News | Books+Publishing

Hardie Grant Children’s launches new illustrated imprint

Wednesday, 25 November 2020
Hardie Grant Children's Publishing (HGCP) has announced the creation of Bright Light, a new illustrated imprint that will publish 20 titles a year exploring privilege, race, equality, the environment, bodies...

PA to aggregate diversity statistics

Wednesday, 25 November 2020
In the UK, the Publishers Association (PA) will aggregate publisher statistics on the diversity make-up of their books, reports the Bookseller. After a number of big publishers confirmed they were...

Booktopia, Amazon Australia to use robots for fulfilment

Wednesday, 25 November 2020
Booktopia and Amazon will implement the use of robots in their Australian fulfilment centres in 2021. Booktopia announced it will trial autonomous robots at its Lidcombe Distribution Centre in Sydney...

Hueston awarded 2020 Medal for Excellence in Translation

Wednesday, 25 November 2020
Text Publishing director and a senior editor Penny Hueston is the winner of the 2020 Australian Academy of the Humanities Medal for Excellence in Translation for Being Here: The life...

Wright resigns from PRH

Wednesday, 25 November 2020
Penguin Random House Australia (PRH) head of trade sales Kaye Wright has resigned after almost 12 years in the role. Wright told Books+Publishing the role was ‘my most favoured in...

CBCA restructures board, confirms 2021 Book Week theme

Tuesday, 24 November 2020
The Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) has appointed Wendy Rapee as its new chair, and restructured its board, reducing its size from 12 directors to eight. The restructure of...

Simsion, Baxter novel adaptations receive Screen Aus funding

Tuesday, 24 November 2020
A film adaptation of Graeme Simsion's novel The Best of Adam Sharp (Text) and a series based on Ella Baxter's forthcoming debut New Animal (A&U, March) are among 42 projects sharing...

Silvey, Gillard, Bennett among first guests announced for 2021 Perth Festival Literature & Ideas program

Tuesday, 24 November 2020
Perth Festival has announced the first guests scheduled to appear as part of its 2021 Literature & Ideas program, which will be spread across 12 days from 5–28 February 2021....

ASA: More than half of full-time writers earn below $15k per year

Monday, 23 November 2020
A survey of writers by the Australian Society of Authors (ASA) has found that author earnings are ‘disastrously low’. The survey found that 53.6% of respondents who said they were...

Morris-Marr’s ‘Fallen’ wins 2020 Walkley Book Award

Monday, 23 November 2020
Investigative journalist, writer and broadcaster Lucie Morris-Marr has won the 2020 Walkley Book Award for Fallen: The inside story of the secret trial and conviction of Cardinal George Pell (A&U)....

National Book Award winners announced

Monday, 23 November 2020
In the US, the winners of this year’s National Book Awards have been announced. The winning titles in each category are: Fiction Interior Chinatown (Charles Yu, Europa Editions) Nonfiction The...

Pan Mac, Nosy Crow among FutureBook Awards winners

Monday, 23 November 2020
In the UK, the winners of the FutureBook Awards: Best of Lockdown have been announced, reports the Bookseller. The winners include publishers Nosy Crow and Pan Macmillan, Bath-based bookshop Mr...

Melbourne City of Literature Office supports #vicbookshopbingo competition

Friday, 20 November 2020
The office of the Melbourne City of Literature is encouraging Victorians to support local booksellers as part of a Bookshop Bingo initiative conceived by writer Imbi Neeme. Participants download a...

Speech Pathology Book of the Year 2020 winners announced

Friday, 20 November 2020
The winners of the 2020 Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year awards have been announced. Chosen from shortlists announced in July, the winning titles are: Birth to three years...

ABA, APA plan in person conferences in 2021

Friday, 20 November 2020
The Australian Booksellers Association (ABA) has announced it will hold its 2021 national conference from 20 to 22 June at the Wheeler Centre in Melbourne. The event, which will include...

Stuart wins Booker Prize for ‘Shuggie Bain’

Friday, 20 November 2020
Scottish author Douglas Stuart has won the £50,000 (A$91,100) Booker Prize for his debut novel Shuggie Bain (Picador), reports the Bookseller. Stuart’s novel, based on his own childhood, tells the...

‘The Sydney Wars’ wins inaugural Les Carlyon Literary Prize

Friday, 20 November 2020
Stephen Gapps has won the inaugural Les Carlyon Literary Prize for his 2018 work The Sydney Wars: Conflict in the early colony 1788–1817 (NewSouth). Chosen from more than 60 entries,...

Voss Literary Prize 2020 shortlist announced

Thursday, 19 November 2020
The shortlist for the 2020 Voss Literary Prize has been announced. The shortlisted novels are: Crossings (Alex Landragin, Picador) The Rich Man’s House (Andrew McGahan, A&U) The Palace of Angels...

Pearson creates direct-to-consumer division

Thursday, 19 November 2020
Pearson has announced the creation of a new direct-to-consumer division, focused on direct-to-consumer products and channels. 'With the accelerating interest in digital learning across the globe, we need to meet...

Treloar wins 2020 Barbara Jefferis Award

Thursday, 19 November 2020
Lucy Treloar has won the 2020 Barbara Jefferis Award for her novel Wolfe Island (Picador). The $50,000 award, which is administered by the Australian Society of Authors (ASA), is presented...

Book it in: 2021 children’s and YA preview

Wednesday, 18 November 2020
Alongside a slate of new books by established children’s authors, next year looks to be a year of firsts, featuring books by debut authors, established authors trying their hands at...

Meet Hachette Australia head of rights Sarah Brooks

Wednesday, 18 November 2020
As the pandemic keeps rights sellers from meeting face-to-face, Books+Publishing’s Think Australian publication is shining a regular spotlight on the work of Australian rights agents. Today, we hear from Hachette Australia...