Staff changes at Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing, Chren Byng appointed North America commercial director
Wednesday, 12 August 2026
Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing (HGCP) has announced the appointment of former senior editor Chren Byng to the newly created role of commercial director, North America, as well as the promotion...
Prime Minister’s Literary Awards 2026 shortlists announced
Tuesday, 11 August 2026
Writing Australia has announced the shortlists for the 2026 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards. The shortlisted titles in each category, chosen from 673 entries, are: Children’s Bored (Felicita Sala, Hardie Grant...
Christmas 2026 preview: children’s picture books
Tuesday, 11 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 children’s...
Australian Publishers Association launches significant TitlePage upgrade
Tuesday, 11 August 2026
The Australian Publishers Association (APA) has overnight launched its upgrade to TitlePage, promising a “mobile-friendly site design” that includes barcode scanning, enhanced security and an improved search function. These changes...
Witi Ihimaera Smiler recognised with the Arts Foundation’s highest honour
Tuesday, 11 August 2026
In Aotearoa New Zealand, author Witi Ihimaera Smiler is among the 2026 Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi Icon Whakamana Hiranga Awards recipients. The Icon Whakamana Hiranga Awards are the Arts...
Allen & Unwin acquires Debra Oswald’s “The Buxton Celebration”
Tuesday, 11 August 2026
Allen & Unwin (A&U) has acquired ANZ rights to Debra Oswald’s novel The Buxton Celebration, in a deal brokered by Anthony Blair of Cameron’s Management. After the death of Frank...
Local authors listed in IBBY–UNESCO Collection
Monday, 10 August 2026
Australian and Aotearoa New Zealand titles have been listed in the catalogue for the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural...
Penguin Random House acquires “Malachite” by Hasib Hourani
Monday, 10 August 2026
Penguin Random House has acquired ANZ rights to the novel Malachite by Hasib Hourani, with Jane Novak Literary Agency selling UK & Commonwealth rights (ex ANZ) to Prototype Publishing via...
Libro.fm to add ebooks
Monday, 10 August 2026
Libro.fm, the US-based platform through which many Australian independent bookshops sell audiobooks, has announced it will add ebooks to the platform. As with the company’s audiobook offering, ebooks will be...
“Grandmother from the East, Grandmother from the West” wins 2026 Crystal Kite Award
Monday, 10 August 2026
Author Jacinta Liu and illustrator Freda Chiu have won the Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand and Oceania division of this year’s Crystal Kite Member Choice Awards, presented by the Society of...
Shalom Collective Australian Jewish Writer Awards 2026 winners announced
Monday, 10 August 2026
The 2026 Shalom Collective Australian Jewish Writer Awards winners have been announced. The winners and highly commended works, selected from shortlists announced in July, are: The Leslie and Sophie Caplan...
Varuna announces 2026 Affirm Press Fellowship recipients
Monday, 10 August 2026
Varuna, the National Writers’ House has announced the recipients of the 2026 Affirm Press Fellowship. The fellowship recipients are: Catherine Padmore Michelle Tom Sam Elkin co-writers Georgia Grubelich-Foo and Trent Foo....
Allen & Unwin acquires Tanya Scott’s “Stillwater” follow-up “The Family Business”
Thursday, 6 August 2026
Allen & Unwin (A&U) has acquired ANZ rights to The Family Business by Tanya Scott from Tom Gilliatt at a4 Literary. Beginning “some months after the conclusion of her debut...
Emerging Writers’ Festival 2026 program announced
Thursday, 6 August 2026
The program for the Emerging Writers’ Festival (EWF), which will run from 10 to 18 September in Melbourne and online and include the announcement of the 2026 Paragraph Fellowship recipients,...
Good Girls Read romance bookstore opens in Geelong
Thursday, 6 August 2026
Good Girls Read, a bookshop specialising in romance titles, has opened in Geelong, Victoria. The day before she opened the doors on 4 July, owner Marianne Locke told the Geelong...
Brisbane Writers Festival 2026 program announced
Thursday, 6 August 2026
The program for the Brisbane Writers Festival (BWF), which will this year run from 8 to 11 October, has been announced, and will for the first time include the Queensland...
Omar Musa wins 2026 Miles Franklin Literary Award for “Fierceland”
Wednesday, 5 August 2026
Omar Musa has won the 2026 Miles Franklin Literary Award, worth $60,000, for his novel Fierceland (Penguin). Musa is a Bornean Australian author, visual artist and poet. His debut novel...
State Library Victoria 2026 Fellowships announced
Wednesday, 5 August 2026
State Library Victoria (SLV) has announced the recipients of its 2026 Fellowships. Each SLV fellow is awarded $15,000, office space for 12 months and one-on-one support from a liaison librarian...
Allen & Unwin acquires “Into the Valley” by Alex Miller
Wednesday, 5 August 2026
Allen & Unwin (A&U) has acquired world rights to “emotionally masterful novel” Into the Valley by Alex Miller from the author. Into the Valley follows Andy, who moves to the...
Magabala acquires “Children of Crows” by Sharleigh Crittenden
Wednesday, 5 August 2026
Magabala has acquired world rights to “powerful literary fiction novella” Children of Crows by Wiradjuri writer Sharleigh Crittenden, in a deal brokered by Rebecca Slater at a4 Literary. Magabala said...
Chris Brophy and Kimberley Starr win 2026 Dorothy Hewett Award
Wednesday, 5 August 2026
Chris Brophy and Kimberley Starr are the joint winners of the 2026 Dorothy Hewett Award for an unpublished manuscript and will split the $10,000 prize money. Each author will be...
“Suburban Review” to cease publishing
Tuesday, 4 August 2026
Online literary journal the Suburban Review (TSR) has announced it will cease publishing following two final publications this year. In a statement on the publication’s socials pages, the TSR board...
University Book Shop Dunedin to “reshape”, move on campus
Tuesday, 4 August 2026
The University Book Shop (UBS) in Dunedin is set to close and relocate to the University of Otago. The Otago University Students’ Association, which owns the bookshop, said in a...
Penguin Random House acquires children’s bird book by David Pocock and Jess Ward-Jones
Tuesday, 4 August 2026
Penguin Random House (PRH) Australia has acquired world rights to a children’s book by Australian senator and former professional rugby union player David Pocock, written with ecologist Jess Ward-Jones. Currently...
Apollo Bay WORDfest reports a sold-out festival
Tuesday, 4 August 2026
Organisers of the Apollo Bay WORDfest, held in the Victorian coastal town from 24 to 26 July, have reported a sold-out festival. WORDfest director Kate Bourne said, “Ticket sales were...
Local secondhand booksellers suspect AI companies behind orders
Monday, 3 August 2026
Secondhand booksellers in Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia have reported receiving orders from Canadian book recycling company Zoom Books, which many booksellers suspect of supplying companies involved in generative AI...
Independent publisher Sick Leave to launch digital publishing platform
Monday, 3 August 2026
Independent Melbourne publisher Sick Leave, which started as a monthly reading event at the former Gasometer Hotel, is set to launch a new digital publishing platform. The publisher plans to...
Allen & Unwin acquires Charlotte Guest’s debut “The Kookaburra”
Monday, 3 August 2026
Allen & Unwin (A&U) has acquired ANZ rights to The Kookaburra, a debut novel by Charlotte Guest, in a 5-way auction brokered by Rebecca Slater of a4 Literary. Rights for...
Hachette “working around the clock” to restore distribution systems after unauthorised activity
Thursday, 30 July 2026
Hachette Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand and its distribution operation Alliance Distribution Services (ADS) have experienced “unauthorised activity” on the businesses’ computing systems, causing supply delays. Hachette told Books+Publishing the...
Allen & Unwin acquires “The Vatican Files”
Thursday, 30 July 2026
Allen & Unwin (A&U) has acquired world rights to the nonfiction title The Vatican Files: Dark Money, Power and the Battle with America’s Right by Paola Totaro and Maria Antonietta...
