Riveted Press acquires Stanton’s “The Adventures of Squidape”
Tuesday, 24 February 2026
Riveted Press has acquired worldwide rights to The Adventures of Squidape, a middle-grade mystery by John Stanton. The novel follows Roland Bickering-Jones – who “likes facts, lists and things that make...
MidnightSun announces inaugural Picture Book Prize shortlist
Tuesday, 24 February 2026
MidnightSun Publishing has announced the shortlist for its inaugural picture book prize. Shortlisted works are: “An Excellent Hat” (Linda Brucesmith) “The Tinker’s Light” (Ashling Kwok) “The Battle of the Beast”...
A&U acquires Saunders’s “Fighting for Country”
Tuesday, 24 February 2026
Allen & Unwin (A&U) has acquired world rights to a new nonfiction title, Fighting for Country: The Extraordinary Life of Reg Saunders, Australia’s First Indigenous Military Officer, Hero of Two Wars by...
Aurealis Award 2025 winners announced
Monday, 23 February 2026
The winners of the 2025 Aurealis Awards for science fiction, fantasy and horror writing have been announced at GenreCon in Brisbane. Winning titles in each category, chosen from shortlists announced...
Leavy wins 2026 Peter Porter Poetry Prize
Monday, 23 February 2026
Cheryl Leavy has won the 2026 Peter Porter Poetry Prize for her poem “Kumanjayi”. Presented by the Australian Book Review (ABR) and worth $6000, the prize honours the life and work...
HarperCollins acquires “Bondi Terror” by Markson and Ryvchin
Monday, 23 February 2026
HarperCollins Australia has acquired world rights to Bondi Terror: The Tragedy, the Courage, the Aftermath by Sharri Markson and Alex Ryvchin. “Bondi Terror reconstructs the massacre in real time, from...
A&U acquires “Being” by Menzies & Menzies
Monday, 23 February 2026
Allen & Unwin has acquired Australian, New Zealand, Oceania and non-exclusive Southeast Asia rights to Rachel E Menzies and Ross G Menzies’s Being: Why It’s Harder to be Human Than...
Echo acquisitions cease; Meanjin revived; ABA reverts to former branding
Wednesday, 18 February 2026
Among local headlines this week, Bonnier Books UK is ceasing new acquisitions for Australian imprint Echo, effective immediately, attributing the decision to “increasingly challenging market conditions”; while in brighter news,...
HarperCollins acquires Ferguson’s narrative nonfiction
Wednesday, 18 February 2026
HarperCollins has acquired ANZ rights to narrative nonfiction by Kirstin Ferguson in a multi-book deal brokered by Key People Creative Management. Ferguson has worked as an officer in the Royal...
Rights round-up
Wednesday, 18 February 2026
Sales Fiction Jane Novak Literary Agency has sold French rights to Voss and The Solid Mandala (Patrick White, various imprints) to Au Vent des Îles, via Lora Fountain at the Lora Fountain...
Text acquires Kernot’s “Night Swimming”
Wednesday, 18 February 2026
Text Publishing has acquired world rights to Night Swimming, a psychological thriller in verse by Sharon Kernot, in a deal brokered by Martin Shaw at Shaw Literary. According to the publisher,...
Read the latest Publishers Weekly
Wednesday, 18 February 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.
Kill Your Boomers (Fiona Wright, Ultimo)
Tuesday, 17 February 2026
In her first work of fiction, Fiona Wright turns her sharp eye on Australia’s housing crisis. Kill Your Boomers centres on Keira, a 30-something writer who also nannies for the...
The Angry Wives Club (Gabbie Stroud, A&U)
Tuesday, 17 February 2026
In The Angry Wives Club, Gabbie Stroud (Teacher, The Things That Matter Most) introduces 3 women who become friends at the gym in the small town of Shellwater Bay. It’s...
Spare Kisses (Pip Harry, illus Yiscah Marcatili, Lothian)
Tuesday, 17 February 2026
A young girl’s close and loving relationship with her grandmother is the subject of Pip Harry’s Spare Kisses. Told in gentle rhyme, the story follows Eve and her sprightly nan...
The Curator (Wendy Tyrer, Perentie Press)
Tuesday, 17 February 2026
Set against the inspiring backdrop of the National Gallery of Victoria, The Curator is a young adult graphic novel by author and illustrator Wendy Tyrer that delivers a gripping adventure...
Frank the Monster (Mats Strandberg, trans Julia Marshall, illus Sofia Falkenhem, Gecko)
Tuesday, 17 February 2026
Frank the Monster is a gentle introduction to horror in chapter-book form, written by Swedish writer Mats Strandberg and translated into English by Julia Marshall. The story follows Frank, a...
High Time: How Australia Changed Its Mind About Illegal Drugs (Desmond Manderson, La Trobe)
Tuesday, 17 February 2026
Desmond Manderson’s High Time charts the history of attitudes towards drugs in Australia, from anti-Chinese attacks on opium in the early 20th century to present-day concerns about vaping and pill...
Myra in the Middle (Seetha Dodd, illus Peter Cheong, UQP)
Tuesday, 17 February 2026
Uplifting and true to life, Seetha Dodd’s Myra in the Middle is a junior novel that weaves together themes of family, identity and navigating change. Myra, a 7-year-old maths enthusiast...
Touching the Sky (Deborah Lawrie, ABC Books)
Tuesday, 17 February 2026
In Touching the Sky, aviation pioneer Deborah Lawrie recounts her remarkable life and career, from her landmark fight to become Australia’s first female commercial pilot to decades spent in the...
Fearless (Kelly Canby, Fremantle)
Tuesday, 17 February 2026
Kelly Canby’s Fearless will delight and reassure children, parents and teachers with its hopeful message that fear need not be overwhelming or permanent. Bea Ware is frightened of everything, moving...
Redbelly Crossing (Candice Fox, Penguin)
Tuesday, 17 February 2026
Candice Fox (Crimson Lake) opens Redbelly Crossing with immediate authority: a rural pub, a blood-smeared doorknob and the uneasy sense that something deeply wrong has slipped quietly into an ordinary...
The Ruin of Magic (Kate Holden, Black Inc.)
Tuesday, 17 February 2026
In The Ruin of Magic, Kate Holden (In My Skin, The Romantic) examines enchantment, displacement and homesickness for places both real and imagined through a series of intimate essays. Blending...
Vale Lionel Fogarty
Tuesday, 17 February 2026
Poet and artist Lionel Fogarty has died, aged 68. Publisher Giramondo writes: Giramondo mourns the passing of Lionel Fogarty: poet, artist, warrior. Lionel Fogarty was born on Wakka Wakka land, at...
CBCA announces 2026 book week theme
Tuesday, 17 February 2026
The Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) has announced the theme of “Symphony of Stories” for this year’s Children’s Book Week, running 22 to 28 August. Author and illustrator Briony...
Arasu wins inaugural travel fund
Monday, 16 February 2026
Poet Prema Arasu has been announced as the inaugural winner of the Forrest Research Foundation and Fremantle Press travel fund for Western Australian writers to promote their work outside of...
Hardie Grant acquires Niland’s “Saint Peter”
Monday, 16 February 2026
Hardie Grant Books has acquired world rights to Josh Niland’s Saint Peter: Chapter & Verse. According to the publisher, Saint Peter is “a definitive statement from one of Australia’s most original culinary...
Suwannakit’s “Higher Ground” on Carnegie Medal for Illustration longlist
Thursday, 12 February 2026
Tull Suwannakit’s picture book Higher Ground (New Frontier) has been longlisted for the 2026 Carnegie Medal for Illustration in the UK. Judges said, “Suwannakit’s scrapbook style used in Higher Ground portrays a...
Lucashenko’s “Edenglassie” on Walter Scott Prize longlist
Thursday, 12 February 2026
Melissa Lucashenko’s Edenglassie (UQP, 2023) has been longlisted for the 2026 Walter Scott Prize, worth £25,000 (A$47,807). Already the recipient of 8 prizes in Australia, Edenglassie tells the story of...
Griffiths named Australian Children’s Laureate; Australia’s best children’s picture book; DIY Publishing Toolkit
Wednesday, 11 February 2026
Local news This week, Author Andy Griffiths was named the Australian Children’s Laureate for 2026 and 2027; Simon & Schuster reorganised its Australia and New Zealand sales team, with Elissa...
