Inside the Australian and New Zealand book industry

Image. Advertisement:

Weekly news >

Mascara Bundanon Writer’s Residency shortlist announced

Wednesday, 14 July 2021
Mascara Literary Review has announced the shortlist for the inaugural Mascara Bundanon Writer’s Residency. The four shortlisted writers are: Timmah Ball Isabelle Li Luke Patterson Saba Vasefi. The winner receives...

PANZ Book Design Awards 2021 finalists announced

Wednesday, 14 July 2021
The finalists for the 2021 Publishers Association of New Zealand (PANZ) Book Design Awards have been announced. Among the categories announced were: Best illustrated book Billy Apple®: Life/Work (Christina Barton,...

Byron Writers Festival 2021 cancelled

Wednesday, 14 July 2021
The 2021 Byron Writers Festival, scheduled to run 6–8 August, has been cancelled. ‘It is with a heavy heart we have made the decision to cancel Byron Writers Festival 2021,’...

UQP sells ‘The White Girl’ to HarperVia 

Wednesday, 14 July 2021
UQP has sold world English rights (ex ANZ) for The White Girl by Tony Birch to HarperCollins imprint HarperVia. The deal was handled by UQP rights manager Kate McCormack in...

A&U, Upswell, UQP among Cultural Fund recipients 

Wednesday, 14 July 2021
The Copyright Agency has announced the 25 successful recipients of a total $818,000 in funding from its Cultural Fund. The resurrected Age Book of the Year Award, Magabala’s Daisy Utemorrah...

New owner for the Turning Page Bookshop 

Wednesday, 7 July 2021
The Turning Page Bookshop, an independent bookshop in the Blue Mountains NSW, has been purchased by Peggy Miedlar. Previous owners Annie Sharkey and Alan Crooks had planned to transform the...

‘Ginnie & Pinney, Learn & Grow’ series optioned for TV

Wednesday, 7 July 2021
Big Sky Publishing’s educational children's series Ginnie & Pinney, Learn & Grow has been optioned for development as a television series by Australian animation studio Moody Street Productions. Created by...

Ell wins 2021 Calibre Essay Prize

Wednesday, 30 June 2021
Canberra-based editor, translator and author Theodore Ell has won the 15th Calibre Essay prize for ‘Façades of Lebanon’, his essay on the Beirut explosion in August 2020. Ell receives $5000...

Hachette acquires Yarwood debut in two-book deal

Wednesday, 30 June 2021
Hachette Australia has acquired ANZ rights to Sydney author Dianne Yarwood’s debut novel The Wakes in a 'hotly contested' international auction. The six-figure, two-book deal was struck with Catherine Drayton...

Byron Writers Festival 2021 full program announced

Wednesday, 23 June 2021
Byron Writers Festival has revealed the full program for its 2021 event, which runs the weekend of 6–8 August at various locations throughout Byron Bay, NSW. In its 25th year,...

NewSouth acquires Kamenev’s ‘Kin’

Wednesday, 23 June 2021
NewSouth has acquired ANZ rights to Kin: Family in the 21st century by journalist Marina Kamenev via Melanie Ostell Literary. In Kin, Kamenev will investigate how traditional ideas of family...

Chow wins 2021 Rachel Funari Prize for Fiction

Wednesday, 23 June 2021
Keshe Chow has won the 2021 Lip magazine Rachel Funari Prize for Fiction for her story ‘Lady Finger’. Judge Nicola Redhouse said Chow’s story ‘achieved a wonderful balance of surprise,...

Watson wins 2021 Penguin Literary Prize

Thursday, 17 June 2021
Penguin Random House Australia (PRH) has announced that Denizen by James McKenzie Watson has won the 2021 Penguin Literary Prize. Dubbo-based Watson receives $20,000 as an advance against royalties, with...

Welbeck Flame acquires five-book ‘Hedgewitch’ series 

Thursday, 17 June 2021
Welbeck Flame, the children’s imprint of UK publisher Welbeck Publishing Group, has acquired UK and Commonwealth rights (ex Canada) to a five-book middle-grade series by debut Australian author Sky McKenna,...

Miles Franklin 2021 shortlist announced

Wednesday, 16 June 2021
The shortlist for the 2021 Miles Franklin Literary Award has been announced. The six shortlisted novels, chosen from a longlist of 12, are: Amnesty (Aravind Adiga, Picador) The Rain Heron (Robbie Arnott,...

ABA moves 2021 conference online only 

Wednesday, 9 June 2021
The Australian Booksellers Association (ABA) has announced it will hold its forthcoming 2021 conference online only, due to the uncertainty caused by Melbourne’s ongoing Covid-19 restrictions. The conference had been...

PEN Sydney establishes writer’s refuge program

Wednesday, 9 June 2021
PEN Sydney has established a writer’s refuge for writers living with disadvantage and/or discrimination that restricts their work. Supported by the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at University of...

‘The Nancys’ optioned for screen

Wednesday, 2 June 2021
Screen adaptation rights to crime novel The Nancys by Melbourne-based New Zealand author R W R McDonald (A&U) have been optioned by Queensland production company Hoodlum Entertainment, via Grace Heifetz...

Readings YA Book Prize 2021 shortlist announced

Wednesday, 2 June 2021
The shortlist for the 2021 Readings Young Adult Book Prize has been announced. The shortlisted YA novels are: The F Team (Rawah Arja, Giramondo) Future Girl (Asphyxia, A&U) The End of the...

Anderson, Elisara awarded 2021 black&write! fellowships

Wednesday, 26 May 2021
The 2021 black&write! fellowships for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writers have been awarded to Susie Anderson and Tylissa Elisara. Each fellowship is worth $10,000 and includes editorial development from...