Record book sales at Adelaide Writers’ Week
17 March 2020
Record book and catering sales at Adelaide Writers’ Week, which ran from 29 February to 5 March, indicate the highest recorded attendance numbers at the festival, according to director Jo...
Latest cancellations: SWF, the Wheeler Centre, MJBW and ABDA Awards
17 March 2020
A number of festivals and literary organisations made announcements overnight related to the Covid-19 outbreak. Sydney Writers’ Festival (SWF) organisers said the festival's cancellation was an ‘inevitable but nonetheless devastating...
SRB announces recipients of Emerging Critics fellowships
17 March 2020
The Sydney Review of Books has announced the recipients of this year’s Copyright Agency–SRB Emerging Critics fellowships. The recipients are: Bryan Andy (NSW) Cher Tan (VIC) Keyvan Allahyari (VIC) Prithvi Varatharajan...
Penguin Literary Prize shortlist 2020 announced
17 March 2020
Penguin Random House (PRH) has announced the shortlist for the 2020 Penguin Literary Prize, worth $20,000. The prize, now in its third year, aims to find and develop new Australian...
LEB conference postponed
16 March 2020
Leading Edge Books (LEB) has postponed the upcoming LEB conference, scheduled for 22–24 March, in response to the coronavirus pandemic. LEB said in a statement this morning that it has...
SLV shuts doors temporarily amid state of emergency in Victoria
16 March 2020
State Library Victoria (SLV) will temporarily close all public spaces and cancel or postpone upcoming events as ‘a preventative measure’ against the current coronavirus pandemic. The news comes alongside announcements...
Clunes Booktown Festival cancelled
13 March 2020
Clunes Booktown Festival 2020 has been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. The festival was scheduled for the weekend of 2–3 May, with the program featuring over 30 authors including...
Evaristo, Taddeo, Jamison among 2020 SWF lineup
13 March 2020
The program has been announced for the 2020 Sydney Writers’ Festival (SWF), which runs from 27 April to 3 May. Over 400 local and international writers, journalists and public figures...
Zimet joins Edinburgh International Book Festival
13 March 2020
Former Sydney Writers’ Festival associate director and Broadside festival founding director Tamara Zimet has been appointed deputy program director of the Edinburgh International Book Festival (EIBF). ‘We were overwhelmed by...
Claire Christian’s debut adult novel sold to US
13 March 2020
Text Publishing has sold rights in multiple territories to Claire Christian’s forthcoming debut adult novel It’s Been a Pleasure, Noni Blake, which the publisher describes as ‘a quirky, feel-good novel...
ASA Writers and Illustrators Mentorship Program winners announced
13 March 2020
The Australian Society of Authors (ASA) has announced the winners of its 2020 Writers and Illustrators Mentorship Program. The winners are: Adult fiction Victoria Benn Jennifer Carlisle Bon-Wai Chou Will...
SWF says it is ‘cautiously proceeding’ ahead of program launch tonight
12 March 2020
This year's Sydney Writers' Festival (SWF) will still go ahead as planned, according to a statement from organisers today. The 2020 festival program is due to be announced at 7pm...
PANZ International Conference postponed until September
12 March 2020
The Publishers Association of New Zealand (PANZ) has postponed the PANZ International Conference, initially scheduled for 30 April–1 May, until 17–18 September. ‘PANZ Council and the organising committee … have...
S&S, Nielsen withdraw from LEB conference
12 March 2020
Simon & Schuster Australia (S&S) and Nielsen Book Australia will not attend this year’s Leading Edge Books (LEB) Conference, which is due to run from 22–24 March in Brisbane. In...
ALIA cancels national conference due to coronavirus
12 March 2020
Due to concerns over coronavirus, the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) has cancelled the ALIA National 2020 Conference, which was scheduled to run 4–8 May at Sydney’s International Convention...
Unity Books Auckland wins Bookstore of the Year award at LBF
12 March 2020
Unity Books Auckland has won the Bookstore of the Year Award at the 2020 London Book Fair International Excellence Awards. Unity Books was cited for for ‘their wonderful and “dangerously...
ASA/HQ Commercial Fiction Prize shortlist announced
12 March 2020
The Australian Society of Authors (ASA) and HarperCollins imprint HQ Fiction have announced the inaugural shortlist for the ASA/HQ Commercial Fiction Prize for an unpublished manuscript. HQ Fiction publishers and...
WestWords to host day-long writing festival
11 March 2020
Western Sydney literature organisation WestWords will host a day-long event in celebration of the ways in which Western Sydney has ‘shaped many diverse and cultural stories’. A Celebration of Writing...
Rawson shortlisted for UK’s Kitschies awards for spec fic
11 March 2020
Jane Rawson's novel From the Wreck (Transit Lounge) has been shortlisted in the UK’s Kitschies awards, presented to ‘progressive, intelligent, and entertaining literature with a speculative element’. From the Wreck...
Wild honoured for Lifetime Achievement in Literature
10 March 2020
Australian children's author Margaret Wild has won the Australia Council Award for Lifetime Achievement in Literature. The award ‘acknowledges the achievements of eminent literary writers over the age of 60...
Bell appointed publisher at A&U
10 March 2020
Davina Bell has been appointed publisher at Allen & Unwin (A&U), where she will work in the children and young adult division. ‘Davina’s passion, energy and enthusiasm will make her...
Shaw wins Neilma Sidney Prize
10 March 2020
Wellington-based writer Jenah Shaw has won Overland's Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize for travel-themed short fiction, worth $4000, for her story ‘The Houseguest’—about a woman, ‘new to the city and...
Hogan wins Judith Wright Poetry Prize
10 March 2020
Writer and primary school teacher Dan Hogan has won Overland’s Judith Wright Poetry Prize for new and emerging poets, worth $6000, for their poem ‘No Alarms’. Lou Garcia-Dolnik placed second...
Stella Prize 2020 shortlist announced
6 March 2020
The shortlist for the 2020 Stella Prize, worth $50,000, has been announced. The shortlisted titles are: See What You Made Me Do (Jess Hill, Black Inc.) Diving into Glass (Caro Llewellyn, Hamish Hamilton)...
Scale Free Network sells language rights to ‘Small Friends Books’
6 March 2020
Language rights to four titles in the 'Small Friends Books' series of educational picture books, which are co-published by Scale Free Network (SFN) and CSIRO Publishing, have been sold to...
Pivet-Marsh appointed EWF artistic director
6 March 2020
The Emerging Writers Festival (EWF) has announced Ruby-Rose Pivet-Marsh as its new artistic director. Pivet-Marsh is a writer, producer and community organiser from Melbourne’s inner west, and has been a...
Blythe to leave Black Inc.
6 March 2020
Black Inc. publicity and marketing manager Marian Blythe is leaving the company to head to the UK. Blythe, who has been in the position since January 2018, said, ‘I've been...
LBF cancelled: ‘missed opportunities’ for Oz publishers
5 March 2020
The London Book Fair, which was scheduled to run from 10–12 March, has been cancelled due to concerns over the coronavirus outbreak in Europe. In a statement, organisers Reed Exhibitions...
Bottomley to give keynote at ABA conference
5 March 2020
The Australian Booksellers Association (ABA) has announced the full program for its 2020 conference, to be held at the Sofitel Wentworth in Sydney from 21–22 June. International guest Nic Bottomley,...
Text sells ‘filmic romance’ to Germany in six-figure deal
5 March 2020
Text Publishing has sold German-language rights to debut author Hugh Breakey’s forthcoming novel The Beautiful Fall in a six-figure deal to Blanvalet (PRH Germany), where it was acquired by Diana...
