What’s next for traditional reading for young children? An excerpt from “Between Reading and Screens”
Wednesday, 5 August 2026
Between Reading and Screens is a forthcoming title from Melbourne University Press, authored by academics Sybil Nolan, Wonsun Shin, Katherine Day and Xin Pei, which seeks to surface “new research on digital...
“Books endure” at BookUp: The risks and rewards of taking our time
Wednesday, 29 July 2026
The 2026 BookUp conference was held in central Melbourne and online on 22 and 23 July. Books+Publishing commissioning editor Angela Glindemann reflects on the event’s industry day. For a few...
Aus audiobook report: “Frequent listening correlates with higher rates of reading in print and ebook formats”
Wednesday, 29 July 2026
The open access report, Audiobook Reading in Australia, uses survey data to explore listening behaviours, preferences and experiences, and compares these with other reading and cultural consumption, alongside demographic characteristics....
Lily and Hugo’s children’s bookstore to open in Sunbury
Wednesday, 29 July 2026
Lily and Hugo’s bookstore for children will be opening soon in Sunbury, on the outskirts of Melbourne. Leigh Redman spoke with Books+Publishing about the new venture, which he and co-founder...
Eugen Bacon recommends
Tuesday, 28 July 2026
I recently read Kathleen Jennings’s Honeyeater (Picador, 2025) and it struck me as one of the most fascinating literary horrors I’ve read. It’s overwhelming in its darkness and waterlogged omens,...
Eugen Bacon on “Crimson in Quietus”
Tuesday, 28 July 2026
Eugen Bacon is an African Australian author whose science fiction novel Crimson in Quietus (Meerkat Press, September) is set within the Sauútiverse, a shared fictional universe created by African and...
AI dominates global publishing conversation at IPA Congress
Wednesday, 22 July 2026
Generative AI was the biggest topic of conversation at panel discussions during the International Publishers Congress, presented by the International Publishers Association (IPA) from 5 to 9 July in Kuala...
Explainer: What are the First Nations metadata standards?
Wednesday, 22 July 2026
Former Books+Publishing editorial and production coordinator – and author and literary all-rounder – Jasmin McGaughey gives an update on an APA project at the intersection of inclusion and metadata: the...
Nadine Browne recommends
Tuesday, 21 July 2026
The last Australian books that really stayed with me were Kate Rossmanith’s Small Wrongs and Bri Lee’s Eggshell Skull. I read them close together, and they’ve become linked in my mind. Rossmanith’s book...
Nadine Browne on “Gone Guru”
Tuesday, 21 July 2026
Nadine Browne is a Western Australian writer whose debut novel, Gone Guru (Fremantle Press, September), draws on her experience studying fiction at New York University under Joyce Carol Oates. Books+Publishing...
Meet the Rising Stars: Rachel Chopping
Tuesday, 21 July 2026
The Australian Publishers Association (APA) Rising Star award recognises an emerging talent in Australian publishing with less than 10 years’ experience in the industry. In the lead-up to the winner...
Meet the Rising Stars: Caleb Vines
Monday, 20 July 2026
The Australian Publishers Association (APA) Rising Star award recognises an emerging talent in Australian publishing with less than 10 years’ experience in the industry. In the lead-up to the winner...
Meet the Rising Stars: Annie Zhang
Thursday, 16 July 2026
The Australian Publishers Association (APA) Rising Star award recognises an emerging talent in Australian publishing with less than 10 years’ experience in the industry. In the lead-up to the winner...
“Only an oligarch could afford it”: Booksellers Aotearoa’s Renee Rowland on selling at RRP
Wednesday, 15 July 2026
As the Australian Booksellers Association proposes a tax offset to recognise the gap between booksellers’ cultural value and ability to remain in business, Booksellers Aotearoa New Zealand association manager Renée...
Meet the Rising Stars: Skye Cusack
Wednesday, 15 July 2026
The Australian Publishers Association (APA) Rising Star award recognises an emerging talent in Australian publishing with less than 10 years’ experience in the industry. In the lead-up to the winner...
Meet the Rising Stars: Jaimi Kuster
Tuesday, 14 July 2026
The Australian Publishers Association (APA) Rising Star award recognises an emerging talent in Australian publishing with less than 10 years’ experience in the industry. In the lead-up to the winner...
Meet the Rising Stars: Alisa Ahmed
Monday, 13 July 2026
The Australian Publishers Association (APA) Rising Star award recognises an emerging talent in Australian publishing with less than 10 years’ experience in the industry. In the lead-up to the winner...
Book Club – this month’s reads
Friday, 10 July 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...
Tim Ayliffe on “Web of Spies”
Wednesday, 8 July 2026
Bestselling crime author Tim Ayliffe’s children’s debut Web of Spies (S.I.G.M.A. #1) (Affirm Kids, September) is a middle-grade novel about a boy whose search for answers about his missing father...
Tim Ayliffe recommends
Wednesday, 8 July 2026
There are so many great Australian writers on the scene right now. Chris Hammer’s Legacy (Allen & Unwin) demonstrates why he’s an author at the height of his powers. While...
Junior Book Club – this month’s reads
Friday, 3 July 2026
Our Junior Book Club highlights new titles each month that are perfect for classrooms, libraries and family reading time. From fun and imaginative adventures to books that spark curiosity and...
“Even before the digital revolution, around 80% of books did not recoup the publisher’s investment”: Nathan Hollier on Australia’s history of rushed publishing
Wednesday, 1 July 2026
The argument that we are publishing books too quickly raises perennial questions about the nature of an industry with commercial but also cultural dimensions, and the obligation that publishers have...
“One of the last true immersive experiences”: QBD CEO Nick Croydon on the future of books
Wednesday, 1 July 2026
In this speech, delivered at the QBD conference in June, QBD CEO Nick Croydon makes the case for the future of books, as the bookselling chain celebrates 150 years in...
John A Scott on “The Boy Who Loved Dolls”
Tuesday, 30 June 2026
John A Scott’s latest novel, The Boy Who Loved Dolls (Puncher & Wattman, September), is a literary mystery that blends surrealism, film theory, myth and psychological suspense. Books+Publishing reviewer Alex...
John A Scott recommends
Tuesday, 30 June 2026
I read increasingly less these days. My concentration isn’t what it used to be – and neither are my eyes. Having said that, early in 2025 I received a call...
Who is Evercreech? The micro publisher shortlisted for the Miles Franklin with its first book
Wednesday, 24 June 2026
Evercreech Editions is a micro press established in Lutruwita/Tasmania by author, editor, bookseller and writing teacher Adam Ouston, and My Heart at Evening by Konrad Muller, shortlisted for the 2026...
Anna Battese recommends
Tuesday, 23 June 2026
There are so many incredible Australian kids’ books out there, which makes this question so hard to answer! I'm going to be a terrible cheat and give you my just-read...
Anna Battese on “The Grey Beret’s Guide to Surviving the Odds”
Tuesday, 23 June 2026
Anna Battese is a Melbourne-based children’s author whose debut middle-grade novel The Grey Beret’s Guide to Surviving the Odds (Simon & Schuster Australia, August) is the first in a planned...
Inflation, closed doors, horror, but the mood was up at the 2026 ABA conference
Wednesday, 17 June 2026
More than one graph shown at this year’s Australian Booksellers Association (ABA) annual conference in Canberra showed inflation steeply outpacing book sales. Yet the mood of the conference was positive...
Kate Foster recommends
Tuesday, 16 June 2026
One book I can’t get out of my head, which I read last year, is How to Sail to Somewhere by Ashleigh Barton. Ashleigh writes in such a tender, accessible...
