Ned Kelly Awards 2026 best debut crime fiction shortlist announced
Thursday, 20 August 2026
The Australian Crime Writers Association has announced the 2026 Ned Kelly Awards shortlist for best debut crime fiction. The shortlisted titles, selected from 160 entries, are: The Butterfly Women (Madeleine...
OzLit releases inaugural festival line-up
Thursday, 20 August 2026
OzLit, the new London festival of Australian writing and ideas, has unveiled its inaugural line-up for the event on 18 October, reports the Bookseller. Authors due to appear include Tim Winton,...
Local author Eva Frances wins two Romance Writers of America awards
Thursday, 20 August 2026
Australian author Eva Frances has won two Diamond Heart Awards, presented by the Romance Writers of America for her debut novel, The Next Round (self-published). The Next Round won both the...
NSW History Awards 2026 shortlists announced
Thursday, 20 August 2026
The State Library of NSW (SLNSW) has announced the shortlists for the 2026 NSW History Awards. The shortlisted works across 6 categories, selected from 208 overall entries, are: Australian History...
Christmas 2026 preview: General nonfiction
Thursday, 20 August 2026
With the festive season approaching, Australian publishers have highlighted their top titles for the Christmas selling period for the Books+Publishing Christmas Preview. To view their top picks in the general...
Text acquires Melanie Skyers debut novel
Thursday, 20 August 2026
Text Publishing has acquired world rights to Belly-Heart, a debut novel by Melanie Skyers, via Jane Novak at Jane Novak Literary Agency. The publisher said that Belly-Heart is “the story...
“A Guide to Rocks” named Book of the Year at 2026 NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults
Thursday, 20 August 2026
The winners of the 2026 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults have been announced, with author Sacha Cotter and illustrator Josh Morgan (Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki, Rongowhakaata) winning the...
UK booksellers seek tax relief as part of high street revival
Wednesday, 19 August 2026
In the UK, more than 200 independent booksellers have called on the government to give small bookshops the same business rates relief as pubs, reports the Bookseller. In July, Prime...
ACT writers call out funding cut
Wednesday, 19 August 2026
Sydney Writers’ Festival has appointed Tamara Zimet as the new artistic director; MARION has said that “literature funding in the region is in crisis” after ACT government cut funding by...
PRH acquires “A Classified Affair” by Chloe Hooper
Wednesday, 19 August 2026
Penguin Random House Australia (PRH) has acquired ANZ rights to the novel A Classified Affair by Chloe Hooper. PRH said that A Classified Affair takes place in 1979 Britain following...
MARION reports reduction in funding
Wednesday, 19 August 2026
ACT literary development organisation MARION has said that “literature funding in the region is in crisis” after having its requested government funding “cut by 35%”. “Literature accounts for less than...
Perentie Press announces Graphic Folk list and first title
Wednesday, 19 August 2026
Perentie Press has launched the new list Graphic Folk for graphic novel adaptations of fairytales and folktales from around the world. The first title of the list will be Strawberries...
Christmas 2026 preview: Illustrated nonfiction
Wednesday, 19 August 2026
With the festive season approaching, Australian publishers have highlighted their top titles for the Christmas selling period for the Books+Publishing Christmas Preview. To view their top picks in the illustrated...
Tamara Zimet appointed as Sydney Writers’ Festival artistic director
Wednesday, 19 August 2026
Sydney Writers’ Festival (SWF) has appointed Tamara Zimet as the new artistic director, after Ann Mossop stepped down from the position in June. Zimet began her programming career at SWF,...
Pages HQ bookshop to open in Drouin
Wednesday, 19 August 2026
Pages HQ is a new bookshop set to open in Drouin, Victoria on 1 September. Owner Sharyn Swanepoel tells Books+Publishing about the new store and her plans to involve the...
Byron Writers Festival reports 10,000 attendees for 30th anniversary program
Wednesday, 19 August 2026
Byron Writers Festival reported more than 10,000 attendees during a sold-out 30th anniversary program, held from 14 to 16 August, for the first time within the Byron Bay township. Artistic...
Ingram launches Covered platform
Tuesday, 18 August 2026
Ingram Content Group has launched Covered, a platform for digital catalogues, review copies and ordering, reports Publishers Weekly. The company announced the platform in February as a lower-cost alternative to...
Christmas 2026 preview: Adult literary fiction
Tuesday, 18 August 2026
With the festive season approaching, Australian publishers have highlighted their top titles for the Christmas selling period for the Books+Publishing Christmas Preview. To view their top picks in the adult...
Patrick Marlborough crowdfunds book, imprint
Tuesday, 18 August 2026
Australian author and critic Patrick Marlborough has raised more than $12,000 to independently publish the novel Craigie and launch publishing imprint Wharf Rat Press. Marlborough said, “The campaign will fund...
Queer AFL romance “After the Siren” optioned for screen
Tuesday, 18 August 2026
Penguin Random House Australia and New Zealand (PRH) has optioned screen rights to After the Siren by Darcy Green to Mad Ones Films. The news comes as PRH announces the...
Wiley acquires Hannah Brown’s “Wired to Lead”
Tuesday, 18 August 2026
Wiley has acquired world rights to Wired to Lead: The ADHD Advantage the World Needs Now by Hannah Brown, in a deal brokered by literary agent Lou Johnson and Lucy...
NZSA manuscript assessment recipients announced
Monday, 17 August 2026
The New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi O Aotearoa (NZSA) has announced the writers who will receive manuscript guidance through this year's CompleteMS program. The recipients are (pictured...
Christmas 2026 preview: Adult genre fiction
Monday, 17 August 2026
With the festive season approaching, Australian publishers have highlighted their top titles for the Christmas selling period for the Books+Publishing Christmas Preview. To view their top picks in the adult...
“When There Are Wolves Again” wins Arthur C Clarke Award
Monday, 17 August 2026
In the UK, EJ Swift has won the Arthur C Clarke Award science fiction book of the year for When There Are Wolves Again (Arcadia). Award director Tom Hunter told...
Collins Booksellers Franchise Excellence Awards winners announced
Monday, 17 August 2026
Collins Booksellers announced the winners of the 2026 Collins Booksellers Franchise Excellence Awards, at the annual conference on 8 to 9 August. The winners in each category were: Marketing Excellence...
Christmas 2026 preview: Adult general fiction
Friday, 14 August 2026
With the festive season approaching, Australian publishers have highlighted their top titles for the Christmas selling period for the Books+Publishing Christmas Preview. To view their top picks in the adult...
Book Club – this month’s reads
Friday, 14 August 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...
Christmas 2026 preview: YA books
Thursday, 13 August 2026
With the festive season approaching, Australian publishers have highlighted their top titles for the Christmas selling period for the Books+Publishing Christmas Preview. To view their top picks in the YA book...
Anthropic’s Claude to add “watermark” to AI-generated text
Thursday, 13 August 2026
Anthropic has announced that new models of its generative AI product Claude will embed an “imperceptible watermark” directly into AI-generated text, reports US-based Business Insider. “The watermark doesn’t change the text’s...
Producers looking for crime, rom-coms and “feel-good domestic stories” at 2026 Books at MIFF
Thursday, 13 August 2026
There was “a real energy in the air to acquire and get things made” at 37ºSouth Market’s Books at MIFF 2026 program, said agent Alex Adsett of the event, which...
