Literary figures among Australians of the Year, Australia Day Honours; Writing Australia announces investments, partnerships, 2026 VIPs

Headlining this week’s news, several authors, publishers and literary workers were named in the 2026 Australia Day Honours and the Australian of the Year awards; while Writing Australia announced a range of new investment programs and partnerships, among which are a boost for literary journals, Varuna and Australia Reads, among other literary activities and organisations.

More local news

Writing Australia also this week announced the 12 international publishing professionals participating in the 2026 Visiting International Publishers (VIPs) program; while RMIT University launched a survey examining the impact of postgraduate writing and publishing programs on the book industry.

Awards

Nine Australian writers appeared on the Hazel Rowley Fellowship shortlist for the program’s final year; while, further afield, local authors this week featured on awards shortlists in the UK and US.

International news

In the US, Publishers Weekly‘s 2025 bestseller rankings reflected the ongoing dominance of the Big Five. In the UK, Waterstones reported a 7% sales increase, according to the Bookseller. And the International Publishers Association launched its inaugural Freedom of Expression Defenders Award.

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Category: This week’s news