Wright leaves Leading Edge; Aotearoa sales changes at Thames & Hudson and Simon & Schuster; Hachette launches new imprint
Leading Edge Books member services manager Kaye Wright has left as part of a restructure; Thames & Hudson Australia (T&H) has made some staff changes; and announced it will move its Aotearoa New Zealand distribution to Bookreps NZ; while Simon & Schuster Australia (S&S) has rejoined HarperCollins New Zealand for field sales representation, reversing its plan to have its own office and dedicated sales and marketing office in the country; Justin Ractliffe has joined The Pilkington Agency as a literary agent; Hachette Australia has launched a new imprint, Letterwing; French language rights for S Shakthidharan’s memoir, Gather Up Your World in One Long Breath, have been sold to Le Bruit du Monde; the NT Writers Festival returned to Garramilla/Darwin for its 2026 event; and ABC Radio National’s annual Top 100 Books Countdown will this year focus on Australian books.
Awards
Bundjalung writer and artist Bronwyn Bancroft is one of the recipients of the 2026 Red Ochre Award for Lifetime Achievement in Artistic Excellence in the First Nations Arts and Culture Awards; the shortlists for the DANZ (Diversity in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand) Children’s Book Award, the ALS Gold Medal, and the Dick and Joan Green Family Award for Tasmanian History have been announced; the finalists in Aotearoa New Zealand’s 2026 Book Industry Awards have been announced; local authors Sam Guthrie, Laura McCluskey and Zoë Rankin are among those whose works have been shortlisted for the UK Crime Writers’ Association’s (CWA) 2026 Dagger Awards; and African Australian author Eugen Bacon is among those whose works have been shortlisted in the 2026 British Fantasy Awards.
International news
Lewis, Daut win James Tait Black prizes
In the UK, Shady Lewis and Marlene L Daut have been awarded the James Tait Black Prizes for fiction and biography, respectively.
“Gliff” wins 2026 Dublin Literary Award
Scottish author Ali Smith has won the 2026 Dublin Literary Award for her novel Gliff (Hamish Hamilton), receiving the €100,000 prize.
French book chains file for receivership amid falling sales
In France, the owner of two bookstore chains has announced it will file for receivership, reports the Bookseller.
Spotify to add higher-hour audiobook plans, AI tools for self-publishers
Spotify has revealed audiobook listening hours on the platform have increased 60% year on year, as it promised to introduce higher‑hour Audiobooks+ plans later this year, alongside family and student options, and outlined new AI‑powered tools for self‑published authors, reports the Bookseller.
Rights
Allen & Unwin has acquired world rights to Only Ever Evonne by Evonne Goolagong Cawley, ANZ rights to Group Chat by Zoë Foster Blake, and ANZ rights to Dopamining by Samantha Wills; Pantera Press has acquired world rights to The Curator by Jonathan Butler; S&S has acquired world rights to Better Man by Ben Vasiliou, and ANZ rights to 3 novels by Chris Hammer; Pink Shorts Press has acquired world rights to Timmah Ball’s A Map and Other Parts; and Riveted Press has acquired world rights to Khet and the Medallion of Ra by Jo Sandhu.
Features
Books+Publishing intern Nonie Trainor considers the changing landscape of entry-level roles in publishing; Thames & Hudson celebrates a win for illustrated books; and Australian Book Industry Award winner Zeno Sworder delivers a thank you speech in writing.
Did you know Books+Publishing sends a daily newsletter? Be among the first to read news like this by signing up here.
Category: The week that was
