Weekly news | Books+Publishing

Transit Lounge sells ‘Soon’ to UK in two-book deal; acquires first kids’ book

Wednesday, 6 February 2019
Transit Lounge has sold world English-language rights (ex ANZ) to Soon (Lois Murphy) in a two-book deal to UK independent publisher Titan. Soon, which is loosely based on the true...

Hager wins Margaret Mahy Medal

Wednesday, 6 February 2019
Wellington-based author Mandy Hager has won the 2019 Storylines Margaret Mahy Medal, presented annually for lifetime achievement and distinguished contribution to New Zealand children’s literature. Hager is the author of...

MWF to move to State Library Victoria

Tuesday, 5 February 2019
The Melbourne Writers Festival (MWF) will move its headquarters this year to State Library Victoria (SLV), after 10 years of being based at Federation Square. The library’s ongoing Vision2020 redevelopment...

Wakefield launches dedicated YA list

Tuesday, 5 February 2019
Adelaide-based small publisher Wakefield Press will launch a dedicated YA list this year, under the direction of newly appointed publisher Margot Lloyd. Wakefield aims to publish three to four YA...

Moriarty’s ‘Bronte Mettlestone’ sold to UK

Tuesday, 5 February 2019
Jill Grinberg of Jill Grinberg Literary Management has sold UK and Commonwealth rights (ex ANZ) to The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone (Jaclyn Moriarty, A&U) to Guppy Books, a...

Inaugural summit of Australian Children’s Laureates announced for 2019

Monday, 4 February 2019
The Australian Children’s Laureate Foundation (ACLF) will hold the inaugural Australian Children’s Laureate Summit on 28 February and 1 March 2019 in Sydney. The event brings together all of Australia’s...

‘KYD’ announces Varuna fellowships

Monday, 4 February 2019
Kill Your Darlings (KYD) will partner with Varuna to offer a week-long fellowship for the writers shortlisted for KYD’s 2019 unpublished manuscript award. The fellowship will take place at Varuna, the National...

Victorian government calls on university to reverse decision on MUP

Friday, 1 February 2019
Victorian minister for creative industries Martin Foley has called on the University of Melbourne to reverse its decision to overhaul Melbourne University Publishing (MUP). In his speech at the Victorian...

Echo to publish ‘Tattooist of Auschwitz’ sequel in October

Friday, 1 February 2019
Echo Publishing will publish a sequel to Heather Morris’ bestselling novel The Tattooist of Auschwitz in October. Cilka’s Journey follows the story of one of the key characters from The...

VPLAs 2019: Manus detainee Boochani wins $100k top prize

Friday, 1 February 2019
Writer, journalist and Iranian refugee Behrouz Boochani, currently detained on Manus Island, has won the $100,000 Victorian Prize for Literature for his book No Friend But the Mountains: Writing from...

UNSW Bookshop reopens with new cafe and event spaces

Thursday, 31 January 2019
The University of New South Wales (UNSW) has reopened the UNSW Bookshop after a major refurbishment, with a reading room, central room for events, and new Atomic Press cafe. The...

Adler, MUP board directors resign amid university tensions

Thursday, 31 January 2019
Melbourne University Publishing (MUP) CEO Louise Adler and four independent directors of the MUP board have resigned after the university proposed a new focus on scholarly publishing for the press,...

Ockham New Zealand Book Awards 2019 longlists announced

Thursday, 31 January 2019
The longlists for the 2019 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards have been announced. The longlisted titles in each category are: Fiction The Man Who Would Not See (Rajorshi Chakraborti, Penguin) The...

‘Kindred’ anthology to tour, thanks to OzCo funding

Wednesday, 30 January 2019
A number of organisations and individuals were among the recipients of the Australia Council’s latest grants round, which awarded $6.6 million to almost 200 projects. Michael Earp, editor of short...

Booktopia counting down ‘Australia’s favourite author’

Wednesday, 30 January 2019
Booktopia is running its annual promotion to find ‘Australia’s favourite author’ via a public vote. On 29 January Booktopia announced 75 finalists for Australia’s favourite author, chosen from nominations from...

Book industry figures among 2019 Australia Day honours recipients

Tuesday, 29 January 2019
A number of book industry figures have been recognised in the annual Australia Day honours. Children’s author Jennifer Rowe was made a Companion (AC) in the General Division of the...

Dymocks launches Wiggles shop

Friday, 25 January 2019
Chain retailer Dymocks has become the new retail partner for children’s entertainment group the Wiggles, offering a range of books and merchandise via a dedicated online store. Dymocks negotiated a...

Book sales up marginally in 2018; five Australian titles in top 10

Friday, 25 January 2019
Book sales grew marginally in Australia in 2018, with like-for-like growth up 1.3% in volume and 1.4% in value on the previous year, according to Nielsen BookScan. This is the...

Scriven wins Margaret River Short Story Competition

Friday, 25 January 2019
Writer Kit Scriven has won the 2019 Margaret River Short Story Competition for his story ‘We’ll Stand in That Place’. Catherine Noske came in second place with her story ‘Thylacine’,...

Writer and blogger Yang detained in China

Thursday, 24 January 2019
Chinese-Australian writer Yang Hengjun has been detained by Chinese authorities, reports SBS News. A critic of the Chinese government and an advocate for democracy, Yang previously worked in the Chinese...

UQP signs Kurmelovs in two-book deal

Thursday, 24 January 2019
UQP has acquired ANZ rights to two books by Royce Kurmelovs via Melanie Ostell Literary. The first book, Just Money: A Story of Debt and the Bankers and Crooks Who Created It,...

Wheeler Centre to offer new fellowships for regional, interstate writers

Wednesday, 23 January 2019
The Wheeler Centre will offer three new fellowships for regional and interstate writers as part of its Hot Desk Fellowships program in 2019. The new fellowships will be offered to...

Tumarkin’s ‘Axiomatic’ sold to US

Wednesday, 23 January 2019
Brow Books has sold North American and Spanish-language rights to Axiomatic (Maria Tumarkin). North American rights were sold to California-based nonprofit publisher Transit Books, with publisher Adam Levy describing Tumarkin’s...