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‘Fireflies’ establishes book publisher

Tuesday, 8 December 2020
Film magazine Fireflies has announced the creation of independent publishing house Fireflies Press, which aims to 'champion under-represented and stylistically diverse films and film writing'. The inaugural project for the publisher...

Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards 2021 shortlists announced

Tuesday, 8 December 2020
The shortlists for the 2021 Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards have been announced. The shortlisted and highly commended works in each category are: Fiction The Living Sea of Waking Dreams (Richard...

BA, Bookshop.org respond to criticism from booksellers

Monday, 7 December 2020
In the UK, the Booksellers Association (BA) and Bookshop.org have responded to criticism about how effective the website will be at supporting indie bookshops, as well as the BA’s role...

SWF announces two-day January event

Monday, 7 December 2020
Sydney Writers' Festival (SWF) and Sydney Festival have announced Something to Talk About, a series of four events to take place at Carriageworks over the weekend of 16–17 January 2021....

Rannard, Burbidge named reps of the year

Friday, 4 December 2020
The Australian Booksellers Association has announced the NSW and Victorian reps of the year. The reps of the year are: NSW Sales Rep of the Year: Simon Rannard (Penguin Random...

‘Fifth Sun: A new history of the Aztecs’ wins Cundill History Prize

Friday, 4 December 2020
Camilla Townsend has won the 2020 Cundill History Prize for her work on Aztec history, Fifth Sun: A new history of the Aztecs (OUP), reports the Bookseller. Fifth Sun uses Nahuatl-language sources...

Song wins inaugural Spark Prize

Friday, 4 December 2020
Youjia Song has won the inaugural Spark Prize for her book proposal, ‘The Pursuit of Impossible Dreams’. Song’s proposal was chosen from over 200 entries for the biennial developmental prize...

Booktopia completes ASX listing; closes at 17% above issue price

Friday, 4 December 2020
Online bookseller Booktopia completed its initial public offer (IPO) on 3 December, with the company’s shares trading on the Australian Securities Exchange from 11am. Booktopia (BKG) shares opened at $2.86...

First writers announced for Adelaide Writers’ Week 2021

Friday, 4 December 2020
The first writers have been announced for next year’s Adelaide Writers’ Week, which runs from 27 February to 4 March. Seventy-seven local and international guests have been confirmed for the...

Mukherjee wins Deborah Cass Prize 2020

Friday, 4 December 2020
Anith Mukherjee has won Writers Victoria's 2020 Deborah Cass prize for his story 'I Am Full of Love'. Chosen from a shortlist of nine, Mukherjee's story was described by the...

‘Hamnet’ named Waterstones book of the year

Thursday, 3 December 2020
UK bookselling chain Waterstones has named Maggie O’Farrell’s novel Hamnet (Tinder Press) as its book of the year, reports the Bookseller. Waterstones fiction buyer Bea Carvalho said Hamnet—which is inspired...

Final WBN next week

Wednesday, 2 December 2020
Please note that next week's Weekly Book Newsletter will be the final one of the year. The deadline for classifieds and job advertisement submissions is 12 noon Tuesday, 8 December.

Christmas closing list 2020

Wednesday, 2 December 2020
Books+Publishing has collated company closing dates for the Christmas and New Year holiday period. (more…)

Rights round-up

Wednesday, 2 December 2020
Sales Children’s Era Publications has sold digital German-language translation rights to the ‘Wings’ series in Turkey, Germany, Spain, Greece and Egypt. Scholastic has sold UK rights to Fartboy: The First Sniff...

Garcia joins Kill Your Darlings

Wednesday, 2 December 2020
Suzy Garcia will join Kill Your Darlings (KYD) in the newly created role of deputy editor, in which she will work on projects including the book reviews column and KYD's...

The sale of S&S to Bertelsmann will create a ‘book behemoth’

Wednesday, 2 December 2020
'There is clearly no market logic to a bid of that size—only anti-market logic. Bertelsmann is not just buying a book publisher, but buying market dominance as a book behemoth...

Baker joins Copyright Agency board

Wednesday, 2 December 2020
Oxford University Press Australia managing director Arthur Baker has joined the Copyright Agency board as an Australian Publishers Association–appointed director, replacing David Barnett.

Murray joins Copyright Agency board

Wednesday, 2 December 2020
Kirsty Murray has joined the Copyright Agency board as an Australian Society of Authors–appointed director, replacing Helen O'Neil.

Bertelsmann to buy S&S, court dismisses HarperCollins defamation case

Wednesday, 2 December 2020
Penguin Random House’s parent company Bertelsmann announced it will acquire Simon & Schuster from media company ViacomCBS for US$2.175 billion. Last week, a federal court judge dismissed a defamation case...

Eccles joins Copyright Agency board

Wednesday, 2 December 2020
Richard Eccles joined the Copyright Agency board as an independent director in September; he was most recently deputy secretary in the former Department of Communications and the Arts.

Reed to retire BookExpo

Wednesday, 2 December 2020
BookExpo, the largest publishing trade show in the US, is being retired by Reed Exhibitions, reports Publishers Weekly. Book-focused events BookCon and Unbound will also be retired. Organiser ReedPop, a...

Hachette UK lifts entry-level salaries, boosts pay transparency

Tuesday, 1 December 2020
Hachette UK has announced it is raising its entry-level salaries to a minimum of £24,000, will share salary ranges at higher levels of seniority and will introduce transparency on its...

‘Honeybee’ named Dymocks Book of the Year 2020

Tuesday, 1 December 2020
Craig Silvey's novel Honeybee (A&U) has been named Dymocks Book of the Year for 2020. Chosen from a shortlist of six, Silvey's novel was voted for by Dymocks booksellers across the country,...

Australia Council announces $2m Re:imagine: Sector Recovery Initiatives fund

Tuesday, 1 December 2020
The Australia Council has announced $2 million in funding has been allocated to the new Re:imagine: Sector Recovery Initiatives fund. Offered in two streams—‘cultural and creative solutions’ and ‘industry collaborations'—the...