News sections | Books+Publishing

LBF ‘as busy as ever’; Australians report interest in ‘uplifting nonfiction’ and self-help for kids

Wednesday, 27 March 2019
Australian publishers attending the 2019 London Book Fair (LBF) reported an interest in ‘uplifting or inspiring nonfiction’ and ‘self-development, self-esteem, resilience and mental health books for children and adolescents’, among...

First AWW from Jo Dyer attracts new audiences; Dalton tops bestsellers

Wednesday, 27 March 2019
Adelaide Writers’ Week (AWW) has reported it brought new demographics to the 2019 festival, which ran from 2-7 March 2019. In her first year as AWW director, Jo Dyer said...

Ledden-Lewis wins 2019 Kestin Indigenous Illustrator Award

Wednesday, 27 March 2019
Bundjalung artist Charmaine Ledden-Lewis has won Magabala Books’ 2019 Kestin Indigenous Illustrator Award. A freelance artist based in Blackheath, NSW, Ledden-Lewis receives $10,000, a mentorship and the opportunity to illustrate...

MidnightSun acquires debut picture book about pioneer aviator

Wednesday, 27 March 2019
MidnightSun Publishing has acquired world rights to Beverly McWilliams’ first picture book Born to Fly, illustrated by Timothy Ide. Born to Fly follows the life of Australian farmer Harry Butler,...

CBCA Awards 2019 shortlists announced

Tuesday, 26 March 2019
The shortlists for this year’s Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) Book of the Year Awards have been announced. The shortlisted titles are: Older readers Between Us (Clare Atkins, Black...

Mascara announces winners of Avant-garde Literary Awards

Tuesday, 26 March 2019
Mascara Literary Review has announced the winners of the Avant-garde Literary Awards for literature, criticism and theory. The awards recognise ‘books which are stretching the boundaries of genres radically, philosophically,...

Scribble to begin publishing directly into North America

Tuesday, 26 March 2019
Scribe’s picture-book list Scribble will begin publishing titles directly into North America in September this year. Scribble will launch its North American publishing list with titles All the Ways to be...

Kozlowski wins Leila St John Award

Tuesday, 26 March 2019
Children’s book specialist Kathy Kozlowski has received the annual Leila St John Award, presented by Victorian branch of the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA). Kozlowski has spent over 50...

Charts this week

Monday, 25 March 2019
Top 10 Bestsellers Index Title Author Imprint 1 The Barefoot Investor Scott Pape John Wiley & Sons 2 18th Abduction James Patterson Century 3 Fing David Walliams HarperCollins 4...

Scribe acquires debut novel by Horton

Friday, 22 March 2019
Scribe has acquired world rights to Luke Horton's debut novel, The Fogging, which was highly commended in the 2019 Victorian Premier's Literary Awards unpublished manuscript prize. Rights were acquired at...

‘The Boy at the Back of the Class’ wins Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2019

Friday, 22 March 2019
In the UK, Onjali Q Raúf’s novel The Boy at the Back of the Class (Orion Children's Books) has won the £5000 (A$9230) Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, reports the Bookseller....

Faber CEO calls on publishers to ‘have courage’ in face of Brexit

Wednesday, 20 March 2019
‘I fear there are those who believe that global English language markets are in their interests, both retailers and publishers. They are not.’—In his keynote at the London Book Fair’s...

Rights round-up

Wednesday, 20 March 2019
Sales Fiction Jenny Darling & Associates has sold UK and Commonwealth (ex ANZ) rights to The Weekend (Charlotte Wood, A&U, October) to Weidenfeld & Nicolson, and North American rights to Riverhead...

Publicity round-up

Wednesday, 20 March 2019
Books+Publishing’s weekly publicity round-up covers forthcoming publicity for Australian and internationally authored books due to appear in Australian media over the coming weeks. Fiction Peggy Frew (Islands, A&U) will be...

Meg McKinlay’s ‘Catch a Falling Star’

Wednesday, 20 March 2019
'McKinlay’s gift for writing accessible characters for younger readers shines through in Catch a Falling Star, with a solid story grounded in the thoughtful exploration of grief.' ... read Tehani Croft's...

Forthcoming Wood novel sold to US, UK

Wednesday, 20 March 2019
Charlotte Wood's forthcoming novel The Weekend (A&U, October) has been sold to Riverhead in the US and Weidenfeld & Nicolson (W&N) in the UK, reports the Bookseller. The novel, Wood's first...

2019 Carnegie and Kate Greenaway medals shortlists announced

Wednesday, 20 March 2019
In the UK, the shortlists for the Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals 2019 have been announced. The works shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal for an outstanding book for children and...

University presses in Australia: ‘remarkable, robust and flourishing’

Tuesday, 19 March 2019
After disruptions at Melbourne University Publishing (MUP) and a glut of mainstream media coverage about the state of scholarly publishing in Australia, Sarah Farquharson spoke to the country’s other university...

Tales of the unexpected: Events at Riverbend Books

Tuesday, 19 March 2019
Events manager Vicky Tosh shares the joys and hiccups of managing author events at Brisbane’s Riverbend Books. Before I was hired at Riverbend Books, I had never worked in a...

Waging battles: Author income in Australia

Tuesday, 19 March 2019
The book industry begins with authors. They toil for hours to release their ideas on the page, but each day they also struggle with making ends meet. Elizabeth Flux looks...

The ASA: The story so far

Tuesday, 19 March 2019
The Australian Society of Authors is the professional association for Australiaʼs authors and illustrators. CEO Juliet Rogers shares some history and future plans of the organisation. Once upon a time,...

Local voices on the global stage: International rights sales of Indigenous-authored books

Tuesday, 19 March 2019
Are we entering a growth period for international rights sales of Indigenous-authored books for young people? Sarah Farquharson reports. Two recent international rights successes for children’s books by Indigenous authors—Ambelin...