Inside the Australian and New Zealand book industry

Image. Advertisement:

News sections >

Viking Women (Lisa Hannett, Thames & Hudson) 

Tuesday, 6 December 2022
Literature academic and speculative fiction author Lisa Hannett has written an evocative account of the varied lives of women during the Viking era. Hannett uses her vast knowledge of Vikings...

Resistance (Jacinta Halloran, Text) 

Tuesday, 6 December 2022
Resistance is the fourth novel by the award-winning author of Dissection and Pilgrimage, Jacinta Halloran. Narrated by family therapist Nina, it follows the Agostino family, mandated to see Nina after...

UWAP acquires Akhurst YA novel 

Tuesday, 6 December 2022
UWA Publishing (UWAP) has acquired ANZ rights to Graham Akhurst’s young adult novel Borderland, via Danielle Binks of Jacinta di Mase Management. Set in Brisbane and the fictional rural town of...

Ross wins first prize in 2022 Scarlet Stiletto Awards

Monday, 5 December 2022
Sisters in Crime Australia has announced the winners of the 2022 Scarlet Stiletto Awards. ‘Tuesday Jocks’ by Fin J Ross won first prize ($2000); last year’s winner Hayley Young won...

Text acquires new Lohrey novel 

Monday, 5 December 2022
Text Publishing has acquired world rights to Amanda Lohrey's new novel The Conversion, via Lyn Tranter of Australian Literary Management. The Conversion follows Zoe, who leaves Sydney for a small...

A&U acquires Bolton debut ‘Life Itself’ 

Monday, 5 December 2022
Allen & Unwin (A&U) has acquired world rights to Trish Bolton’s debut novel Life Itself. Rights were acquired by A&U publisher Jane Palfreyman and executive editor Genevieve Buzo. Life Itself...

Read the latest Publishers Weekly 

Monday, 5 December 2022
Books+Publishing is partnering with US trade news magazine Publishers Weekly to provide our subscribers with exclusive access to the weekly digital edition of PW magazine. View the edition here.

HarperCollins acquires Whitlam biography by Bramston 

Friday, 2 December 2022
HarperCollins Australia has acquired Troy Bramston’s biography of former Australian prime minister Gough Whitlam. The currently untitled work will be a ‘thorough, highly readable’ biography drawing on newly discovered archival...

Pantera acquires James book on human sexuality 

Friday, 2 December 2022
Pantera Press has acquired world rights to Kinky History: The stories behind our intimate lives, past and present by Esmé Louise James. Drawing on James’s popular online lecture series Kinky...

NZ PM’s Awards for Literary Achievement winners announced

Friday, 2 December 2022
Creative New Zealand has announced the recipients of the 2022 Prime Minister’s Awards for Literary Achievement, worth NZ$60,000 (A$56,000) each. In recognition of their contribution to New Zealand literature, Stephanie...

Two Brabon novels to Ultimo 

Wednesday, 30 November 2022
Ultimo Press has acquired ANZ and UK rights to two new novels by Katherine Brabon, in a deal via Clare Forster at Curtis Brown. In Body Friend, the narrator leaves...

Vale Margaret Hamilton

Wednesday, 30 November 2022
Australian publisher and author Margaret Hamilton has died, aged 81. Brian Cook of The Authors’ Agent, Hamilton's friend and a former publisher, writes: 'It is with a huge amount of...

Rights round-up 

Wednesday, 30 November 2022
Sales Fiction Zeitgeist Agency has sold rights to The Seven Skins of Esther Wilding to five territories: France (Fayard), UK (Legend Press), Romania (Humanitas), Finland (Minerva) and Russia (MTS Library). ...

Higher Education (Kira McPherson, Ultimo) 

Tuesday, 29 November 2022
Kira McPherson’s debut novel Higher Education portrays the turbulence of early adult life. Twenty-year-old student Sam is juggling a lacklustre university degree and family tensions. Troubled by her family’s alcohol-fuelled...

Dorrie (Tanya McCartney, HarperCollins) 

Tuesday, 29 November 2022
Award-winning Tanya McCartney’s Dorrie is a personable, narrative-style biography of author Dorothy Wall and how she came to write the Blinky Bill stories. It’s filled with young Dorrie’s irrepressible energy...

Grace Notes (Karen Comer, Lothian) 

Tuesday, 29 November 2022
A verse novel taking place as Coronavirus takes a grip on Melbourne, Karen Comer’s debut Grace Notes is a lyrical exploration of how two teenagers experience exceptional times. Crux, an...

The New Rulebook (Chris Cheers, Harper by Design) 

Tuesday, 29 November 2022
In an era when psychologists’ waiting lists are months long, navigating mental health can be overwhelming. The New Rulebook by psychologist Chris Cheers is a godsend for those of us...

Fegan wins 2022 Catalyse Nonfiction Prize

Monday, 28 November 2022
Express Media and Deakin University have announced Sar Fegan as the winner of the Catalyse Nonfiction Prize, formerly the Deakin University Nonfiction Prize. Fegan won for their piece 'A Fiery...

Piper wins 2022 SBS Emerging Writers’ Competition

Monday, 28 November 2022
Tessa Piper, a 37-year-old public servant from Melbourne, has won this year's SBS Emerging Writers' Competition, worth $5000. Piper's winning story 'The Usual' was selected by judges Alice Pung and...

Jackson wins 2022 SPN Book of the Year Award

Monday, 28 November 2022
Eleanor Jackson has won the 2022 Small Press Network (SPN) Book of the Year Award for her poetry collection Gravidity and Parity (Vagabond Press). The winner was chosen from a...

Read the latest Publishers Weekly 

Monday, 28 November 2022
Books+Publishing is partnering with US trade news magazine Publishers Weekly to provide our subscribers with exclusive access to the weekly digital edition of PW magazine. View the edition here.

Affirm acquires Daley anthology about teachers 

Friday, 25 November 2022
Affirm Press has acquired world rights to a forthcoming anthology about teachers, to be edited by Megan Daley. The anthology will showcase educators who nurture, inspire, champion and create change, in...