The Bookshop Darlinghurst to close; Garner shortlisted for Baillie Gifford; EWF shares 2025 report
In Books+Publishing (B+P) news this week, Kate Cuthbert has resigned as publishing director. Her last day will be 30 October.
In B+P features this week, Emily Baulch shared her research on the under-valuing of branded and interactive texts in children’s literacy; B+P and the Melbourne UNESCO City of Literature Office spoke with the Nottingham’s Women’s Library in England; B+P shared the Junior Book Club recommendations for this month; and B+P reached out to travel publisher Lonely Planet and travel writer Penny Watson (Ultimate Campsites: Australia, Hardie Grant Explore) to see how travel writing and publishing has moved with the times since the pandemic.
The Bookshop Darlinghurst in Sydney will close down on Christmas Eve 2025, due to ‘repeated delays’ in the redevelopment of Oxford & Foley by Toga, where the shop was preparing to relocate. This led to the shop missing out on peak trading periods and having to rent supplemental space, said owner Charles Gregory.
Meanwhile, Better Reading announced its 2025 top 100 list, which it deems ‘a true reflection of what Australians read’, with Trent Dalton’s Boy Swallows Universe (Fourth Estate) taking the number-one spot for a second time after topping the list in 2020.
How to End a Story: Collected Diaries by Australian author Helen Garner (Text) has been shortlisted for the £50,000 (A$101,861) Baillie Gifford Prize for Nonfiction in the UK.
Among other awards headlines, the Australian Society of Authors announced the 2025 Blake-Beckett Trust Scholarship shortlist; literary journal Island announced the shortlist for the 2025 Nature Writing Prize, which includes writers Frankey Chung-Kok-Lun, Rosalee Kiely and Bridget Webster; and Kirsty Windeyer was awarded the 2025 Writing NSW Varuna Fellowship.
The Emerging Writers’ Festival reported 2025 as its ‘most successful’ festival since 2018, hosting 240 artists in 79 events over 8 days; and literary organisation Stella announced a second Stella Day Out event in Sydney, set to take place on 21 October at Quest Chatswood.
In acquisitions news, Ventura Press acquired world rights to Susan Simon’s debut novel, The Secrets of St Jude’s, a ‘private school noir and commercial thriller’; Magabala Books acquired world rights to The Dangers of Just One Person, a ‘funny, queer, regional’ novel by Skye Cusack; HarperCollins acquired world rights to Circle of Wonders, a novel by Kathryn Heyman; and Allen & Unwin acquired world rights to Sarah Bailey’s six novel, Click, in a deal brokered by Lyn Tranter at Australian Literary Management.
Across the world this week, publishing professionals have been readying themselves for the Frankfurt Book Fair, running from 15 to 19 October. The Bookseller reported on agents’ lists, which show ‘smart and serious nonfiction will be on the rise at the Messe this year, but fiction – the spicier the better – will still be very much to the fore’.
In the US, Judge William Alsup has given preliminary approval to the proposed $1.5 billion ($A2.27b) settlement in the Anthropic class-action lawsuit, leading to the launch of a settlement website; and US publisher Pluto Press announced the acquisition of world rights to A Moon Will Rise from the Darkness: Reports on Israel’s Genocide in Palestine by United Nations special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese, reported Publishers Weekly. The finalists for the National Book Award were also announced, with the winner to be revealed on 19 November; and Baker & Taylor’s revealed its plan to shut down following its called-off acquisition deal with ReaderLink. Approximately 520 employees were let go this week, with the company planning to ‘wind down business by January’.
In the UK, HarperCollins UK CEO Charlie Redmayne has resigned effective immediately, reported the Bookseller; while Simon & Schuster US and UK have jointly announced the launch of new imprint Scarlett Press. The shortlist for the TS Eliot Prize was also announced this week, with 10 poets from the UK, Ireland, St Lucia, Canada and the US making the cut. The winner will be announced on 19 January 2026 and is set to receive £25,000 (A$51,016). Meanwhile, Masud Husain won the £25,000 (A$51,016) Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize with his debut, Our Brains, Our Selves (Canongate Trade).
Finally, in sad news, author Jilly Cooper (Rivals, Penguin) has died, with Queen Camilla describing Cooper as a ‘wonderfully witty and compassionate friend’.
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Category: The week that was
