Inside the Australian and New Zealand book industry

Image. Advertisement:

News >

Women’s Prize for Fiction 2026 shortlist announced

The 2026 Women’s Prize for Fiction Judging Panel Thursday, 23 April 2026
The Women’s Prize for Fiction shortlist has been announced, which includes “6 powerful stories by new voices and established authors, interrogating women’s roles in society, showcasing women’s agency, and the...

“Pissants” to be adapted for television

Thursday, 23 April 2026
Filmmakers Jesse Laurie and Lewis Mulholland have optioned television rights to Pissants by Brandon Jack (Summit Books), via Alice Cottrell on behalf of the Jane Novak Literary Agency. Laurie, a...

Publishing Triangle Awards winners announced

Cover of Drought Wednesday, 22 April 2026
In the US, the Publishing Triangle, an association of LGBTQ+ people in publishing, has announced winners for the 2026 Publishing Triangle Awards. Winners were announced for 10 categories, including: The...

Bakers Lane acquires Strauss’s “Holding Space”

Picture of Gina Strauss Wednesday, 22 April 2026
Bakers Lane Books has acquired world rights to the nonfiction title Holding Space by Gina Strauss. The publisher described Holding Space as a “hybrid memoir and professional guide offering reflections...

NSW Literary Awards 2026 shortlists announced

NSW Literary Awards 2026 logo Tuesday, 21 April 2026
The shortlists for the 2026 NSW Literary Awards have been announced. The shortlisted works in each category are: Christina Stead Prize for Fiction ($40,000) Cure (Katherine Brabon, Ultimo) Arborescence (Rhett...

Crema new owner of Robinsons 

Tuesday, 21 April 2026
Denis Crema is the new owner of the Robinsons Bookshop chain. Founded by Philip and Moira Robinson, the Robinsons business began as a local bookshop in the Melbourne suburb of...

Magabala, the Book Show warn of fraudulent emails

Tuesday, 21 April 2026
Radio National and publisher Magabala Books have each warned creators about fraudulent emails being sent to authors. Magabala said an email from someone claiming to be a Magabala editor had...

Saunders illustrations win at Bologna Illustrators Exhibition

Tuesday, 21 April 2026
Australian illustrator Lauren Saunders is among the winning illustrators at Bologna Children’s Book Fair (BCBF) Illustrators Exhibition. A jury selected Saunders’s illustration set of 5 artworks as a winning entry,...

A&U acquires Jenkins’s “Bad Neighbours”

Joanna Jenkins Tuesday, 21 April 2026
Allen & Unwin (A&U) has acquired ANZ rights to forthcoming crime novel Bad Neighbours by Joanna Jenkins via Gaby Naher of The Naher Agency. Featuring Ruth Dawson, the main character...

Local authors longlisted for 2026 CWA Daggers

Monday, 20 April 2026
Local authors Sam Guthrie, Laura McCluskey, Zoë Rankin and Jennifer Trevelyan are among those whose works have been longlisted for the UK Crime Writers’ Association’s (CWA) 2026 Dagger Awards. Guthrie,...

Klassen wins Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award 

Jon Klassen. Photo credit: Carson Ellis. Monday, 20 April 2026
Canadian illustrator and picture book artist Jon Klassen has won the 2026 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, worth 5 million SEK (A$761,000). Klassen’s breakout book, I Want My Hat Back (Walker...

Book Club – this month’s reads 

Friday, 17 April 2026
Looking for your next great group read? Our monthly Book Club rounds up new release titles perfect for sparking conversation and perhaps even some debate. From compelling fiction to thought-provoking...

Bloomsbury reorganises its global publishing business 

Bloomsbury Publishing logo. Thursday, 16 April 2026
Bloomsbury is reorganising its global business, with a new structure coming into effect on 1 June 2026, affecting an estimated 55 roles across the UK and US. Locally, Bloomsbury’s Asia-Pacific...

Oliver wins €6000 Moth Poetry Prize

Adam Oliver Thursday, 16 April 2026
English poet Adam Oliver has won the €6000 (A$9900) Moth Poetry Prize for “Shazaya”. The annual international prize for a single unpublished poem, now in its 15th year, is sponsored...

HGCP acquires “Sagittarius Rising”

A photo of Maxine Beneba Clarke. She stand in front of a bookshelf. Thursday, 16 April 2026
Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing (HGCP) has acquired world rights to children’s chapter book Sagittarius Rising by author Maxine Beneba Clarke and illustrator Jade Goodwin. Senior publisher Chren Byng said, “For...

ABIA 2026 business award shortlists announced

Wednesday, 15 April 2026
Books+Publishing, in partnership with the Australian Publishers Association, has announced the 2026 business award shortlists for the Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIAs). The shortlistees in each category are:  Bookshop of...

Messy Press wins Bologna Prize for Oceania

Wednesday, 15 April 2026
Aotearoa New Zealand children’s publisher Messy Press has won the 2026 Bologna Prize for the Best Children’s Publishers of the Year in the Oceania region, announced as part of the...