News sections | Books+Publishing

RiP Mary Midgley

Wednesday, 17 October 2018
UK philosopher and writer Mary Midgley has died, aged 99. Midgley was a prominent moral philosopher, publishing over 15 books on science, ethics, the environment and animal rights. Midgley's first...

Prime Minister’s Literary Awards 2018 shortlists announced

Wednesday, 17 October 2018
The shortlists for the 2018 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards have been announced. The shortlisted titles in each category are: Fiction A Long Way from Home (Peter Carey, Hamish Hamilton) Border...

Rights round-up

Wednesday, 17 October 2018
Sales Fiction Zeitgeist Media Group Agency has sold screen rights to The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart (Holly Ringland) to Made Up Stories. (See news.) Nonfiction MUP has sold Spanish...

Black Inc.’s ‘Best Summer Stories’

Wednesday, 17 October 2018
‘It’s rarely possible to give an anthology a perfect score—there are always a few stories that fail to hit the mark—but Best Summer Stories comes very close.’ ... read Angela Elizabeth's full...

‘Dinner Detectives’ creators win global pitching competition

Wednesday, 17 October 2018
Australian children’s book creators Yves Stening and Nigel Buchanan have won a pitching competition at the world’s biggest children’s entertainment industry event, MIPJunior, reports the Herald Sun. Stening and Buchanan’s...

Burns wins 2018 Man Booker Prize

Wednesday, 17 October 2018
Northern Irish writer Anna Burns has won the 2018 Man Booker Prize for her third novel, Milkman (Faber). She is the first Northern Irish author and 17th woman to win...

Opening Scene initiative introduces writers to screen producers

Tuesday, 16 October 2018
The Wheeler Centre and the South Australian Film Corporation (SAFC) have launched a three-year program to introduce writers to screen producers. The Opening Scene program will connect The Next Chapter...

Hachette to launch ‘Fortnite’ publishing program

Tuesday, 16 October 2018
Hachette Australia, in association with Hachette divisions in the UK, USA, France and Spain, has announced a publishing program based on the popular game Fortnite. In a deal brokered by International...

ANZ authors nominated for 2019 Astrid Lindgren Award

Monday, 15 October 2018
Ten authors and illustrators from Australia and New Zealand and one Australian organisation have been nominated for the 2019 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. The Australian nominees are: Randa Abdel-Fattah Ursula...

Allen, Blackadder awarded 2018 Australian Antarctic Arts Fellowship

Monday, 15 October 2018
Screenwriter Jane Allen and author Jesse Blackadder have been jointly awarded the 2018 Australian Antarctic Arts Fellowship. Allen and Blackadder will travel to Antarctica in late October, staying at the...

Charts this week

Monday, 15 October 2018
Top 10 Bestsellers Index Title Author Imprint 1 Nine Perfect Strangers Liane Moriarty Macmillan 2 The Barefoot Investor for Families Scott Pape HarperCollins 3 The Barefoot Investor Scott Pape John...

‘The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart’ to be adapted for TV

Friday, 12 October 2018
Australian producer Bruna Papandrea’s company Made Up Stories has acquired screen rights to Holly Ringland’s debut novel The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart (Fourth Estate), and will develop the project...

Aussie children’s book creators chosen to pitch at global kids entertainment event

Friday, 12 October 2018
Australian children’s book creators Yves Stening and Nigel Buchanan are one of five intellectual property owners selected to pitch at the world's biggest children's entertainment industry event, MIPJunior. Held on...

HarperCollins signs Blackwood in two-book deal

Thursday, 11 October 2018
HarperCollins has signed a two-book deal with children's book illustrator Freya Blackwood. The first book in the deal is a yet-to-be-titled picture book about a girl and her pig, due...

Spencer wins 2018 Carmel Bird Digital Literary Award for ‘The Age of Fibs’

Thursday, 11 October 2018
Sydney-based writer Beth Spencer has won the 2018 Carmel Bird Digital Literary Award for her short-story collection The Age of Fibs. Author and prize judge Carmel Bird described The Age...

Quote of the week

Wednesday, 10 October 2018
‘Good editors, where once they would have put all their time into the text, now have tons of other corporate and bureaucratic responsibilities, as well as pressure from higher up...

Winton’s ‘The Riders’ to be adapted for film

Wednesday, 10 October 2018
Tim Winton’s The Riders (Penguin) will be adapted into a feature film produced by director Ridley Scott’s production company Scott Free, reports Deadline Hollywood. A director for the film is...

Davina Bell & Allison Colpoys’ ‘All the Ways to be Smart’

Wednesday, 10 October 2018
'Suitable for children aged two to six years old, All the Ways to be Smart is a celebration of what childhood can be, and it will likely become a classic.' ... read...

Rights round-up

Wednesday, 10 October 2018
Sales Fiction Lyn Tranter at Australian Literary Management has sold world rights to The Students (Sarah Hopkins) to Text. Natasha Solomun of Jacinta di Mase Management has sold US &...

Podcast spotlight: Words and Nerds

Wednesday, 10 October 2018
Launched in 2017, Words and Nerds is a conversational podcast in which the host 'interviews both established and independent authors about their writing process, and the social and political influences...

NZ picture book on Trump sold to UK

Wednesday, 10 October 2018
New Zealand publisher Millwood Press has sold UK, Irish and Australian rights to picture book Dear Donald Trump (Sophie Siers, illus by Anne Villeneuve) to Bonnier Books UK imprint Templar...

Giese wins 2018 Victorian Premier’s History Award for ‘The Maddest Place on Earth’

Wednesday, 10 October 2018
Clinical psychologist Jill Giese has won the 2018 Victorian Premier’s History Award, worth $5000, for her book The Maddest Place on Earth (Australian Scholarly Publishing), announced as part of the...

‘Alice-Miranda’ animated telemovie in production

Wednesday, 10 October 2018
SLR Productions has commenced production on an animated telemovie based on Jacqueline Harvey's Alice-Miranda (Random House Children's) series of children's books, reports Mediaweek. Originally announced as a TV series comprising...