AWW cancelled, resignations; Silvey arrested; the Australian book market up
Major local news
In 2026 literary news, Adelaide Writers’ Week (AWW) has been cancelled after over 100 panelists withdrew following the removal of Randa Abdel-Fattah from its program. In the wake of the boycott, director of AWW Louise Adler resigned in protest and all but one board member have stepped down, with a new board appointed by the South Australian Government.
Meanwhile, author Craig Silvey appeared in court on charges of possessing and distributing child exploitation material, reported the ABC. He was charged by police after a search of his Fremantle home on Monday.
Local news
In 2025, the book market in Australia was up by 3.2% in value and 1.4% in volume, according to figures from NielsenIQ BookData; Creative Victoria’s latest Creative Enterprises Program grants, announced in late December, drew criticism from organisations including Writers Victoria, which has had its multi-year funding discontinued; author and editor Jean Bedford died, with the Newtown Review of Books sharing tributes to her; Ben Ball announced his resignation as publishing director of Simon & Schuster (S&S) and Scribner at the end of 2025; and Byron Writers Festival named Molly Ward as its new general manager, commencing in mid-January.
Awards
In awards news, the Indie Book Awards shortlists were announced today; the Hunter Writers’ Centre announced the winners of this year’s Newcastle Short Story Award; Anthony Sharwood’s Kosciuszko: The Incredible Life of the Man Behind the Mountain (Hachette) received third prize in a competition launched by Poland’s foreign affairs minister recognising history books written about Poland by non-Polish writers; and Eda Gunaydin was named the 2025 Parramatta Laureate in Literature.
The shortlisted writers in the 2 divisions of the 2025 Roly Sussex Short Story Competition, run by the Queensland Branch of the English-Speaking Union, were announced; in Aotearoa New Zealand, the Publishers Association of New Zealand/Te Rau o Tākupu announced the recipients of the Copyright Licensing New Zealand Contestable Fund Grants; the Australian Book Review announced the shortlist for the 2026 Peter Porter Poetry Prize; and Express Media and Hachette Australia announced the winners of the 2025 Hachette Australia Prize for Young Writers.
Features
Books+Publishing (B+P) published roundups of international fiction and poetry, nonfiction and CYA acquisitions from publishers around the country; profiled 2 new podcasts serving literary listening circles; and, in an interview with B+P reviewer Vuma Phiri, shared JR Lonie’s thoughts on his forthcoming book, The Woman in the Spotlight (HarperCollins). For readers looking for something local, Lonie recommends The Twyborn Affair by Patrick White.
Other local news
Elsewhere in bookish news, Emma Loffhagen wrote about why certain books become “the sleeper hits that seem to materialise without warning” in the Guardian.
Acquisitions
UK publisher Canelo acquired world English print rights to the Puckboys series by Eden Finley and Saxon James in a 10-book deal between Canelo editorial director Emily Bedford and Nerrilee Weir at Bold Type Agency; Allen & Unwin acquired world rights to Detention, a new nonfiction title by author and teacher Ralph Jackman; and HarperCollins acquired world rights to former Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s memoir, Annastacia Palaszczuk: The Politics of Being Me.
International
British writer and actor David Walliams, author of The World’s Worst series of children’s books, has been dropped by HarperCollins after allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards women, reported the Guardian; some books listed on review site Goodreads appear to have been reviewed before advance copies were sent to readers, reported the Bookseller; and in the US, genre fiction boomed in 2025 – a year in which hundreds of new bookshops opened, reported the New York Times (NYT) in its retrospective on the US book industry in 2025.
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Category: This week’s news
