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Pan Mac sells ‘Heartsick’ to US, UK 

Wednesday, 14 April 2021
Pan Macmillan Australia has sold US and UK rights to debut nonfiction title Heartsick (Jessie Stephens) after ‘a highly contested auction’. US rights were sold to Henry Holt in a...

Program announced for APA BookUp conference

Wednesday, 14 April 2021
The program has been announced for the Australian Publishing Association’s BookUp conference, which will run online and in-person in Sydney on Tuesday, 27 April. Hachette UK CEO David Shelley will...

PRH acquires Higgins memoir 

Wednesday, 14 April 2021
Penguin Random House Australia (PRH) has acquired a memoir by Brittany Higgins. Higgins, whose  decision to speak publicly about her alleged rape in a ministerial office was one of the...

Hardie Grant acquires book on Australia–US relations 

Tuesday, 13 April 2021
Hardie Grant Books has acquired world rights in debut nonfiction work Our Exceptional Friend: Australia's fatal alliance with the United States by Melbourne academic Emma Shortis, via Martin Shaw at...

Booktopia partners with online ed-tech company Zookal

Booktopia logo Tuesday, 13 April 2021
Booktopia has become the exclusive supplier and fulfilment partner for online education technology company Zookal. Under the terms of the agreement, Booktopia will source, supply and distribute all of Zookal’s...

ABIA 2021 shortlists announced

Monday, 12 April 2021
The shortlists for the 2021 Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) have been announced. The titles in each category are: General fiction book of the year The Dictionary of Lost Words...

Clifford moves to Ultimo with third crime novel 

Monday, 12 April 2021
Ultimo Press has acquired ANZ rights to Aoife Clifford's third novel When We Fall, via Clare Forster at Curtis Brown. Set in the the small Australian coastal town of Merritt, When...

Varuna 2021 First Nations Fellowships announced

Varuna, the National Writers House logo Monday, 12 April 2021
The recipients of the Varuna First Nations Fellowships for 2021 have been announced. The writers and their projects are: Krista Dunstan for her YA work ‘Noble Intentions’ Lisa Fuller for...

Clunes Booktown returns with month-long festival

Friday, 9 April 2021
The town of Clunes in regional Victoria has announced the program for Turn the Page, a new ‘month-long celebration of the book’ to take place over three weekends in May....

ABIA Rising Stars 2021 shortlist announced

Friday, 9 April 2021
The shortlist for the Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) 2021 Rising Star of the Year Award has been announced. The Rising Star Award is given to an emerging talent in...

Black Inc. acquires Plibersek biography 

Thursday, 8 April 2021
Black Inc. has acquired world rights to a biography of Tanya Plibersek to be written by Margaret Simons, via Lyn Tranter at Australian Literary Management. ‘This book will tell the...

Romei steps down as literary editor

Wednesday, 7 April 2021
The Australian newspaper’s literary editor Stephen Romei has left the role, with his last column published in the newspaper on Saturday, 3 April. ‘I have decided to step back from...

APA, writers festivals receive RISE funding 

Wednesday, 7 April 2021
The Australian Publishers Association (APA) will receive $566,000 in funding from the federal government’s Restart Investment to Sustain and Expand (RISE) fund, as announced in the latest round of RISE...

Australian Book Design Awards 2021 shortlists announced

Tuesday, 6 April 2021
The shortlists for the Australian Book Design Awards, presented by the Australian Book Designers Association (ABDA), have been announced. Shortlisted titles in some of the categories are: Best Designed Commercial...

Bridgeman’s ‘The Subjugate’ to be adapted for TV 

Tuesday, 6 April 2021
Perth science fiction author Amanda Bridgeman's novel The Subjugate (Watkins) will be adapted into a dystopian crime thriller series by independent production companies Aquarius Films and Anonymous Content. The development...

Aurealis Awards 2020 finalists announced

Tuesday, 6 April 2021
The finalists for the 2020 Aurealis Awards, presented for science fiction, fantasy and horror writing in Australia, have been announced. The finalists are: Best horror novel Soul Survivor (Daniel de...

NEWC awarded $50k Create NSW grant 

Thursday, 1 April 2021
The New England Writers’ Centre (NEWC) has been awarded a $50,000 grant from Create NSW under its Arts Restart program. The funding is for NEWC's The Inside Story project, which...

New writing prize for Western Sydney

Wednesday, 31 March 2021
WestWords and WestLit Libraries have announced a new writing competition for Western Sydney residents. With a prize pool of over $10,000, supported by Create NSW as part of Arts Restart,...

CBCA 2021 Book of the Year shortlists announced

Tuesday, 30 March 2021
The Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) has announced its 2021 Book of the Year shortlists. The shortlisted books in each category are: Older readers The End of the World...

FWF announces closure

Tuesday, 30 March 2021
The biennial Feminist Writers Festival (FWF) has announced its closure due to lack of funding. The inaugural FWF was held during Melbourne Writers Festival in 2016 and in 2018 the...

SPN announces 2021 conference dates

Monday, 29 March 2021
The Small Press Network (SPN) has announced the dates for the 2021 Independent Publishing Conference, which is scheduled to run from 25–27 November. The conference will take place in-person at...

APA launches rights networking events 

Monday, 29 March 2021
The Australian Publishers Association (APA) has launched a series of rights networking events to help Australian publishers connect with international publishers. The series, which uses the online events platform Hopin,...

MidnightSun acquires Burge debut novel 

Friday, 26 March 2021
MidnightSun Publishing has acquired debut novel Tank Water by Michael Burge, a story of homophobic hate crimes and the dangers of growing up feeling different in rural Australia. Burge met...