Marshall and Ihimaera to share NZ writers’ residency
3 December 2014
New Zealand authors Owen Marshall and Witi Ihimaera have been chosen as the 2015 Randell Cottage Writers in Residence. The selection panel chair Vincent O’Sullivan described the move as an...
Melbourne Poets Union competition winner announced
1 December 2014
Carmel MacDonald-Grahame has won the 2014 Melbourne Poets Union International Poetry Competition for her poem ‘Wreck’. MacDonald-Grahame was presented with a cash prize of $1500 at Collected Works bookstore in Melbourne on...
Farr wins ‘Sunday Star-Times’ short story award
26 November 2014
Australia-born, Wellington-based author Tracy Farr has won the open division of the Sunday Star-Times Short Story Awards for her story ‘Once Had Me’, reports Stuff.co. The award, now in its 30th...
Hathorn receives ‘Alice’ award
25 November 2014
The Society of Women Writers Victoria has announced Libby Hathorn is the recipient of its ‘Alice’ award. The society presents the trophy biennially ‘for a distinguished and long-term contribution to...
ABC Retail launches website for smartphones
19 November 2014
ABC Retail has launched a new website that is optimised for smartphones. ‘Having a mobile retail experience for ABC Shop was a critical element in ABC Retail’s customer focus strategy where we...
Xoum memoir optioned for film
12 November 2014
The film rights for Lenuta Hellen Nadolu’s memoir Give Me Courage (Xoum) have been optioned for film by producer Stuart Quin in association with production company Ealing Studios. Publisher Xoum told...
Neale wins 2014 NZ Beatson Fellowship
10 November 2014
The New Zealand Society of Authors (NZSA) has announced that Dunedin-based author and poet Emma Neale is the winner of the 2014 Peter and Dianne Beatson Fellowship. The fellowship, worth NZ$7000 (A$6292),...
Croome named Tasmania’s Australian of the Year
6 November 2014
Rodney Croome, gay rights activist and former editor of literary journal Island, is Tasmania’s Australian of the Year. Croome was commended as ‘a champion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex...
Australian Writers Week authors announced
6 November 2014
The Australian Embassy Beijing has announced that A J Betts, Maxine Beneba Clarke, Tim Cope, Brooke Davis and Damon Young will be the guest authors at Australian Writers Week in China in March...
Aotearoa Māori Book Awards finalists announced
24 October 2014
In New Zealand, 16 finalists in Massey University’s Ngā Kupu Ora Aotearoa Māori Book Awards have been announced. The awards, which include categories for arts, biography and history, fiction, nonfiction and te...
Oz, NZ festival announces 2015 dates
20 October 2014
The Australian and New Zealand Festival of Literature and Arts has announced the dates for its 2015 event. The London-based festival, which held its inaugural event in May 2014, will...
New Walker Books website for teachers and librarians
17 October 2014
Walker Books Australia has launched a new website for teachers and librarians. Walker Books Classroom features classroom ideas, book lists, interviews and other resources, which are organised by theme, title,...
Australian Romance Readers Conference 2015 program announced
13 October 2014
The Australian Romance Readers Association has announced the program for its 2015 conference, to be held in Canberra from 6-8 March. The keynote speakers for the event are Canadian author...
Tranter launches poetry research journal
8 October 2014
Poet John Tranter has launched an online poetry research journal. The Journal of Poetics Research (JPR) will publish research articles, book reviews, interviews and some creative writing, and will be ‘generally peer-reviewed’. According to the journal, ‘Poems...
‘WRIT Poetry Review’ launches first issue
7 October 2014
A new online West Australian poetry journal has been launched. The WRIT Poetry Review seeks ‘first and foremost to connect the poetry community in the West’. Editors Alexis Lateef and Christine Della Vedova...
New website for PANZ
3 October 2014
The Publishers Association of New Zealand (PANZ) has launched a new website. The website was developed by Alistair Cook from New Zealand design company Book Design using WordPress, and is...
NZ book wins international design award
1 October 2014
Flatmate’s Handbook by New Zealand graphic design student Lauren Earl has won the Red Dot Design Concept Award, announced in Singapore on 27 September. Published by Awa Press in November...
‘Tiddas’ optioned for television
19 September 2014
Anita Heiss’ most recent novel Tiddas (Simon & Schuster) has been optioned for television. Pursekey Productions has optioned the book ‘with a view to making it into a six-parter’, according...
Book adaptations among AWGIE winners
17 September 2014
Book adaptations are among winners of the 47th Annual AWGIE Awards for screen, television, stage and radio writing, presented by Australian Writers’ Guild. ANZAC Girls, a six-part miniseries adaptated from the book The...
Otago Uni announces 2015 fellows
11 September 2014
The University of Otago in New Zealand has announced the recipients of its 2015 fellowships for literature and children’s writing. The Robert Burns Fellowship has been awarded to Wellington-based poet...
Canberra Uni poetry prize awarded to David Adès
11 September 2014
The University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor’s International Poetry Prize, worth $15,000, has been awarded to David Adès for his poem ‘Dazzled’, reports Sydney Morning Herald. Adès, an Adelaide poet and author of Mapping...
Federal police raid Brisbane Islamic bookstore
10 September 2014
Australian Federal Police has raided an Islamic bookstore in Brisbane, reports SBS News. The Courier-Mail reported last week that the iQraa Islamic Centre bookstore in Underwood was run by a man believed to...
Text acquires YA novel by Currie
8 September 2014
Text Publishing has acquired world rights to a YA novel by Christopher Currie. The publisher described the book as ‘a YA novel of distinction, with a memorable young lesbian narrator’....
Kneen wins 2014 Thomas Shapcott Prize
8 September 2014
Author and Avid Reader events manager Krissy Kneen has won the 2014 Thomas Shapcott Poetry Prize. The $3000 prize is named in honour of Queensland poet Thomas Shapcott and is...
Recipients of CLNZ/NZSA Research Grants announced
3 September 2014
Copyright Licensing New Zealand (CLNZ) and the New Zealand Society of Authors (NZSA) have announced the four recipients of the 2014 CLNZ/NZSA Research Grants, each worth NZ$5000 (A$4475). The winner...
Down wins 2014 Elizabeth Jolley Prize
1 September 2014
Jennifer Down has won the Australian Book Review (ABR) 2014 Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize. Down, who won the $8000 prize for her story ‘Aokigahara’, was selected from a shortlist of three that included Cate...
Madman acquires film rights to ‘Quota’
27 August 2014
Film rights to Quota by Jock Serong (Text) have been optioned by Madman. ‘We are delighted that Madman has optioned Jock Serong’s acclaimed debut Quota, and look forward to working closely...
EWF launches Adelaide program
20 August 2014
The Emerging Writers Festival (EWF) has announced its first Adelaide program, which will run for three days in September and feature discussions, workshops and performances. Guests include Benjamin Law (Gaysia,...
Inaugural Moving Words Prize seeks submissions of literary translation by NZ students
15 August 2014
The New Zealand Book Council has opened submissions for its inaugural Moving Words Prize to recognises excellence in literary translation by secondary school students. The prize will be awarded to the best previously unpublished...
Manuscript Assessor Conference program launched
13 August 2014
Writers Victoria has launched the program for its inaugural Manuscript Assessor Conference, which runs from 2-3 September. The conference, which is open to emerging and established assessors, will host discussions on the best practice,...
