News | Books+Publishing

HarperCollins acquires Wilson memoir

Thursday, 5 October 2023
HarperCollins has acquired UK and Commonwealth rights to actor Rebel Wilson’s memoir Rebel Rising, via Matilda Forbes Watson at WME, reports the Bookseller. HarperCollins UK managing director and publisher Sarah...

Antigny steps down at Pantera, Draper promoted

Thursday, 5 October 2023
Pantera Press has announced the promotion of senior publicist Lauren Draper to the role of head of publicity and communications, as publicity director Léa Antigny steps down to 'move in...

Affirm acquires Brissenden novel

Thursday, 5 October 2023
Affirm has acquired ANZ rights to Smoke, a new crime thriller from journalist Michael Brissenden, via Shane Salerno and Daniel Pilkington of The Story Factory. The publisher described Smoke as...

HarperCollins signs Rogers follow-up in two-book deal

Thursday, 5 October 2023
HarperCollins Publishers Australia has acquired ANZ rights to a new novel, The Anatomy of Tears, from Megan Rogers—author of The Heart Is a Star—in a two-book deal brokered by Benython...

National Book Award finalists announced

Thursday, 5 October 2023
In the US, the finalists for the 2023 National Book Awards have been announced. The shortlisted titles are: Fiction Chain-Gang All-Stars (Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, Pantheon) Temple Folk (Aaliyah Bilal, S&S)...

Amplify Bookstore’s summer picks

Wednesday, 4 October 2023
Amplify Bookstore is an independent online bookseller specialising in books by Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC) authors, founded by Jing Xuan Teo and Marina Sano. Here, they share their top...

FT Business Book of the Year Award shortlist

Wednesday, 4 October 2023
In the UK, the shortlist has been announced for the 2023 Financial Times Business Book of the Year. The shortlisted titles are: Material World: A substantial story of our past and...

Spotify offers Australian subscribers 15 hours of audiobooks per month

Wednesday, 4 October 2023
Music streaming platform Spotify has announced it is making over 150,000 audiobooks available to its premium subscribers in Australia and the UK, who will receive 15 hours of listening per...

Beveridge wins $10k ACU Poetry Prize

Wednesday, 4 October 2023
Sydney-based poet Judith Beveridge has won the $10,000 Australian Catholic University (ACU) Prize for Poetry for her poem ‘Two Houses’. Responding to this year’s theme of ‘Love’, Beveridge’s poem is...

Magabala to offer two $10k AIC Creative Grants

Wednesday, 4 October 2023
Magabala Books will offer two $10,000 creative grants for First Nations storytellers, writers, illustrators and artists, in partnership with Australian Indigenous Coffee (AIC). The publisher said the grants ‘are intended...

Inaugural ABDA ‘Baseline’ Book Design Internship opens for applications

Wednesday, 4 October 2023
The Australian Book Designers Association (ABDA) has opened applications for its ‘Baseline’ Book Design Internship, after its initial announcement at the Australian Book Design Awards. The 'Baseline' program is a paid...

Angourie Rice and Kate Rice on ‘Stuck Up & Stupid’

Tuesday, 3 October 2023
Angourie Rice is an actor renowned for her roles in international feature films and television series; she also showcases her literary talents by writing, producing and hosting The Community Library...

Europa Editions acquires new Azar novel

Tuesday, 3 October 2023
Europa Editions has acquired world rights to a new novel by Iranian-Australian author and journalist Shokoofeh Azar, via Europa editor in chief Michael Reynolds, in a deal brokered by Victoria...

US$75K Cundill History Prize shortlist announced

Tuesday, 3 October 2023
The shortlist for the 2023 Cundill History Prize, which rewards ‘the best history writing in English’, have been announced. The shortlisted works are: The Huxleys: An intimate history of evolution...

Drama series inspired by ‘Fake’ to screen next year

Tuesday, 3 October 2023
An eight-part drama series inspired by journalist Stephanie Wood’s 2019 nonfiction book Fake (Penguin) will screen on Paramount+ in 2024. Fake has been created for TV by screenwriter Anya Beyersdorf and...

2023 Ditmar Award winners announced

Monday, 2 October 2023
The winners of the 2023 Ditmar Awards were announced on 30 September, as part of the 2023 Australian National Science Fiction Convention in Canberra. These awards recognise achievement in Australian...

Writing income for authors below the poverty level: Authors Guild survey

Monday, 2 October 2023
In the US, a new Authors Guild survey has found that most authors are far from earning a living from their craft, reports Publishers Weekly. The survey drew responses from...

ASA responds to use of Australian books to train AI

Thursday, 28 September 2023
The Australian Society of Authors (ASA) has responded to the large-scale unauthorised use of books by Australian authors in a dataset used to train generative artificial intelligence. The training dataset,...

APA releases AI statement

Thursday, 28 September 2023
The Australian Publishers Association (APA) has released a statement ‘responding to the rapid advances in artificial intelligence’, seeking a focus on ethics, transparency, incentives and protections, and responsibility. Coming amidst...