News | Books+Publishing

Black Inc. sells Glover’s ‘The Last Man in Europe’ to UK

Tuesday, 17 September 2019
Black Inc. has sold UK and Commonwealth rights (ex ANZ) to Dennis Glover’s novel The Last Man in Europe to Edinburgh-based independent publisher Polygon. Glover’s novel, about the writing of...

Parrett’s ‘There Was Still Love’ sold to UK

Tuesday, 17 September 2019
Martin Shaw of Alex Adsett Publishing Services has sold UK and Commonwealth rights to Favel Parrett’s third novel, There Was Still Love (Hachette), to Francine Toon at Sceptre, Hodder &...

Ngaio Marsh Award 2019 winners announced

Monday, 16 September 2019
New Zealand writer Fiona Kidman has won the Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel for This Mortal Boy (RHNZ Vintage). The story recreates the life of young Belfast immigrant...

A&U, Wavesound to partner on audiobooks

Monday, 16 September 2019
The majority of new Allen & Unwin titles will be produced as audiobooks under a new partnership between the publisher and Wavesound. The co-publishing program will initially see A&U and...

Baillie Gifford Prize for Nonfiction 2019 longlist announced

Monday, 16 September 2019
In the UK, the longlist for this year’s Baillie Gifford Prize for Nonfiction, formerly the Samuel Johnson Prize, has been announced. The 10 longlisted titles are: I Will Never See...

Environment Award for Children’s Literature 2019 winners announced

Monday, 16 September 2019
The Wilderness Society has announced the winners of the 2019 Environment Award for Children’s Literature. The winners are: Picture fiction The All New Must Have Orange 430 (Michael Speechley, Viking)...

Walker acquires Neridah McMullin picture book

Monday, 16 September 2019
Walker Books Australia has acquired world rights to a new picture book by Neridah McMullin called The Drover. Based a true story, the book follows a young female drover as...

Porter’s ‘Firefly’ wins 2019 Wilbur Smith Adventure Prize

Monday, 16 September 2019
In the UK, English writer Henry Porter has won the £15,000 (A$27,250) Wilbur Smith Adventure Prize for his novel Firefly (Quercus). Firefly follows a highly intelligent 13-year-old Syrian refugee who is...

Boost to events, reader pledges for this year’s Australian Reading Hour

Friday, 13 September 2019
Australian Reading Hour (ARH) has registered 240 events—more than double the number held last year—to be held as part of this year’s campaign, taking place next Thursday 19 September. More...

Prime Minister’s Literary Awards 2019 shortlists announced

Friday, 13 September 2019
The shortlists for the 2019 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards have been announced. The shortlisted titles in each category are: Fiction A Stolen Season (Rodney Hall, Picador) Beautiful Revolutionary (Laura Elizabeth...

McLaughlin wins 2019 Sunday Times Audible Short Story Award

Friday, 13 September 2019
Irish writer Danielle McLaughlin has won the £30,000 (A$54,000) Sunday Times Audible Short Story Award for her story ‘A Partial List of the Saved’. The story follows two people who...

BWF: YA, women authors top bestsellers

Friday, 13 September 2019
The State Library of Queensland (SLQ) bookshop recorded a 5.9 percent growth in sales at the Brisbane Writers Festival (BWF) bookstore from the previous year, thanks to ‘the strong six-day...

Clarke, Dovey among Sidney Myer Creative Fellowship recipients

Thursday, 12 September 2019
Writers Maxine Beneba Clarke and Ceridwen Dovey are among nine artists to be awarded 2019 Sidney Myer Creative Fellowships, each worth $160,000 over two years. Clarke is the author of...

Dechian wins 2019 ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize

Thursday, 12 September 2019
Victoria-based writer Sonja Dechian has won the Australian Book Review’s (ABR) 2019 Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize for her story ‘The Point-Blank Murder’. The judges said of the winning story: 'At...

Love wins 2019 Klaus Flugge Prize

Thursday, 12 September 2019
In the UK, Jessica Love has won the £5000 (A$8990) Klaus Flugge Prize for most promising newcomer to children’s picture book illustration for Julian is a Mermaid (Walker Books), reports...

The Children’s Bookshop to close in November

Wednesday, 11 September 2019
The Children’s Bookshop in the Sydney suburb of Beecroft will close at the end of November. The shop opened in 1971 and has been owned by Paul Macdonald for the...

MWF reports strong box office takings; Ben Folds tops bestseller chart

Wednesday, 11 September 2019
Melbourne Writers Festival (MWF) expects to tally total ticket sales of more than $600,000 for its 2019 program, the second festival under artistic director Marieke Hardy. According to preliminary data,...

Digital loans spike at Mackay libraries

Wednesday, 11 September 2019
Mackay Regional Council libraries has reported a spike in its digital loans over the past year, reports the Daily Mercury. In 2018–19, the number of electronic loans of magazines more...

Gippsland library trials 24-hour access

Wednesday, 11 September 2019
Foster library in Gippsland, Victoria, is running a trial to give its members 24-hour a day access, reports the Age. Members will use a swipe card to enter the library...

Book designer spotlight: Sarah Davis

Wednesday, 11 September 2019
After working for over a decade as a freelance picture book illustrator and designer, Sarah Davies joined Walker Books Australia as associate art director. She spoke to Books+Publishing for our ‘book...

We don’t need a map: The growth in illustrated travel titles

Wednesday, 11 September 2019
Travellers are looking beyond traditional guidebooks for recommendations and inspiration—and publishers are finding new niche audiences in a shifting travel market. Andrea Hanke investigates the growth in illustrated travel titles....