin...

Rowe named New York Public Library Cullman Center fellow

Thursday, 8 April 2021
Australian writer Josephine Rowe has been named one of the 2021–2022 fellows of New York Public Library's Dorothy and Lewis B Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers. Rowe is one...

Alice Pung on ‘One Hundred Days’

Wednesday, 7 April 2021
One Hundred Days (Black Inc., June), Alice Pung's first novel for adults, is described as a fractured fairytale about 16-year-old Karuna, who is locked in her family's housing commission flat...

PRH revenue up 4.6%, earnings up 23.3% in 2020

Wednesday, 7 April 2021
Penguin Random House’s (PRH) global sales in 2020 were up 4.6% and its operating EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) was up 23.3%, according to PRH parent company...

Romei steps down as literary editor

Wednesday, 7 April 2021
The Australian newspaper’s literary editor Stephen Romei has left the role, with his last column published in the newspaper on Saturday, 3 April. ‘I have decided to step back from...

APA, writers festivals receive RISE funding

Wednesday, 7 April 2021
The Australian Publishers Association (APA) will receive $566,000 in funding from the federal government’s Restart Investment to Sustain and Expand (RISE) fund, as announced in the latest round of RISE...

Australian Book Design Awards 2021 shortlists announced

Tuesday, 6 April 2021
The shortlists for the Australian Book Design Awards, presented by the Australian Book Designers Association (ABDA), have been announced. Shortlisted titles in some of the categories are: Best Designed Commercial...

Bridgeman’s ‘The Subjugate’ to be adapted for TV

Tuesday, 6 April 2021
Perth science fiction author Amanda Bridgeman's novel The Subjugate (Watkins) will be adapted into a dystopian crime thriller series by independent production companies Aquarius Films and Anonymous Content. The development...

Aurealis Awards 2020 finalists announced

Tuesday, 6 April 2021
The finalists for the 2020 Aurealis Awards, presented for science fiction, fantasy and horror writing in Australia, have been announced. The finalists are: Best horror novel Soul Survivor (Daniel de...

Evans, Chun, Dabarera win Australian Picture Book Illustrator Awards

Thursday, 1 April 2021
The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) has announced the winners of the inaugural Australian Picture Book Illustrator Awards. The winners in each category are: Established Illustrator Award...

Hachette Livre CEO replaced

Thursday, 1 April 2021
Long-time Hachette Livre CEO Arnaud Nourry has been replaced by Pierre Leroy, co-managing partner of Hachette's parent company Lagardère. Nourry, who had run Hachette since 2003, was replaced on Monday,...

NEWC awarded $50k Create NSW grant

Thursday, 1 April 2021
The New England Writers’ Centre (NEWC) has been awarded a $50,000 grant from Create NSW under its Arts Restart program. The funding is for NEWC's The Inside Story project, which...

No Daily until Tuesday; WBN published Thursday next week

Thursday, 1 April 2021
The Daily newsletter will not be published tomorrow, 2 April, or on Monday, 5 April, due to the Easter public holidays. The next Daily will be published Tuesday, 6 April. Next week's Weekly...

Next ‘WBN’ to be published Thursday

Wednesday, 31 March 2021
Please note that, due to the Easter Monday public holiday on 5 April, the next Weekly Book Newsletter will be published on Thursday, 8 April. The deadline for classifieds and...

JobKeeper wraps up; mixed reactions from indie booksellers, publishers

Wednesday, 31 March 2021
The federal government’s JobKeeper wage subsidy scheme came to an end on Sunday, 28 March. In a survey conducted last year, Books+Publishing found none of the multinational publishers who responded...

Melbourne City of Lit meets Kraków’s Massolit Books

Wednesday, 31 March 2021
In this series, run in partnership with the Melbourne City of Literature Office, we get to know some of the bookshops in the UNESCO Cities of Literature network. 'Massolit is...

International Booker Prize longlist announced

Wednesday, 31 March 2021
The longlist for the 2021 International Booker Prize for translated fiction has been announced. The 13 longlisted titles are: I Live in the Slums (Can Xue, trans from Chinese by...

New writing prize for Western Sydney

Wednesday, 31 March 2021
WestWords and WestLit Libraries have announced a new writing competition for Western Sydney residents. With a prize pool of over $10,000, supported by Create NSW as part of Arts Restart,...

Shirley Marr on ‘A Glasshouse of Stars’

Wednesday, 31 March 2021
Perth author Shirley Marr's fourth children's book, A Glasshouse of Stars (Puffin, May), is a semi-autobiographical middle-grade novel inspired by Marr's experiences growing up as a first-generation Chinese–Australian migrant. Reviewer...