Bloomsbury reorganises its global publishing business
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...
HGCP acquires “Sagittarius Rising”
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...
Paragraph Fellowship to award two prize winners from 2026
Wednesday, 15 April 2026
The Paragraph Fellowship will extend the award to two fellows in 2026 thanks to the Dyson Bequest’s contribution to the Time to Write fund. There will be a one-off payment...
Walsh’s “God AI” sells into North America, UK, India
Wednesday, 15 April 2026
Black Inc. has sold North American, UK, Indian subcontinent and audio rights to God AI: Boom or Doom? What to Expect When Machines Outsmart Us (Toby Walsh, La Trobe University...
Audible adds new lower-price tier
Tuesday, 14 April 2026
Audible has launched a new standard membership tier in Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany and France. Priced at A$8.99 locally, the new tier offers subscribers one...
Regional shortlist released for 2026 Commonwealth Short Story Prize
Tuesday, 14 April 2026
One Aotearoa New Zealand writer and one Australian writer are among the finalists for the 2026 Commonwealth Short Story Prize. The works shortlisted for the Pacific region are: ‘Bitter Water...
SWF responds to bookseller criticism
Monday, 13 April 2026
In a statement responding to bookseller criticism of its approach to competing events, the Sydney Writers’ Festival (SWF) has stated that it is “supportive, on a case-by-case basis, of an...
“Magpies” magazine to cease publication of Source database
Monday, 13 April 2026
The Source, a database and subject guide to children’s literature with an emphasis on publications from Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, will cease operation at the end of June 2026....
ABA announces inaugural lifetime achievement award
Monday, 13 April 2026
The Australian Booksellers Association (ABA) has created a new Lifetime Achievement in Bookselling Award for “an individual who has given extraordinary and sustained service to bookselling in Australia”. According to...
Ena Noël Award 2026 winners announced
Monday, 13 April 2026
The Australian branch of the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) has announced the winners of the 2026 Ena Noël Award. The winners of the award are author...
Storylines Awards 2026 winners announced
Monday, 13 April 2026
The Storylines Trust has announced the 2026 winners of the Storylines Awards in Aotearoa New Zealand. The winners are: Margaret Mahy Medal and Lecture Award Tim Tipene Gaelyn Gordon Award...
Upswell acquires Anatolitis’s “Who’s Afraid of Australian Artists?”
Thursday, 9 April 2026
Upswell Publishing has acquired world rights for Who’s Afraid of Australian Artists? by Esther Anatolitis. Anatolitis will examine artistic practice, arts policy and political sentiment, framed by the voices of...
Shakthidharan among Windham-Campbell Prize 2026 winners
Thursday, 9 April 2026
Sydney playwright S Shakthidharan has won a 2026 Windham-Campbell Prize, worth US$175,000 (A$249,000). Shakthidharan was selected in the category of drama for his “ambition and scale, and his deep care...
Stella Prize 2026 shortlist announced
Thursday, 9 April 2026
The shortlist for the $60,000 Stella Prize for works by Australian women and non-binary writers has been announced. The shortlisted books are: The Rot (Evelyn Araluen, UQP) Memorial Days (Geraldine Brooks, Hachette)...
Blake Poetry Prize 2026 shortlist announced
Tuesday, 7 April 2026
Liverpool Powerhouse and WestWords have announced the poets shortlisted for the 2026 Blake Poetry Prize, worth $5000. The shortlisted works are: “Aftermath” by Terri Slanovits “Father” by Phillippa Cordwell “Jigar...
New ASA mentorship program winners announced
Tuesday, 7 April 2026
The Australian Society of Authors (ASA) has announced the winners of mentorships in the 2026 CA/ASA Developmental Leadership Program. Thirteen creators have won the opportunity to work with an experienced...
CBCA 2026 shortlist announced
Tuesday, 31 March 2026
The Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) has announced the shortlist for the 2026 CBCA Book of the Year Awards. The shortlisted books in each category, selected from the 2026 Notable...
Create NSW launches affordable residencies program for writers, illustrators
Tuesday, 31 March 2026
Create NSW has announced the establishment of the Rocks Creative Terraces Affordable Residencies Program, which it says “fulfils one of the first commitments outlined in Stories Matter: A Writing and...
Queensland Literary Awards moves to BWF for “foreseeable future”
Tuesday, 31 March 2026
The Queensland Literary Awards (QLAs) will become part of the 2026 Brisbane Writers Festival (BWF), with a BWF spokesperson confirming to Books+Publishing that BWF would be administering the awards "for...
Newcastle Poetry Prize 2026 winners announced
Tuesday, 31 March 2026
The Hunter Writers’ Centre has announced the winners of the 2026 Newcastle Poetry Prize. The winners in each category are: First place ($15,000) Greg McLaren for “Late Sonnets” Second place ($3000)...
Nigerian publisher Masobe Books acquires 5 books by Bacon
Tuesday, 31 March 2026
Othuke Ominiabohs, founder and publisher of Masobe Books, has acquired Nigerian rights for five books by African-Australian author Eugen Bacon, in a deal brokered in partnership with Bacon’s US publisher...
Upswell acquires Nowra’s “My Grandfather’s Ghost”
Tuesday, 31 March 2026
Upswell Publishing has acquired world rights to My Grandfather’s Ghost, a narrative nonfiction title by Louis Nowra, via Natalie Stewart, HLA Management. Describing My Grandfather’s Ghost, Nowra said, “On 12...
“A strong year” locally as PRH global earnings down 4.7%
Monday, 30 March 2026
While global revenue at Penguin Random House in 2025 rose 1.3% to €4.981 billion (A$8.34 billion), earnings were down 4.7% to €704 million (around A$1.18 billion). PRH parent company Bertelsmann...
S&S acquires Rogers’s “The Damned”
Monday, 30 March 2026
Simon & Schuster Australia (S&S) has acquired The Damned by Matt Rogers. Described as a “heart-pounding new thriller”, The Damned follows the author’s 2025 thriller The Forsaken and again features ex-assassin Logan...
Newcastle Writers Festival kicks off tomorrow
Thursday, 26 March 2026
Newcastle Writers Festival (NWF) runs from 27 to 29 March, with an opening night event featuring London-based Australian author Kathy Lette, who will reflect on “her writing career, resilience, and...
ABA 2026 conference program announced
Thursday, 26 March 2026
The Australian Booksellers Association (ABA) has released the program for its 2026 conference, to run from 13 to 15 June at in Canberra at the QT hotel (pictured). Sessions at...
APA, Melb Uni launch second Workforce Survey on Diversity and Inclusion
Thursday, 26 March 2026
The Australian Publishers Association (APA) has launched its second Australian Publishing Industry Workforce Survey on Diversity and Inclusion, in partnership with the University of Melbourne. The survey, which is open...
Bakers Lane acquires Jones’s “Swimming Backwards”
Thursday, 26 March 2026
Bakers Lane Books has acquired world rights to the novel Swimming Backwards by Helen Jones. Swimming Backwards, which was shortlisted for the publisher’s inaugural Fearless Prize, tells the story of grieving...
Thom wins 2025 Judith Wright Poetry Prize
Tuesday, 24 March 2026
Overland has announced Mia Thom as the winner of the 2025 Judith Wright Poetry Prize, worth $6000, for their poem “go raging”. Thom’s poem, chosen from a shortlist of 8, will...
Campos wins inaugural Kat Muscat Award
Tuesday, 24 March 2026
The inaugural winner of the $1000 Kat Muscat Award is Paula Campos for “Palm Trees, Piercings and a More Lowkey, Chill Place to Live”, which appeared in Voiceworks #136 “Quits!”. This year, the...
