News | Books+Publishing

UNSW academic wins international book award Archive

Monday, 4 March 2019
Robin Derricourt’s Unearthing Childhood: Young Lives in Prehistory (Manchester University Press) has won the Archaeology and Ancient History PROSE Award from the Association of American Publishers (AAP). Unearthing Childhood is...

Crankstart announced as new Booker Prize sponsor Archive

Friday, 1 March 2019
US-based charitable foundation Crankstart will be the new sponsor of the Booker Prize. Crankstart's five-year sponsorship will begin on 1 June, after the announcement of the 2019 Man Booker International...

Clunes Booktown Festival 2019 program announced Archive

Friday, 1 March 2019
The program for the 2019 Clunes Booktown Festival, to be held from 4-5 May in Clunes, Victoria, has been announced. Around 25 writers will appear at the festival, including Robbie...

Plunkett receives ABR Patrons’ Fellowship Archive

Friday, 1 March 2019
The Australian Book Review (ABR) has announced poet and critic Felicity Plunkett as the recipient of its $10,000 ABR Patrons' Fellowship. Plunkett will contribute several articles to ABR over the...

S A Jones’ ‘The Fortress’ sells to US Archive

Friday, 1 March 2019
Natasha Solomun of The Rights Hive has sold North American rights to S A Jones' novel The Fortress to US-based Erewhon Books, a new independent publisher of speculative fiction. The...

Hamad’s ‘White Tears/Brown Scars’ sold to US Archive

Friday, 1 March 2019
North American rights to journalist and academic Ruby Hamad’s forthcoming book White Tears/Brown Scars (MUP) have been sold via auction to US publisher Catapult. Rachel Crawford at MacKenzie Wolf sold...

NSW Premier’s Literary Awards 2019 shortlists announced Archive

Thursday, 28 February 2019
The shortlists for the 2019 NSW Premier’s Literary Awards have been announced. The shortlisted titles in each category are: Christina Stead Prize for Fiction ($40,000) Man Out of Time (Stephanie...

‘Penguin Bloom’ adaptation receives Screen Australia funding Archive

Thursday, 28 February 2019
A feature film adaptation of Cameron Bloom and Bradley Trevor Greive's nonfiction book Penguin Bloom (ABC Books) has received production funding from Screen Australia. Set on Sydney's Northern Beaches, Penguin...

Australian market overview Archive

Thursday, 28 February 2019
For the past few years the Australian retail book market has been posting marginal growth (‘flat is the new up’ is a common catch-cry). In 2018, Nielsen BookScan reported that...

Amazon Australia creates 500 permanent jobs after criticism of casual workforce Archive

Thursday, 28 February 2019
Amazon will create 500 permanent jobs in its Australian fulfilment centres following criticism about the insecure casual employment of its labour hire workers, reports the Sydney Morning Herald. The permanent...

Affirm focuses on children’s/YA manuscripts in 2019 mentorship award Archive

Thursday, 28 February 2019
This year’s Affirm Press Mentorship Award will focus exclusively on young adult and middle-grade fiction submissions, says the publisher. Writers of the three winning submissions will receive a week-long residency...

PEN America Literary Awards 2019 winners announced Archive

Thursday, 28 February 2019
In the US, PEN America has announced the winners of its 2019 Literary Awards. Among the award winners are: PEN/Jean Stein Book Award Friday Black (Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, riverrun) PEN/Robert...

Scribner acquires new Irving novels in three-book deal Archive

Wednesday, 27 February 2019
Scribner, an imprint of Simon & Schuster UK, has acquired UK and Commonwealth rights to three new novels by American writer John Irving. Darkness as a Bride, Irving's 15th novel,...

WA school library temporarily bans Harry Potter books Archive

Wednesday, 27 February 2019
A school library in Western Australia has banned access to the Harry Potter series for two weeks to encourage students to read other books, reports the West Australian. A spokesperson...

Pearson reports 9% revenue drop; PRH has ‘solid’ 2018 Archive

Wednesday, 27 February 2019
UK educational publisher Pearson, which owns a 25% stake in Penguin Random House (PRH), has reported company-wide results showing its 2018 revenue fell by 9% to £4.13 billion (A$7.61bn), reports...

CBCA 2019 Notable Books announced Archive

Wednesday, 27 February 2019
The Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) has announced its list of Notable Books for 2019. The books in each category are: Older readers Between Us (Clare Atkins, Black Inc.)...

‘Cardinal’ available in Victoria after suppression order lifts Archive

Wednesday, 27 February 2019
After court suppression orders relating to the trial of Cardinal George Pell were lifted yesterday, 26 February, ABC journalist Louise Milligan’s book Cardinal: The Rise and Fall of George Pell...

Overland announces Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize shortlist Archive

Wednesday, 27 February 2019
The shortlist for Overland’s Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize for travel-themed short fiction has been announced. The shortlisted entries are: ‘Kátharsis’ (George Haddad) ‘Folie à Deux’ (Mairead O’Neill) ‘Paper boats’ (Angela...