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Rights round-up

Wednesday, 15 April 2026
Sales Fiction Bold Type Agency has licensed Serbian language rights in Black Rock, White City by AS Patrić (on behalf of Transit Lounge), Bulgarian language rights in Last Shot by Emma...

Read the latest Publishers Weekly

Wednesday, 15 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.

Touch Grass (Mary Colussi, Penguin)

Tuesday, 14 April 2026
Mary Colussi’s debut novel, Touch Grass, is the sharp and inventive winner of the 2025 Penguin Literary Prize. This work of speculative fiction takes readers into the not-too-distant future, where strawberries are...

Where the Heart Is (Shirley Marr, illus Michael Speechley, Walker)

Tuesday, 14 April 2026
In Where the Heart Is, Shirley Marr (Countdown to Yesterday) (with illustrations by Michael Speechley) crafts a wistful picture book for readers aged 3 to 6 that plays with the...

What’s That Splat? (Johanna Bell, illus Amelia Luscombe, Thames & Hudson)

Tuesday, 14 April 2026
What’s That Splat? is the picture-book equivalent of the famous Rorschach test – the psychological assessment that analyses a person’s response to a series of inkblots. Here, writer Johanna Bell...

The Palace of Lost Virtue (Anthea Hodgson, Penguin)

Tuesday, 14 April 2026
In The Palace of Lost Virtue, Anthea Hodgson follows her bestselling novel The War Nurses with a stirring work of historical fiction. Spanning 1898 to 1926, this new novel offers...

Weymouth wins inaugural Sherborne Prize for Travel Writing

Tuesday, 14 April 2026
In the UK, Adam Weymouth has won the inaugural £10,000 (A$19,043) Sherborne Prize for Travel Writing for Lone Wolf (Hutchinson Heinemann), reported the Bookseller. Weymouth’s account of a young wolf’s 1000-mile journey to the...

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...