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Atria acquires Thompson horror-romance debut 

a portrait of Shailee Thompson Wednesday, 26 February 2025
Atria Books Australia, the new imprint from Simon & Schuster (S&S), has acquired world English rights for How to Kill a Guy in Ten Dates by Shailee Thompson in a...

2025 International Booker longlist announced 

Wednesday, 26 February 2025
In the UK, the longlist for the 2025 International Booker Prize, worth £50,000 (A$99,902), has been announced. The titles in the running for this year’s prize are: The Book of...

CBCA 2025 Notable Books announced

Wednesday, 26 February 2025
The Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) has announced its list of Notable Books for 2025. The list acts as the longlist for the CBCA Book of the Year Awards....

Ricketson named ABR Rising Star 

Wednesday, 26 February 2025
Australian Book Review (ABR) has named Jonathan Ricketson its Rising Star for 2025. Ricketson is currently undertaking a PhD at Monash University on true crime writing and its ethical and...

A&U acquires Petraitis novel 

Wednesday, 26 February 2025
Allen & Unwin (A&U) has acquired ANZ rights to The Stolen, a crime novel by Vikki Petraitis, via Andrew Taylor of More Talent. The Stolen features the detective Antigone Pollard,...

S&S acquires Sakakibara memoir 

a portrait of Saya Sakakibara Tuesday, 25 February 2025
Simon & Schuster (S&S) Australia has acquired world rights to Olympic gold medallist and BMX champion Saya Sakakibara’s memoir, in a deal brokered by Ryan Chipperfield at Blue Chip Management....

Shand resigns as SWF chair 

a portrait of kathy shand Tuesday, 25 February 2025
Sydney Writers' Festival (SWF) board chair Kathy Shand has tendered her resignation after 12 years on the SWF board, reports the Sydney Morning Herald (SMH). In a resignation statement reported...

Peninsula Records and Books opens on the Yorke Peninsula 

logo for peninsula records and books Tuesday, 25 February 2025
Peninsula Records and Books has opened a shopfront in Stansbury on the Yorke Peninsula in South Australia, with a selection of books ‘exclusively focused on Australian authors, supporting both iconic...

NZ Booklovers Awards 2025 shortlists announced

NZ booklovers logo Monday, 24 February 2025
The NZ Booklovers Awards 2025 shortlists have been announced by the organisation. Shortlisted titles include: Best Adult Fiction Book Award Better Left Dead (Catherine Lea, Bateman Books) The Call (Gavin Strawhan,...

Affirm acquires new Brissenden crime novel 

a portrait of Michael Brissenden Monday, 24 February 2025
Affirm Press has acquired ANZ rights to Michael Brissenden’s upcoming outback noir crime thriller, Dust, via literary agent Daniel Pilkington. Set in the remote Australian town of Lake Herrod, Dust...

Readings to open Chadstone shop 

Readings logo Monday, 24 February 2025
Melbourne independent bookselling chain Readings has announced the business will open a new shop at Melbourne’s Chadstone Shopping Centre in late March. The store will be managed by Belle Katavatis,...

Stewart wins 2025 MUD Literary Prize

a photo of cameron stewart in black and white Monday, 24 February 2025
Cameron Stewart's Why Do Horses Run? (Allen & Unwin) has been announced as the 2025 winner of the $10,000 MUD Literary Prize. The prize, now in its eighth year, is...

Major wins 2025 Louie Award 

a portrait of KT Major Thursday, 20 February 2025
The Australian Crime Writers Association (ACWA) has named KT Major as the winner of the 2025 Louie Award, worth $500, for her story 'Bitter'. The judges also highly commended two...

Kill Your Darlings announces new flash fiction prize 

the logo for kill your darlings Thursday, 20 February 2025
Kill Your Darlings (KYD) has announced an inaugural flash fiction prize. Open to KYD members for submissions of previously unpublished flash fiction stories, the prize 'challenges writers to be faster,...

Bonnier names new CEOs 

a photo of Sarah Benton and Jonathan Perdoni Thursday, 20 February 2025
Bonnier Books UK has named Sarah Benton and Jonathan Perdoni as joint CEOs of the organisation, reports BookBrunch. These appointments follow yesterday's announcement of the upcoming departure of current Bonnier CEO...

A&U acquires Kirk debut fiction 

a portrait of Eleanor Kirk Thursday, 20 February 2025
Allen & Unwin (A&U) has acquired ANZ rights to Eleanor Kirk’s debut novel, Very Impressive for Your Age, in a deal brokered by Grace Heifetz at a4 Literary. ‘Twenty-six-year-old Evelyn is...

Text acquires new Winkler fiction 

a portrait of Michael Winkler Thursday, 20 February 2025
Text has acquired world rights for Griefdogg by Michael Winkler. The novel introduces Jeffrey Watson-Johnson, a hydrologist living with his wife, Martine, and child, Reggie, in Mildura. After inheriting a...

OverDrive – ‘libraries can create new readers’

Wednesday, 19 February 2025
In the lead-up to the 2025 ABIAs, Books+Publishing is in conversation with the event's major sponsors about the status of the industry, what excites them about the future, and what they have...

Summit Books acquires new Lee fiction 

a portrait of Bri Lee in Antarctica Wednesday, 19 February 2025
Simon & Schuster (S&S) imprint Summit Books has acquired ANZ rights to Bri Lee’s second novel, Seed, from agent Grace Heifetz at a4 Literary. The novel introduces Mitchell and Frances,...

Knox longlisted for 2025 Walter Scott Prize

logo walter scott prize Wednesday, 19 February 2025
In the UK, the Abbotsford Trust has announced the longlist for the 16th Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction (WSP).  Among those longlisted is local author Malcolm Knox for his...

S&S Australia launches Atria imprint 

Atria books logo Wednesday, 19 February 2025
Simon & Schuster (S&S) Australia has announced the launch of new imprint Atria Books Australia, to be led by publisher Anthea Bariamis. Atria Books is already an imprint with S&S...

Jessica Stanley recommends 

Tuesday, 18 February 2025
I’m reading a book about psychotherapy called The Talking Cure, published by Macmillan in 2019. One of the authors has a therapy podcast I’m obsessed with called Three Associating (I...

Jessica Stanley on ‘Consider Yourself Kissed’ 

Tuesday, 18 February 2025
London-based Australian writer Jessica Stanley (A Great Hope) returns with Consider Yourself Kissed (Text, April), a compelling novel about love, identity and modern motherhood. Books+Publishing reviewer Emily Westmoreland calls it...

Hachette reports ‘remarkable momentum’ in 2024 

Tuesday, 18 February 2025
Hachette parent company Lagardère reported that for 2024, Lagardère’s publishing revenue was up 2.2% compared to 2023, with like-for-like change up 1.9% (attributable chiefly to a positive currency effect) and...

Stricker wins 2025 Peter Porter Poetry Prize

a portrait of Meredith Stricker Tuesday, 18 February 2025
Meredith Stricker was awarded the 2025 Peter Porter Poetry Prize, run by the Australian Book Review (ABR) and worth $6000, at a ceremony in Melbourne last night. ABR outgoing editor Peter...