Regional shortlist released for 2026 Commonwealth Short Story Prize
Tuesday, 14 April 2026
One Aotearoa New Zealand writer and one Australian writer are among the finalists for the 2026 Commonwealth Short Story Prize. The works shortlisted for the Pacific region are: ‘Bitter Water...
ABA announces inaugural lifetime achievement award
Monday, 13 April 2026
The Australian Booksellers Association (ABA) has created a new Lifetime Achievement in Bookselling Award for “an individual who has given extraordinary and sustained service to bookselling in Australia”. According to...
Ena Noël Award 2026 winners announced
Monday, 13 April 2026
The Australian branch of the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) has announced the winners of the 2026 Ena Noël Award. The winners of the award are author...
Storylines Awards 2026 winners announced
Monday, 13 April 2026
The Storylines Trust has announced the 2026 winners of the Storylines Awards in Aotearoa New Zealand. The winners are: Margaret Mahy Medal and Lecture Award Tim Tipene Gaelyn Gordon Award...
Upswell acquires Anatolitis’s “Who’s Afraid of Australian Artists?”
Thursday, 9 April 2026
Upswell Publishing has acquired world rights for Who’s Afraid of Australian Artists? by Esther Anatolitis. Anatolitis will examine artistic practice, arts policy and political sentiment, framed by the voices of...
Dublin Literary Award 2026 shortlist announced
Thursday, 9 April 2026
The shortlist for the 2026 Dublin Literary Award has been announced. The shortlisted titles are: The Emperor of Gladness (Ocean Vuong, Vintage) Gliff (Ali Smith, Penguin General) In Late Summer (Magdalena Blažević, trans...
Shakthidharan among Windham-Campbell Prize 2026 winners
Thursday, 9 April 2026
Sydney playwright S Shakthidharan has won a 2026 Windham-Campbell Prize, worth US$175,000 (A$249,000). Shakthidharan was selected in the category of drama for his “ambition and scale, and his deep care...
Stella Prize 2026 shortlist announced
Thursday, 9 April 2026
The shortlist for the $60,000 Stella Prize for works by Australian women and non-binary writers has been announced. The shortlisted books are: The Rot (Evelyn Araluen, UQP) Memorial Days (Geraldine Brooks, Hachette)...
ABIA 2026 book award shortlists announced
Wednesday, 8 April 2026
Books+Publishing, in partnership with the Australian Publishers Association, has announced the 2026 book award shortlists for the Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIAs). The shortlisted titles in each category are: Audiobook...
OverDrive: “The romantasy trend showed up years ago”
Wednesday, 8 April 2026
In the lead-up to the 2026 Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIAs), Books+Publishing is inviting the event’s major sponsors to share little-known facts about their organisations, their top tips for booksellers...
ALIA National Conference 2026 program announced
Wednesday, 8 April 2026
The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) will hold its national conference on 11 to 14 May 2026 at Rosehill Gardens in Sydney. ALIA has decided not to have an...
ABIA shortlists, DANZ longlist, Australia Reads up for innovation award
Wednesday, 8 April 2026
The Australian Society of Authors has announced the winners of mentorships in the 2026 CA/ASA Developmental Leadership Program, Writing NSW has announced the winners of the 2026 Cultivate Mentorship Program...
Cultivate mentorship 2026 winners announced
Wednesday, 8 April 2026
Writing NSW has announced the winners of the 2026 Cultivate Mentorship Program for First Nations and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Emerging Writers. Developed by Writing NSW to “help build equity...
A&U acquires Keane’s “Seize the Moment”
Wednesday, 8 April 2026
Allen & Unwin (A&U) has acquired world rights to Seize the Moment, a nonfiction title by Bernard Keane. According to the publisher, the book examines “how Australia can prosper in...
Pink Shorts acquires Adameitis’s “Australianarama”, De Zilva’s “Sick Note”
Wednesday, 8 April 2026
Pink Shorts Press has acquired world rights to Australianarama: A Campendium of Kitsch by artist and designer Stavroula Adameitis, also known as Frida Las Vegas, and poetry collection Sick Note...
Read the latest Publishers Weekly
Wednesday, 8 April 2026
Books+Publishing partners with US trade news magazine Publishers Weekly to provide our subscribers with exclusive access to the weekly digital edition of PW magazine. View the current edition.
Over to You (Georgie Tunny, A&U)
Tuesday, 7 April 2026
In her emotionally turbulent debut, Over to You, Georgie Tunny captures the highs and lows of working in television news. The novel follows 3 friends – Carter, Naya and Greta...
Deprivation (Roy V Marshan, New Dawn)
Tuesday, 7 April 2026
In Deprivation, Roy V Marshan explores cannibalism as a feature of late-stage capitalism. In the 1973 film Soylent Green, cannibalism is presented as the solution to overpopulation, while in Agustina...
Geigi the Stubborn Boy (Elliot Passi & Michael Passi, illus Elliot Passi, ILF)
Tuesday, 7 April 2026
In Geigi the Stubborn Boy, Torres Strait Islander authors Elliot and Michael Passi (with illustrations by Elliot Passi) draw on their cultural heritage to tell a simple but resonant morality...
Kid (Peter Carnavas, UQP)
Tuesday, 7 April 2026
Award-winning author Peter Carnavas is something of a master of timeless children’s novels full of heart and gentle lessons about life, family, grief and love. This most recent addition to...
Possible Springs (Samantha Ross, Penguin)
Tuesday, 7 April 2026
In Possible Springs, Samantha Ross blends magical realism with rural noir in Australia across the late 1980s and 1990s. The novel follows Jimny Adams, who, after an accident at age...
How to Raise Rich Kids: Build Lasting Wealth for Your Children (Sarah Megginson, Pantera)
Tuesday, 7 April 2026
Sarah Megginson’s How to Raise Rich Kids is a practical and reassuring guide for parents who want to give their children a strong financial future, regardless of their current income....
Vale John Flanagan
Tuesday, 7 April 2026
Author John Flanagan has died, aged 81. Flanagan’s publisher, Penguin Random House, writes: John Flanagan, author of the beloved and bestselling Ranger’s Apprentice, Brotherband, and Royal Ranger children’s book series,...
Blake Poetry Prize 2026 shortlist announced
Tuesday, 7 April 2026
Liverpool Powerhouse and WestWords have announced the poets shortlisted for the 2026 Blake Poetry Prize, worth $5000. The shortlisted works are: “Aftermath” by Terri Slanovits “Father” by Phillippa Cordwell “Jigar...
New ASA mentorship program winners announced
Tuesday, 7 April 2026
The Australian Society of Authors (ASA) has announced the winners of mentorships in the 2026 CA/ASA Developmental Leadership Program. Thirteen creators have won the opportunity to work with an experienced...
A&U acquires Urquhart ultramarathon story
Thursday, 2 April 2026
Allen & Unwin (A&U) has acquired world rights to ultramarathon runner Donna Urquhart’s as yet untitled story about her Guinness World Record Antarctic run in January 2024, written with journalist...
DANZ Children’s Book Award 2026 longlists announced
Thursday, 2 April 2026
The 2026 longlists for the Australian School Library Association (ASLA) DANZ (Diversity in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand) Children’s Book Award have been announced. The longlisted titles in each category...
Australia Reads nominated for 2026 IPA Innovation in Publishing Award
Thursday, 2 April 2026
Newly minted not-for-profit Australia Reads, established by the Australian Publishers Association, is among 5 nominees for the 2026 Innovation in Publishing Award presented by the International Publishers Association. The award...
QLAs move to BWF; a “strong year” for PRH locally as global earnings down; CBCA shortlists announced
Wednesday, 1 April 2026
In news this week, the Queensland Literary Awards (QLAs) will become part of the Brisbane Writers Festival for the foreseeable future; Penguin Random House Australia (PRH) reports “a strong year”...
O’Loughlin wins inaugural MidnightSun Picture Book Prize
Wednesday, 1 April 2026
Penny O’Loughlin has won the inaugural MidnightSun Picture Book Prize for her manuscript The Battle of the Beast. MidnightSun said The Battle of the Beast “impressed the judges with its...
