Rights round-up
Wednesday, 20 August 2025
Sales Fiction Arndell has sold Dutch rights to four titles by TL Swan (The Stopover, The Takeover, The Casanova and The Do-Over) to SVM Publishing. Penguin Random House has sold...
Papercuts Comics Festival announces program
Wednesday, 20 August 2025
Papercuts Comics Festival has announced its 2025 program, running 12–14 September in Adelaide. Artists appearing include Alice Lam, Chad Molyneux, Evie ‘YEEVZ’ Hilliar, Molly Hunt, Nicola Scott and Robin Tatlow-Lord....
S&S acquires Kitching’s next thriller
Wednesday, 20 August 2025
Simon & Schuster Australia (S&S) has acquired world rights to thriller novel The Secrets of Strangers by Jess Kitching, in a deal brokered by Daniel Pilkington at the Pilkington Agency....
Keeperton acquires Belan’s debut
Wednesday, 20 August 2025
Keeperton has acquired world rights to debut novel The Line by Jeremy Belan, in a two-book deal. The Line is a coming-of-age story following Eddie, who is caught between two...
Australian Political Book of the Year 2025 longlist announced
Wednesday, 20 August 2025
The 2025 longlist for the Australian Political Book of the Year has been announced. Longlisted titles are: The Assassination of Neville Wran (Milton Cockburn, Connor Court) Broken Heart: A True...
Read the latest Publishers Weekly
Wednesday, 20 August 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.
Mad Mabel (Sally Hepworth, Macmillan)
Tuesday, 19 August 2025
Few people suspect an elderly woman or a little girl of murder, which is what makes Mad Mabel such a deliciously enjoyable read. Sally Hepworth’s latest novel begins with a...
For No Mortal Creature (Keshe Chow, Penguin)
Tuesday, 19 August 2025
For No Mortal Creature by Keshe Chow (The Girl with No Reflection) is a romantic fantasy inspired by Inception and Wuthering Heights, but the story it tells is unique and...
Left Behind (Martine Kropkowski, Ultimo)
Tuesday, 19 August 2025
Martine Kropkowski’s Left Behind is a stunning depiction of the remote, wild and isolated beauty of K’gari, paired with a taut and insidious suspense that grabs you from the opening lines....
Naynay and the Mermaid (Tasma Walton, illus Charmaine Ledden-Lewis, Scholastic)
Tuesday, 19 August 2025
Naynay and the Mermaid is a beautifully told and visually striking picture book by accomplished actor and author Tasma Walton, a proud Boonwurrung woman from Melbourne. Naynay is asked to keep...
Riots (Fiona Skyring, UWA Publishing)
Tuesday, 19 August 2025
Renowned Australian historian Fiona Skyring returns with Riots, a captivating nonfiction book that unearths a chapter of ANZAC history rarely spoken of today. Skyring takes readers back to the turbulent...
Ningaloo: Australia’s Wild Wonder (Tim Winton, illus Cindy Lane, Fremantle)
Tuesday, 19 August 2025
Ningaloo, written by award-winning author Tim Winton and illustrated by Cindy Lane, is a beautifully designed nonfiction picture book about the Ningaloo Reef off the West Coast of Australia. Called...
Elizabeth Harrower: The Woman in the Watch Tower (Susan Wyndham, NewSouth)
Tuesday, 19 August 2025
In Elizabeth Harrower: The Woman in the Watch Tower, journalist and author Susan Wyndham offers a sympathetic and illuminating exploration of the life and work of one of post-war Australia’s...
The One Remaining (Paula McLean, Fearless Press)
Tuesday, 19 August 2025
Paula McLean’s The One Remaining is a quiet, affecting novel about memory, silence and the long shadow of a sister’s disappearance. When successful novelist Hilary Mason discovers a stack of...
Pryor awarded 2025 Curlew Regional Writer’s Grant
Tuesday, 19 August 2025
Writing NSW has announced Robyn Pryor as the recipient of the 2025 Curlew Regional Writer’s Grant, worth $1000. The grant helps a regional NSW writer ‘to participate in a one-day...
Queensland Poetry Awards prize money increases
Tuesday, 19 August 2025
The Queensland Writers Centre has announced increases in the value of its Queensland Poetry Awards, which has opened for entries this week. Award categories and their first-place cash prizes are:...
Northland Writers, Readers and Poets Festival announces program
Tuesday, 19 August 2025
The Northland Writers, Readers and Poets (WRAP) Festival will run 29–31 August in Kerikeri, Aotearoa New Zealand. Writers appearing at the festival include Fiona Kidman, Monty Soutar, Sherryl Clark, Cadence...
Dymocks Giving Day date, program announced
Tuesday, 19 August 2025
Dymocks has announced its 2025 Giving Day will take place on 21 August. Free in-store events will occur in Dymocks stores around the country, including Matt Cosgrove leading a storytime...
Global Book Crawl 2026 dates released
Tuesday, 19 August 2025
The 2026 Global Book Crawl (GBC) will take place on April 20–26. GBC is ‘a worldwide celebration of local (indie, bricks and mortar) bookshops and those who love them,’ said...
HQ acquires Inoon’s second novel
Tuesday, 19 August 2025
Harlequin Australia (HQ), a division of HarperCollins, has acquired world rights to The Sisters of Serendib by Ayesha Inoon, via Rochelle Fernandez at Alex Adsett Literary. ‘In 1990, a boat...
HarperCollins acquires debut novel from White
Tuesday, 19 August 2025
HarperCollins has acquired ANZ rights to Billie King, Outlaw, the debut novel by Shannon Kelly White, in a two-book deal via Anjanette Fennell at Key People Literary Management. Billie King,...
Ned Kelly Awards 2025 shortlists announced
Monday, 18 August 2025
The Australian Crime Writers Association has announced the 2025 Ned Kelly Awards shortlists. The shortlisted titles are: Best crime fiction 17 Years Later (JP Pomare, Hachette) Cold Truth (Ashley Kalagian...
Pikihuia Awards finalists announced
Monday, 18 August 2025
The Māori Literature Trust Te Waka Taki Kōrero has announced the finalists for the biennial Pikihuia Awards, now in their 30th year. The finalists in each category are: Poetry (te...
Wombat Books acquires Loveridge & Goodwin middle-grade novel
Monday, 18 August 2025
Wombat Books has acquired world rights to Josie Mack and the MEGA Division (Josie Mack #1), written by Bethany Loveridge and illustrated by Jade Goodwin. The first in a trilogy,...
NSW History Awards 2025 shortlists announced
Monday, 18 August 2025
The State Library of NSW (SLNSW) has announced the shortlists for the 2025 NSW History Awards, worth a total of $85,000 in prize money. The shortlisted titles of each category...
Larrikin acquires Harry’s ‘The Fast Lane’
Monday, 18 August 2025
Larrikin House has acquired world rights to The Fast Lane, a picture book written by Pip Harry and illustrated by Katrin Dreiling. According to the publisher, The Fast Lane is ‘charming, funny...
A&U acquires Katz’s memoir
Monday, 18 August 2025
Allen & Unwin (A&U) has acquired world English rights to My Cursed Vagina, a memoir by Lally Katz, via Wendy Howell and Lucy White from Creative Representation. The memoir follows...
Brisbane Writers Festival releases 2025 program
Friday, 15 August 2025
Brisbane Writers Festival (BWF) has launched the full program for its 2025 festival, to be held at the new venue of Brisbane Powerhouse 9–12 October. The program includes over 100 events and features...
CBCA Book of the Year Award winners
Friday, 15 August 2025
The Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) has announced the winners for the 2025 CBCA Book of the Year Awards. The CBCA shadow judging winners – titles chosen by 400...
New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults winners
Thursday, 14 August 2025
In Aotearoa New Zealand, Ross Calman (Ngāti Toa, Ngāti Raukawa, Kāi Tahu) has won the overall Margaret Mahy Book of the Year Award at the 2025 New Zealand Book Awards...
