New England Illustration Prize 2023 winners announced
Wednesday, 8 November 2023
The New England Writers' Centre has announced the winners of this year’s New England Illustration Prize for Children’s Picture Book Publishing. The winners of the 2023 award are: First prize...
Nature Writing Prize 2023 shortlist announced
Wednesday, 8 November 2023
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) Australia has announced the writers shortlisted for the 2023 Nature Writing Prize. The shortlisted writers are: Bonny Cassidy (Chewton Bushlands) for 'A Custodial Species', which 'draws...
Handsel offers Hardie Grant books in gift packs
Wednesday, 8 November 2023
Hardie Grant is selling books in gift packs through its new online gift-giving service Handsel. Created by HGX, the Hardie Grant–owned digital venture studio, Handsel is described as ‘reimagining the...
Completely Normal (and Other Lies) wins inaugural Gab Williams Prize
Wednesday, 1 November 2023
Completely Normal (and Other Lies) by Biffy James (HGCP) is the winner of the inaugural Gab Williams Prize. Readings established the Gab Williams Prize in addition to its annual Readings...
McNicol Smith to depart Affirm
Wednesday, 1 November 2023
Affirm Press publicity manager Laura McNicol Smith is departing the organisation. Discussing the move, McNicol Smith said: 'After six wonderful years at Affirm Press, I’ve decided it’s time for a...
AI, Spotify, high/low fiction: Australian impressions of Frankfurt
Wednesday, 1 November 2023
AI dominated conversations at this year's Frankfurt Book Fair, according to Australians in attendance. 'A day didn’t pass at the book fair without a conversation about AI, the good, the...
Transit Lounge acquires Downes novel
Wednesday, 1 November 2023
Transit Lounge has acquired world rights to Stephen Downes’ new novel, Mural. Publisher Barry Scott said Mural is 'a haunting "confession" by a psychopath held in a secure facility'. Told...
New S&S imprint Bundyi acquires Walton historical novel
Wednesday, 1 November 2023
Simon & Schuster Australia imprint Bundyi Publishing has announced its first acquisition, acquiring world rights to I Am Nan’nert’garrook, a historical fiction novel from author and actor Tasma Walton. Walton...
Mayo, O’Brien donate The Voice to Parliament Handbook royalties to the ILF
Wednesday, 1 November 2023
Thomas Mayo and Kerry O’Brien have donated royalties from The Voice to Parliament Handbook (Hardie Grant) to the Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF). Totalling $30,080.66, the authors’ donation is from the...
Hearts ‘reignite’ for 20th Ubud program
Tuesday, 31 October 2023
Ubud Writers & Readers Festival (UWRF) recorded over 15,000 festival attendees for its 20th-anniversary festival program, held from 18–22 October 2023 in Ubud, Indonesia. Festival director Janet DeNeefe said, ‘We...
Ultimo acquires A Postcard from the Future
Wednesday, 25 October 2023
Ultimo Press has acquired ANZ rights to Ben Hamer's A Postcard from the Future, a nonfiction book which envisions the next twenty years, via Jane Novak. The book will imagine...
ADS adds Border Express
Wednesday, 25 October 2023
Alliance Distribution Services (ADS) has announced it has added Border Express as a secondary freight carrier 'to support operations through the 2023 peak book-selling season and into 2024'. ADS said...
Production begins on Runt film adaptation
Wednesday, 25 October 2023
Craig Silvey has announced that production of the feature film adaptation of his novel Runt (A&U) begins next week in Western Australia, ‘where the Wheatbelt shire of York will be...
UQP acquires Gíslason nonfiction book
Wednesday, 25 October 2023
UQP has acquired world rights to Running with Pirates, a nonfiction book from Kári Gíslason, via Grace Heifetz of Left Bank Literary. With dual narratives separated by thirty years, Running...
Larrikin acquires world rights to Beck, Rankine junior fiction series
Wednesday, 25 October 2023
Larrikin House has acquired world rights to Brock the Croc, a junior fiction series from author Adrian Beck and comic book artist Dean Rankine. Described by the publisher as a...
Martin awarded 2023 Writing NSW Varuna Fellowship
Wednesday, 18 October 2023
Writing NSW has awarded its 2023 Varuna fellowship to Alison Martin for her novel manuscript, 'The Wild'. 'The Wild' is about the last woman hanged in New South Wales, who...
Booksellers Aotearoa New Zealand launches BookHub
Wednesday, 18 October 2023
Booksellers Aotearoa New Zealand (BSANZ) has launched a consumer-facing centralised website called BookHub for book sales from bricks and mortar bookstores in that market. The new BookHub site follows a...
S&S acquires Callahan’s yoga book
Wednesday, 18 October 2023
Simon & Schuster has acquired world rights to Growing with Grace by Simone Callahan. A Melbourne-based yoga teacher, Callahan shares her insights on how yoga has been instrumental in ‘embracing...
Inaugural Stella Day Out announced
Wednesday, 11 October 2023
Stella has announced the inaugural Stella Day Out, a free one-day literary festival that ‘celebrates and promotes the outstanding contributions of women and non-binary writers to Australian literature’. The event...
Richell Prize 2023 shortlist announced
Wednesday, 11 October 2023
Hachette, in partnership with the Emerging Writers’ Festival (EWF), has announced the shortlist for the 2023 Richell Prize for Emerging Writers. The five shortlisted entries are: ‘When I Was Your...
Newcastle Poetry Prize 2023 shortlist announced
Wednesday, 11 October 2023
The Hunter Writers’ Centre has announced the 2023 shortlist for the $15,000 Newcastle Poetry Prize, with several poets reaching the shortlist with more than one entry. Shortlisted poets include: Eileen...
Pickard appointed OUP ANZ general manager
Wednesday, 11 October 2023
OUP ANZ has announced that former operations director Selina Pickard is returning to the organisation in the role of general manager. At OUP, Pickard was previously a digital and creative...
Spotify offers Australian subscribers 15 hours of audiobooks per month
Wednesday, 4 October 2023
Music streaming platform Spotify has announced it is making over 150,000 audiobooks available to its premium subscribers in Australia and the UK, who will receive 15 hours of listening per...
Beveridge wins $10k ACU Poetry Prize
Wednesday, 4 October 2023
Sydney-based poet Judith Beveridge has won the $10,000 Australian Catholic University (ACU) Prize for Poetry for her poem ‘Two Houses’. Responding to this year’s theme of ‘Love’, Beveridge’s poem is...
Magabala to offer two $10k AIC Creative Grants
Wednesday, 4 October 2023
Magabala Books will offer two $10,000 creative grants for First Nations storytellers, writers, illustrators and artists, in partnership with Australian Indigenous Coffee (AIC). The publisher said the grants ‘are intended...
Inaugural ABDA ‘Baseline’ Book Design Internship opens for applications
Wednesday, 4 October 2023
The Australian Book Designers Association (ABDA) has opened applications for its ‘Baseline’ Book Design Internship, after its initial announcement at the Australian Book Design Awards. The 'Baseline' program is a paid...
ABC Books acquires Georgiadis children’s gardening book series
Wednesday, 27 September 2023
ABC Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Children’s Books, has acquired four picture books by Costa Georgiadis, host of ABC TV’s Gardening Australia and Gardening Australia Junior, and illustrator Brenna Quinlan....
ARA Historical Novel Prize shortlists announced
Wednesday, 27 September 2023
The Historical Novel Society Australasia (HNSA) has announced the shortlists for the 2023 ARA Historical Novel Prize. This year’s shortlisted titles are: Adult category Salonika Burning (Gail Jones, Text) Iris...
Australian Political Book of the Year 2023 longlist revealed
Wednesday, 27 September 2023
Judges have announced the 2023 longlist for the Australian Political Book of the Year awards. This year's longlist includes ten titles: Dreamers and Schemers: A political history of Australia (Frank...
Upswell acquires Dominic Gordon debut
Wednesday, 20 September 2023
Upswell Publishing has acquired world rights to Excitable Boy: Essays on risk, a debut book of essays by Melbourne writer Dominic Gordon. The publisher said that the book 'tracks the...
