Rights round-up
Wednesday, 10 September 2025
Sales Fiction Allen & Unwin has sold North American rights to Murder in the Cathedral (Kerry Greenwood) to Sourcebooks; and UK rights of Murder in the Cathedral (Kerry Greenwood) to Constable...
Meanjin literary journal to close ‘on financial grounds’, NSW History Award winners revealed, Anthropic settles book piracy lawsuit
Wednesday, 10 September 2025
In a move roundly condemned by industry figures and other publications, Melbourne University Publishing shuttered 85-year-old literary journal Meanjin last Thursday ‘on financial grounds’. This was followed by a brief...
Back into BookUp (again): The inaugural research day wrapped
Wednesday, 10 September 2025
Books+Publishing recently attended industry professional development conference BookUp, with three members of staff attending both days – the industry day and this year’s brand new addition, a full day dedicated...
Australian Political Book of the Year Award 2025 shortlist announced
Wednesday, 10 September 2025
The 2025 Australian Political Book of the Year Award shortlist has been announced. Chosen from a longlist announced in August, the shortlisted titles are: The Chairman’s Lounge (Joe Aston, Scribner) Mean...
HarperCollins acquires Orgias’ debut crime novel
Wednesday, 10 September 2025
HarperCollins Publishers Australia has acquired ANZ rights to Teeth Kicker, the debut crime novel by Glenn Orgias, in a deal brokered by Jeanne Ryckmans of Key People Literary Management. ‘Set on...
Read the latest Publishers Weekly
Wednesday, 10 September 2025
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.
Mary Penfold (Grantlee Kieza, HarperCollins)
Tuesday, 9 September 2025
Grantlee Kieza’s Mary Penfold is an intriguing biography of the Englishwoman who embraced her husband’s vision, made it her own, and turned their vineyard into one of Australia’s most enduring...
Frances Bloom (Frances Bloom #1) (Katrina Nannestad, illus Marina Zlatanova, HarperCollins)
Tuesday, 9 September 2025
Children’s literature powerhouse Katrina Nannestad (All the Beautiful Things) returns with Frances Bloom, a delightful beginning to a new series. Eight-year-old Frances has posted her parents to the South Sandwich...
Chosen Family (Madeleine Gray, Summit Books)
Tuesday, 9 September 2025
Warning: Clear your schedule for the all-consuming read that is Madeleine Gray’s second novel, Chosen Family. Set over 18 years, the novel follows Sydney friends Eve and Nell from high...
Stories about Fire, Wind, the Moon and other Dreamings: Warinypa wariny Mangunyjajamuwarr wirlarrapa wangalpa wika (Solomon Cocky, ed Barbara Hale & Inge Kral, UWA Publishing)
Tuesday, 9 September 2025
Stories about Fire, Wind, the Moon and other Dreamings: Warinypa wariny Mangunyjaja muwarr wirlarrapa wangalpa wika is a newly edited collection of Nyangumarta narratives by Solomon Cocky and his father....
Eros: Queer Myths for Lovers (Zoe Terakes, Hachette)
Tuesday, 9 September 2025
Zoe Terakes’ debut, Eros: Queer Myths for Lovers, retells five ancient Greek myths, drawing on the richness of their Cretan heritage to celebrate the long lineage of queer storytelling. Some stories...
A Murder is Going Down (Kate Emery, A&U Children’s)
Tuesday, 9 September 2025
Kate Emery (My Family and Other Suspects, The Not So Chosen One) returns with a mystery within a mystery in A Murder is Going Down, while remaining true to her...
Queensland Literary Awards 2025 shortlists announced
Tuesday, 9 September 2025
The shortlists for the 2025 Queensland Literary Awards have been announced. The shortlisted titles in each category are: Queensland Premier's Award for a Work of State Significance ($30,000) Australian Gospel:...
Books for Cooks named ‘2025 Legend’
Tuesday, 9 September 2025
The Melbourne Food & Wine Festival (MFWF) has inducted Books for Cooks bookshop owners Tim White and Amanda Schulze to its Legends Hall of Fame in the Communicators, Educators category....
Davitt Awards 2025 winners announced
Tuesday, 9 September 2025
Sisters in Crime has announced the winners of the 2025 Davitt Awards for the best crime books by Australian women. The winning titles in each category, chosen from shortlists announced...
Queenstown Writers Festival announces 2025 program
Tuesday, 9 September 2025
The Queenstown Writers Festival (QWF) has announced its 2025 program, running 30 October to 3 November 2025 in Queenstown, Aotearoa New Zealand. Local guests headlining this year’s festival include Nalini...
A&U acquires Cullen memoir
Tuesday, 9 September 2025
Allen & Unwin (A&U) has acquired world rights to The Desert Swimmer, a memoir by Brendan Cullen. The Desert Swimmer follows Cullen as he begins swimming ‘as part of his recovery from...
Garner longlisted for 2025 Baillie Gifford nonfiction prize
Monday, 8 September 2025
In the UK, How to End a Story: Collected Diaries by Australian author Helen Garner (Text) has been longlisted for the 2025 Baillie Gifford Prize for Nonfiction, worth £50,000 (A$103,010)....
NSW History Awards 2025 winners announced
Monday, 8 September 2025
The winners of the 2025 NSW History Awards, worth a total of $85,000, were announced on 5 September 2025 at the State Library of NSW (SLNSW) as part of NSW...
Nakata Brophy Prize 2025 shortlist announced
Monday, 8 September 2025
Overland journal has announced the shortlist for the 2025 Nakata Brophy Prize for the best short story by a young Indigenous writer. The shortlisted writers, selected by judges Mykaela Saunders and...
PRH announces 2025 Personal Penguin
Monday, 8 September 2025
Penguin Random House (PRH) Australia has announced the Personal Penguin figurine will return for this year’s Love Your Bookshop Day (LYBD), running on 11 October 2025. The collectable figurine aims...
The Booksellers Association of Aotearoa New Zealand announces Bookshop Day
Monday, 8 September 2025
The Booksellers Association of Aotearoa New Zealand has announced that national Bookshop Day will run on Saturday 11 October 2025, to encourage readers to celebrate their local bookstores. This year’s...
Hachette announces 2025 Book Haul
Thursday, 4 September 2025
Hachette has announced Harry Hartog Carindale as the location for its 2025 Hachette Book Haul. This is the third iteration of the competition, which will take place on Love Your...
NYWF announces 2025 program
Thursday, 4 September 2025
The National Young Writers’ Festival (NYWF) has announced its 2025 program, running 2–5 October on the land of the Awabakal and Worimi peoples in Newcastle, NSW. To open the festival...
Tasmanian Writers and Illustrators Mentorship Program 2025 recipients announced
Thursday, 4 September 2025
The Australian Society of Authors (ASA) has announced the 2025 Tasmanian Writers and Illustrators Mentorship Program recipients. The writer recipients are: Fiction Bev Goldfarb for ‘Legacy’ Ellie Campbell for ‘Billie...
Canberra Writers Festival 2025 program announced
Thursday, 4 September 2025
The program for this year’s Canberra Writers Festival (CWF), running 22–26 October 2025, has been announced. International guests include Griffin Dunne, Eric Puchner, Cheng Lei, Sophie Gilbert and Omar El...
Indigenous Literacy Day takes place today; Western Australian Premier’s Book Awards; Aotearoa New Zealand Poet Laureate
Wednesday, 3 September 2025
Happy Indigenous Literacy Day (ILD)! This year, ILD's theme is ‘Strength In Our Stories: For Now & Future Generations’, and live events are being streamed from three Aboriginal Communities. Also...
Roper on 2025 Cundill History Prize shortlist
Wednesday, 3 September 2025
Australian historian and author Lyndal Roper has been named on the 2025 Cundill History Prize shortlist. The prize, worth US$75,000 (A$115,137), aims to highlight ‘books that uncover neglected histories and...
ARA Historical Novel Prize 2025 longlists announced
Wednesday, 3 September 2025
The Historical Novel Society Australasia (HNSA) has announced the longlists for the 2025 ARA Historical Novel Prize. Longlisted titles are: Adult category All the Bees in the Hollows (Lauren Keegan,...
Rights round-up
Wednesday, 3 September 2025
Sales Children’s/YA Penguin Random House has sold traditional Chinese rights to Boys Do Cry (Gus Worland) to ACME Publishing in Taiwan. Scholastic has sold simplified Chinese rights to The Wonderful...
