ABIA shortlists, DANZ longlist, Australia Reads up for innovation award
The Australian Society of Authors has announced the winners of mentorships in the 2026 CA/ASA Developmental Leadership Program, Writing NSW has announced the winners of the 2026 Cultivate Mentorship Program for First Nations and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Emerging Writers, and Australia Reads is among 5 nominees for the 2026 Innovation in Publishing Award presented by the International Publishers Association. The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) has announced its national conference program.
Awards
The Australian Book Industry Awards shortlists for the book award categories have been announced, with business award categories to be announced next week. Liverpool Powerhouse and WestWords have announced the poets shortlisted for the 2026 Blake Poetry Prize, worth $5000, and the 2026 longlists for the Australian School Library Association DANZ (Diversity in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand) Children’s Book Award have been announced.
Rights news
Allen & Unwin has acquired world rights to ultramarathon runner Donna Urquhart’s as yet untitled story about her Guinness World Record Antarctic run in January 2024, written with Charisse Ede; and world rights to Seize the Moment, a nonfiction title by Bernard Keane.
Pink Shorts Press has acquired world rights to Australianarama: A Campendium of Kitsch by artist and designer Stavroula Adameitis, also known as Frida Las Vegas, and poetry collection Sick Note by Olivia De Zilva.
International news
In the US, Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group has announced the closure of the Roaring Brook Press imprint and the launch of a new, as yet unnamed imprint, reports Publishers Weekly, while in Brazil, the Brazilian Book Chamber and Nielsen BookData have released the third edition of an annual survey, which showed book consumption grew in the country in 2025, reports Publishing Perspectives.
Books+Publishing features
The Australian stand at Bologna Children’s Book Fair has a brand-new look with illustrations from Allison Colpoys’s forthcoming collaboration with Davina Bell, This Moment Now (Scribble). Books+Publishing sister publication Think Australian recently published a Bologna edition.
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Category: This week’s news
