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Beveridge receives lifetime achievement award

A photo of Judith Beveridge. She stands in front of a bookshelf. Monday, 24 November 2025
Poet Judith Beveridge has been named one of this year’s recipients of Creative Australia Awards for Lifetime Achievement. Born in London in 1956, Beveridge moved to Sydney in 1960. Her...

ABC adapts “The Unbelieved” 

Photo of author 𝗩𝗶𝗸𝗸𝗶 𝗣𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘀. Monday, 24 November 2025
Production has commenced on Dustfall, a six-part ABC adaptation of Vikki Petraitis’s 2022 crime novel The Unbelieved (A&U). Allen & Unwin sold film/TV rights to The Unbelieved to UK-based Moonriver TV,...

Five Islands Poetry Prize shortlist announced 

Five Islands Press shortlisted books Monday, 24 November 2025
The shortlist for the 2024 to 2025 Five Islands Poetry Prize has been announced. Shortlisted titles are: Bathypelagia (Debbie Lim, Cordite) Portraits of Drowning (Madeleine Dale, UQP) The Infant Vine...

The Next Chapter 2026 recipients announced

An image of the 2026 Next Chapter recipients. Monday, 24 November 2025
The Wheeler Centre has announced the 2026 recipients of The Next Chapter fellowship program. The fellowships aim to encourage “voices who aren’t getting heard through conventional publishing channels”, according the...

UQP sells UK and Commonwealth rights to “Dead Ink”

A portrait of Jordan Prosser. Monday, 24 November 2025
University of Queensland Press (UQP) has sold UK and Commonwealth (excluding Canada and ANZ) rights to Jordan Prosser’s Blue Giant to Dead Ink Books. According to the publisher, Blue Giant...

NewSouth acquires Grant’s latest book

Photo of author Stan Grant in his tsudy. Monday, 24 November 2025
NewSouth Publishing has acquired world rights to author and broadcaster Stan Grant’s When Words Fail Us: Truth beyond time, in a deal brokered by Tara Wynne at Curtis Brown. The...

PRH acquires debut Crozier novel

Photo of Lily Crozier. Thursday, 20 November 2025
Penguin Random House Australia (PRH) has acquired ANZ rights to vampire romantasy Vow of Eternal Night by debut author and PRH marketing executive Lily Crozier. PRH rights manager Sarah McDuling...

Spiers Prize winners announced

A photo of Kate Pickard, Zahina Maghrabi, Rebeca Green, and Gail Spiers. Maghrabi and Green hold certificates up. Thursday, 20 November 2025
UWA Publishing (UWAP) has announced the winners of the inaugural Spiers Prize as Zahina Maghrabi for “The Girl, The Calico and The Soldier” (young adult) and Rebeca Green for “A...

IPEd appoints Macdonald as chair 

Thursday, 20 November 2025
The Institute of Professional Editors (IPEd) has appointed Catherine Macdonald as chair of the board following the 2025 AGM on 10 November. Macdonald has been on the committee of Editors...

James, Bradley win business book of the year award

Cover of "The Quick Start Guide to Investing". Wednesday, 19 November 2025
Glen James and Nick Bradley have won the 7th Australian Business Book Award for The Quick Start Guide to Investing (Wiley). Founders Michael Hanrahan and Andrew Griffiths announced James, Bradley...

Langton awarded inaugural Rechnitz Memorial Award

Photo of Marcia Langton in university quadrangle. Wednesday, 19 November 2025
The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia has announced academic, author and activist Marcia Langton as the inaugural winner of the Rechnitz Memorial Award, which recognises “excellence in research...

Beale named 2026 NZSA President of Honour

Photo of Fleur Beale. Wednesday, 19 November 2025
The New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi o Aotearoa (NZSA) has named children’s and YA author Fleur Beale this year’s NZSA President of Honour. The author of more...

HarperCollins acquires new Whiting novel

Photo of Frances Whiting with a pile of books. Wednesday, 19 November 2025
HarperCollins ANZ has acquired world rights to The Nocturnals, a new novel by journalist and author Frances Whiting. According to the publisher, The Nocturnals tells the story of a close-knit group from...

Metzenthen wins Children’s Peace Literature Award

Cover image of The Truth of It by David Metzenthen Tuesday, 18 November 2025
David Metzenthen’s The Truth of It (Ford Street) has won the 2025 Children’s Peace Literature Award, South Australian Psychologists for Peace (SAPP) has announced. The Truth of It, a middle-grade...

Record numbers at 2025 QLF 

Authors signing books at Queenscliffe festival. Tuesday, 18 November 2025
The 11th annual Queenscliffe Literary Festival (QLF), held in the seaside Victorian town from 17 to 26 October, attracted a record 4330 attendees – significantly more than the borough’s population...

Haddad, Walker win 2025 KYD Creative Nonfiction Essay Prize

A photo George Haddad and and a photot of Sarah Walker. Tuesday, 18 November 2025
Kill Your Darlings (KYD) has announced George Haddad and Sarah Walker as joint winners of the 2025 KYD Creative Nonfiction Essay Prize. “ وجبت wejbet”, Haddad's winning essay, is described by KYD as “anchored...

Atlantic acquires Cornish’s “The Missing Mother”

Photo of Mali Cornish. Tuesday, 18 November 2025
Atlantic Books Australia has acquired ANZ rights to Mali Cornish’s adult novel The Missing Mother in a deal brokered by Martin Shaw at Shaw Literary. The publisher describes The Missing...

Henderson wins 2025 Australian Fiction Prize

Photo of Troy Henderson. Tuesday, 18 November 2025
Troy Henderson has won the Australian Fiction Prize for his unpublished crime thriller River City. The novel follows the violent struggle of “warring factions, loose-cannon allies and a city on the brink”...

Duffy appointed as UQP director

Photo of Madonna Duffy. Tuesday, 18 November 2025
The University of Queensland has appointed Madonna Duffy as director of the University of Queensland Press (UQP), with her new role to commence on 1 December. Duffy joined UQP in...

Cunningham announced as 2026 Dahl fellow

A photo of Sophie Cunningham. Monday, 17 November 2025
The Board of Eucalypt Australia has announced Sophie Cunningham as a 2026 Dahl fellow for her manuscript “Eucalyptus: A story in twenty trees”. According to organisers, Cunningham’s work will investigate...

Wiley acquires Lishman’s next nonfiction title

A photo of Marny Lishman. She is wearing black and sits on a brown couch. A potted plant is in the background. Monday, 17 November 2025
Wiley has acquired world rights to self-help title Only You by Marny Lishman, via Simone Landes of TLS Talent. According to the publisher, Only You is designed for readers experiencing...

Readings Prize 2025 winners announced

Cover of “I Want Everything” by Dominic Amerena. Friday, 14 November 2025
Readings has announced the winners of the 2025 Readings Prize in each category and the winner of the Gab Williams Prize. The winning titles are: New Australian Fiction Prize I...

PRH Write It fellowship recipients announced

A banner for the Penguin Random House Write It Fellowship. Thursday, 13 November 2025
Penguin Random House (PRH) has announced the recipients of the 2025 Write It Fellowship. Chosen from a shortlist announced in July, the winners are: Dayle Fogarty for “After Dark” Naomi...

Small Press Network partners with IPG UK

Thursday, 13 November 2025
The Small Press Network (SPN) in Australia and the Independent Publishers Guild (IPG) in the United Kingdom have established “a new alliance to provide their members with mutual benefits,” said...

Saunders awarded 2026 Peter Blazey Fellowship

A photo of Mykaela Saunders sitting before a black background. Saunders has short hair and is wearing black. Thursday, 13 November 2025
Author and academic Mykaela Saunders has won the $20,000 Peter Blazey Fellowship for her work in progress, “Dear Uncle”. “Dear Uncle” is about Koori artist Kev Saunders (1956–2012), a Dharug...

UQP mentorship prize winners announced

Photo of mentorship prize winners Suri Matondkar and SD Munawara. Thursday, 13 November 2025
The University of Queensland Press (UQP) has announced the winners of the inaugural UQP Mentorship Prize for under-represented writers. Chosen from a shortlist of 5, the winners are: SD Munawara...

ASA appoints Mills as chair 

Jennifer Mills Thursday, 13 November 2025
The Australian Society of Authors (ASA) has appointed Jennifer Mills as chair of its board of directors. Mills first became an ASA director in 2022 and has served as deputy...

Wombat acquires Page’s interactive novel

Photo of Gabriella Page. Thursday, 13 November 2025
Wombat Books has acquired world rights to Gabriella Page’s The Nardi Puzzle, an interactive middle-grade story that allows readers to solve puzzles alongside the characters. The novel follows Sebastian Walker’s...

WestWords acquires Lee’s debut novel

Photo of Samantha Lee. Thursday, 13 November 2025
WestWords Books has acquired adult novel Bound by Samantha WL Lee. Set in four countries – China, Malaysia, Britain and Australia – and extending over more than a century, Bound...